Can food be great? A few notes on superfoods
"Superfood" or in English Superfoods , is a word that has been repeated so much lately that it has almost lost all real meaning. Assuming, of course, that meaning ever existed, because there really isn't a precise definition of what makes a product "great".
We can't pinpoint exactly what properties, nutrients, or whatever makes ordinary foods superfoods: but does that mean all claims about the extraordinary benefits of certain foods are just sham and empty marketing? not necessarily!
Where do superfoods come from?
The term "superfood" appears relatively frequently at the beginning of the long-lasting trend for a healthy lifestyle. As we began to take a closer look at what we eat, some people have concluded that among foods — both ordinary and everyday, like blueberries, cocoa, beets, and spinach — and those that are still niche, like Goji - berries and Acai, young barley , milk thistle - it is possible to distinguish a group of products whose nutritional and health properties are clearly superior to the others: at least apparently, because, as we have already established, there are no objective criteria to measure which food is ordinary and what is "great". . Soon the term superfoods was coined HYPERLINK "https://biogo.pl/super-jedzenie" (Alan Moss will be coining the term in the magazine Nature Nutrition attributed in 1998) and... the world went superfood crazy.
Are there no superfoods?
According to the British organization Cancer Research UK, the term "superfood" is just a marketing ploy that has nothing to do with the actual nutritional value of the product. However, a slightly exaggerated use of this term does not mean that products with a significant nutrient density - i.e. with an extremely favorable ratio of the vitamins and minerals they contain to volume or calorific value - do not exist or do not really pay to give special attention to them when putting together a menu to pay attention. On the contrary: including it in your daily diet has a number of positive effects and is recommended by nutritionists and doctors.
Where do you look for superfoods?
It would be great if we could base our diet on just a few, maybe a dozen, superfoods and never worry about nutritional deficiencies or illness ever again. And while some studies show that certain food ingredients—for example, antioxidants like lycopene (found in tomatoes) or resveratrol (found in wine)—are extremely health-promoting, they are no substitute for a varied, balanced diet.
However, it's definitely worth introducing superfoods as a supplement: sprinkle goji berries on oatmeal, replace canola oil with healthy coconut, add a spoonful of spirulina to a fruit cocktail, or sprinkle chia seeds on a salad. However, it should be remembered that it is only a supplement to the diet, a kind of health booster, and not the basis of it!
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