Nearly every week there’s a new “super food” that experts promote as the latest and greatest food for your diet and health. What makes a food a super food, and more importantly, is it essential that you include these foods in your diet to achieve optimum health? Before you splurge on the new health fads at the grocery store this week, here’s what science has to say:
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There is no agreed upon definition of “super food”. Despite the term being thrown around frequently by the media and experts, a definition hasn’t caught up to the lingo yet. While all fruits and vegetables have certain nutritious properties and do different things for your body, those that are classified as super tend to be more nutritionally dense and provide an even bigger boost to your health, containing larger amounts of antioxidants, amino acids, and good fats your body needs to ward off disease.
Variety matters even if you’re only eating super foods. Even if you only ate blueberries and kale all day every day, your body would still not get the nutrients it needs to thrive. While adding super foods to your diet provides you with a head start on packing your body full of nutrients, variety is still essential to a healthier lifestyle. If a super food catches your attention, adding it to an already balanced diet is the most effective way to ensure that your body is receiving a variety of nutrients, both micro and macro, to achieve your goals and prevent disease.
Eating super foods isn’t the magic path to a healthier lifestyle. Despite the use of the word “super food”, adding a handful of kale to your fast food dinner will not make you healthier, slimmer, or happier. You can’t undo an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle simply by adding super foods. What does work? Adding nutrient dense foods to an otherwise balanced diet of lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains will give your body what it needs to conquer the challenges put before it.
How do you add more super foods to your diet? Maybe you’re not ready to add apple cider vinegar to your morning breakfast routine or try tricking your family with carrots in your baked goods. Adding super foods to your diet doesn’t require a giant leap of faith and mental gymnastics. Smoothies, salads and snacks are excellent ways to add super foods to your diet without adding empty calories. Adding spinach or kale to a breakfast smoothie with a handful of blueberries gives your morning a nutrient dense start without loading you down with calories before you begin the day. Super foods like walnuts, edamame and carrots also make great snacks or add-ons to salads, giving you a crunch and nutrient punch at the same time.
Do you sneak super foods into your diet or avoid the trend altogether?
