What Is a Superfood and Why Do They Always Seem to Change?
Every year, usually in the first few months of the year, health and wellness experts release information on superfoods. You see articles in magazines. You see reports on the local news. And the topic is covered well on blogs and social media.
Like annual trends, resolution tips and success strategies, superfoods become a hot topic. But what exactly are superfoods, why do they change every year, and why should you care? Let’s look at those three questions individually.
What are Superfoods?
Superfoods are foods that have a high level of nutrients in them. They are always whole foods, meaning they’re not processed. They are often foods that most people don’t eat very often and, in most cases, they have a unique nutritional quality.
For example, kale was a well-known superfood the past two years. Kale is high in both vitamin A and vitamin C. In fact, a cup of kale has more than 100% of your RDA for those vitamins.
Superfoods often have added benefits. For example, they might be great for weight loss or beneficial for a healthy gut and digestive system. Another example of a superfood with a unique benefit was fish oil. It has tremendous brain boosting and inflammation reducing benefits. But fish oil and kale are so last year. This year has new, different, and perhaps odd additions to the superfoods list.
Why Do Superfoods Change?
There are actually a handful of reasons why superfoods change every year. One reason is that there’s a food industry behind them. When you can find the next best thing, you’re going to market it, right?
However, beyond the business reason for new superfoods each year is this… nutritionists, health experts, dieticians, doctors, and health researchers and scientists are always testing, studying, learning, and releasing their findings.
Superfoods are announced because they’re recently discovered foods or the benefits of the food are new discoveries. It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it. The fact that we’re still finding new and beneficial foods to fuel and heal our bodies. This brings us to the third question.
Why Should You Care About Superfoods?
You eat healthy. You exercise. You take good care of yourself. Why should you care about superfoods? It makes good sense to know what nature has created and provided for you, and how it can impact your health. We’re going to look at 10 superfoods. We’ll take a look at what they are, how they benefit your health, and offer some ideas on how to add them to your diet.
Will you try all 10 of these superfoods? Maybe. It can be fun to try new foods, especially when they’re good for you.
Will all of them offer you a benefit and be added to your diet on a regular basis? Maybe not. But that’s okay. Knowledge is power and when you know all the amazing superfoods available to you right now, you can make the best decision about your health and well-being.
Top 10 Superfoods to Supercharge Your Health
Superfoods are a great way to pack a nutritional punch into regular meals. Looking for some inspiration? Try including these foods into your diet:
☐ Gelatin: (In the form of collagen) You can add this to almost anything thanks to the fact that it doesn’t really have a strong taste. It can promote healthy joints, is good for hair, skin and nails, improves digestive health and more!
☐ Avocado Oil: Replace your regular oils with avocado oil and you’ll reap a number of rewards, including: boosting your healthy cholesterol levels, improving vision, boosting your immune system and much more.
☐ Maqui Berries: All berries are good for you, but maqui berries are especially high in antioxidants thanks to it’s rich color. They can help with pain and inflammation, help slow down the growth of colon cancer cells, and they taste great!
☐ Turmeric: This powerful spice has a number of health benefits, from improving cholesterol to anti-inflammatory properties.
☐ Maca: You’ll usually find this root in powder form, making it easy to add to smoothies. It can help treat anemia, enhance memory, help hormonal imbalance and boost the immune system (among other things).
☐ Lucuma: This fruit from Peru is high in beta carotene, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B3, and protein – great for its anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties.
☐ Cacao Nibs: These are little pieces of raw cacao – with all the health benefits of chocolate (and more!) without the unhealthy sugar. They are great for reducing appetite, boosting heart health, improving digestion and more.
☐ Buckwheat: This is a seed (not a grain, like many people think) that’s high in protein and can help regulate blood sugar levels. You can eat it as hot cereal, or consume it as soba noodles.
☐ Watermelon Seeds: Stop spitting out the seeds when you eat watermelon! They are actually high in fiber, healthy fats, amino acids, magnesium, zinc and B vitamins.
☐ Chaga Mushrooms: Known as the king of medicinal mushrooms, chaga mushrooms are known for their immune-boosting properties. They also help support healthy cardiovascular and circulatory systems.
☐ 7 Bonus Superfoods to Supercharge Your Healthy
- Moringa
- Nut Oils
- Super Salts like Himalayan rock salt
- Black Currant Supplements
- Algae Fats
- Purple Food like purple cauliflower
- Tiger nuts
