Superfoods are natural foods with many vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy. This article will focus on the top 10 categories of superfoods so you can quickly find what you need. Over the past 10 years, you’ve probably heard the term “superfood” a lot.
It’s a common buzzword in the health and food industries. Even though there is no official definition, words have a funny way of changing as we use them repeatedly, and they end up in official records because people want them to.
When you scroll down the page of the Oxford English Dictionary’s (OED) almost endless list of super prefixes, you’ll find a definition of a “superfood,” which is a food that is thought to be especially healthy or nutritious. When you look at how the word came to be, you’ll see that it was first used in 1915!
What makes superfoods special?
Superfoods are just natural foods that are high in nutrients and that you should eat to live a healthier life. If you eat these foods often, your immune system will get stronger. This will help your body fight off illnesses and maybe even some of the worst effects of getting older. For example, blueberries are one of the superfoods that have been studied the most and talked about the most.
They have anthocyanins that stop cancer cells in the colon from growing and even kill them. Pomegranate juice has been studied a lot, just like blueberries. Results show that healthy people who drink pomegranate juice have lower blood pressure and less oxidative stress. Both of these are important factors that can lead to heart disease.
What did the evidence from science say about superfoods?
One of the main points made by the European Food Information Council (EUFIC) is that superfoods often are studied in isolated settings that don’t always reflect how a regular human diet affects digestion. The results of lab tests are also hard to trust because they are often done on animals like rats and mice.
Another scientific bias is that scientists often use high levels of nutrients in their studies, which can be hard to get through normal eating. Some scientific studies show that if you want to get the benefits of superfoods, you probably need to eat them more often than usual.
No food can give you all the nutrition, health benefits, and energy you need to live your life. That’s why it’s important to develop healthy eating habits that include many quality foods from different food groups. It’s significant to realize that there are many ways to benefit from superfoods.
For example, buying frozen foods like blueberries and other fruits is a great way to get the most nutritional benefits from superfoods because fruits are often frozen at their peak ripeness. Superfood powder is another great way to get more vitamins, minerals, healthy fats, and other nutrients your body needs to stay healthy.
A serving of superfood powder usually gives you more vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients than the recommended daily value. Since so many natural foods high in nutrients fall under the term “superfoods,” it makes sense to talk about them as a group rather than as individual ingredients. Each one is described below:
1. Berries
As was already said, blueberries have a lot of antioxidants, which help fight diseases. Berries are usually high in fiber and easy to get fresh or frozen all year long. You can put them in salads, yogurt, or smoothies for a healthy meal.
2. Cruciferous vegetables
Cabbage, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, mustard greens, radishes, and turnips. All the foods on the list are good sources of fiber and have powerful nutrients and phytochemicals that fight disease. These include sulforaphane indoles, thiocyanates, and nitriles, which may help fight or prevent lung and colon cancer.
3. Fish
Fish like anchovies, sockeye, mackerel, coho salmon, king, sardines, trout, and herring are great sources of protein, and they also have a lot of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids like DHA and EPA are good fats that may be good for your body and brain.
4. Leafy greens
Dark spinach and leafy greens like kale and chard are high in iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and many phytochemicals. According to Harvard Health, phytochemicals are chemicals made by plants that are very good for you and may go beyond the benefits of vitamins and minerals.
5. Legumes
Soybeans, kidney beans, red beans, chickpeas, black beans, and peas. Studies show that eating legumes can lower the risk of heart disease because they are high in plant protein and fiber. Legumes are high in folate and have complex carbohydrates, copper, vitamins, minerals, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
6. Nuts
Hazelnuts, pecans, almonds, and especially walnuts are great plant-based protein sources. They also contain monounsaturated fats, which may lower the risk of heart disease. Walnuts are especially good for you because they contain antioxidants, vitamin E, selenium, and magnesium. They also lower bad cholesterol and may reduce inflammation in the arteries.
7. Olive oil
Olive oil is a wonderful alternative source of vitamin E. It also has antioxidants, monounsaturated fats, and polyphenols, which have been found to reduce inflammation and may help lower the risk of heart disease.
8. Tomatoes
Tomatoes have a lot of vitamin C, vitamin K, lycopene, folate, and potassium. These nutrients are known to help prevent many diseases.
9. Whole grains
Check the label on their bread and make sure that the first ingredient is 100% whole wheat flour. This is one way to get more whole grains into your diet. Whole grains taste great, make you feel full faster, and contain healthy fibers and B vitamins. They also have high amounts of magnesium and manganese.
10. Yogurt
Yogurt is a good superfood because it has almost all the nutrients your body needs. It benefits your heart, bones, digestive health, and immune system. It also has probiotics, which can protect your body from bacteria that are bad for you.
Comments are closed.