super food refers to

Superfoods are not an official classification recognized by the nutrition community, but are derived from the food marketing industry and later widely used in the field of popular science. The nutrient density is significantly higher than that of similar ordinary ingredients and contains a variety of special active nutrients. Unprocessed natural ingredients The general name of.

Oh, by the way, when I first entered the nutrition institute as an intern, my teacher turned to the "Annual Top Ten Super Foods Ranking" pushed by a certain official account, and laughed and said that this thing is essentially a gimmick created by merchants to sell goods. I searched through core nutrition journals at home and abroad, and the dietary guidelines officially released by various countries, but I couldn't find the official definition of this term at all, and there is no unified judgment standard. The earliest birth of this concept has nothing to do with nutrition. In 1980, the Blueberry Growers Association in California, in order to eliminate unsalable inventory, gave blueberries the title of "anthocyanin-rich super food" and launched it on the market. Unexpectedly, it hit everyone's demand for healthy diets and became an instant hit. Later, various niche ingredients began to take advantage of this popularity, from kale and chia seeds to the acai berry and Camu Camu that have exploded in the past few years. Any natural ingredient with outstanding nutritional content can be labeled as "super" and sold at a premium.

There has been controversy over this concept over the years. Conservative nutrition scholars are the most disgusted with this statement, and feel that it is completely hit by the IQ tax - you said that kale is a super food, and the vitamin C content of 100 grams of kale is 39 mg, while ordinary Chinese cabbage of the same weight has 47 mg. In terms of cost-effectiveness and acceptance by ordinary people, cabbage is way ahead of kale. I previously received a consultation from a girl in her early 20s. She said that in order to reduce fat, she used chia seeds soaked in water for three meals a day. Not only did she not lose weight after eating it for half a month, but she also became constipated due to excessive dietary fiber intake. The imported chia seeds she bought at a cost of hundreds of dollars ended up being expired. Do you think this is unfair? Many people have been brainwashed by marketing accounts and believe that they have to buy imported, expensive superfoods to be healthy. In the end, they not only spend a lot of money, but also make eating like a chore, completely outweighing the gains.

But my friends who do community nutrition intervention think this concept is "unexpectedly useful." If you tell the elders and aunts in your community, "You need to supplement more anthocyanins, flavonoids, and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids," they will be confused and forget about it. If you say instead, "Eat more superfoods like blueberries and salmon, which are good for your eyes and can protect your cardiovascular system," they might be willing to take some with you when they go to the supermarket. After all, as long as it is not touted as a miracle drug that can cure diseases and lose ten pounds a week, this popular label can actually lower the threshold for everyone to accept healthy eating. It is better than just holding on to processed snacks and sugary drinks, right?

I usually stock up on so-called super foods when I cook. I put a big bag of frozen blueberries in the refrigerator and throw a handful in when making oat milk in the morning. It doesn’t need to be washed and it has its own sweetness. It’s much healthier than adding extra sugar.； Grind the flaxseeds brought back from your hometown into powder and mix them with yogurt or sprinkle them on salads. The Omega3 content is higher than the imported chia seeds that often cost dozens of yuan for a small package. It only costs more than ten yuan per pound, which is very cost-effective. To be honest, those superfoods that are held up on the altar are essentially in line with the requirements of "eating more whole grains, dark-colored fruits and vegetables, and high-quality animal protein" in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents". There is no superpower that can cure all diseases - if you eat high-oil and high-salt hot pot and barbecue every day, even if you stuff two pounds of acai berries every day, it will not be able to offset the burden of trans fat and excess sodium on the body.

I was browsing an e-commerce platform a while ago, and I found it funny when I saw that some people were packaging ordinary purple sweet potatoes and Beibei pumpkins as "domestic superfoods" and selling them at twice the price of the supermarket. To put it bluntly, is there any difference between high and low, imported and domestically produced? The fresh spinach, millet, and tomatoes from the vegetable market downstairs in your home, as long as they are not deeply processed and you like to eat them and can eat them for a long time, can be your "exclusive super foods." Eating is all about comfort and balance. There is no magic ingredient that can be used once and for all.