60 super foods

The content of essential nutrients per unit weight is much higher than that of ordinary ingredients, it also contains active anti-inflammatory/antioxidant substances, and it will not bring excessive sugar/oil/sodium burden.

「The concept of "superfood" was first proposed by the American nutrition community in the 1980s. It was originally used to collectively refer to those ingredients with outstanding nutrient density and clear evidence-based health benefits. There is no fixed quantity at all. Later, in order to facilitate dissemination, merchants and traffic accounts compiled lists with whole numbers such as 30, 50, and 60. Now you can find seven or eight different versions of "60 Super Foods" by searching casually, and the content can be more than half the difference.

To be honest, big differences are normal. When I was helping clients with different needs sort out ingredient lists, I discovered that different dietary schools had completely different preferences: the vegans’ list was all filled with plant-based ingredients, and even eggs and milk didn’t appear. ； On the list of ketogenic diet enthusiasts, high-fat foods such as avocado, grass-fed butter, and chia seeds can account for one-third. ； In the version for fitness and muscle building people, high-protein and low-fat salmon, chicken breast, and Greek yogurt will always be in the front row. ； If you are sorting out for people who control sugar, low GI quinoa, chickpeas, and yams are definitely the first choices. There is no "standard answer" that suits everyone. To put it bluntly, it's all about choosing based on your needs.

Believe it or not, I met a girl a while ago who bought a bunch of imported ingredients from a list of 60 superfoods on the Internet, including acai berry powder, maca powder, and spirulina tablets. She spent a small amount of two thousand. After half a month of eating, not only did her skin not feel better, but she also suffered from severe gastric reflux because she drank green juice with chia seeds and kale every day. I glanced at the list she brought, and half of it was imported niche ingredients with extremely high premiums. Ordinary spinach, mulberries, and walnuts can obviously provide enough nutrients, but I had to spend ten times the price to buy imported goods. I was simply paying an IQ tax.

Controversy about superfoods has never stopped. For example, kale, which has been so popular in the past, is considered by opponents to be just an ordinary cruciferous vegetable. Its dietary fiber and vitamin C content are not as good as rapeseed, and its oxalic acid content is high. Drinking too much of it can easily irritate the gastrointestinal tract, and they cannot force themselves to swallow the grassy taste. There are also chia seeds. Some people say they are a "fat-reducing tool." They make you feel full after drinking water. Others think they are just ordinary seeds. There is nothing special about them except that they are high in dietary fiber. If you eat too much, they will cause bloating. Both of these statements are correct. It all depends on how you use the ingredients. What suits you is the best.

If you have to put together a list of 60 kinds that are suitable for most ordinary people, it is actually not difficult. You don’t have to look at those fancy imported ingredients to choose: there are exactly 10 kinds of cereals and potatoes including quinoa, oats, chickpeas, red beans, highland barley, yam, sweet potato, purple potato, millet, and buckwheat.； For vegetables, choose common kale, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, bell peppers, purple cabbage, asparagus, carrots, celery, baby cabbage, okra, shiitake mushrooms, mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and morels, plus seasonal wild vegetables such as purslane, dandelion, and mustard greens, and 20 types are more than enough. ； For fruits, 10 kinds of blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, oranges, pomegranates, prunes, cherries, mulberries, grapes, and apples are enough. ； There are 10 more high-quality proteins including salmon, shrimp, oysters, eggs, Greek yogurt, low-fat cheese, chicken breast, lean beef, tofu, and natto. ； Finally, there are 10 types of nuts and seeds, including chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, macadamia nuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, and pistachios, which add up to exactly 60.

But honestly, there’s really no need to memorize this list. I usually go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables. I never choose from the list. I buy whatever is in season. Toons in spring, peaches in summer, chestnuts in autumn, and radishes in winter. The nutrient density of fresh local ingredients is no worse than those so-called super foods that come across the ocean. A while ago, my mother also said that the spinach grown in my hometown’s yard, blanched and mixed with some sesame oil, is much more delicious than the kale powder I bought for tens of dollars a pack. After checking the nutritional content, it was indeed not much different.

After all, "superfood" itself is a reference concept. There is no need to deify it, let alone stock up on things you don't like to eat at home just to get 60 kinds. No matter how good the ingredients are, if you can’t eat them or endure them, it’s all in vain. It is much more effective to change your daily diet, eat more fresh food and less processed food, and follow the so-called super food list.