All About Food:

They are a fountain of youth, a cure-all, a panacea; they can make you smarter, more beautiful, thinner; they can improve your memory, your eyesight and fight cancer.

What are they? SUPERFOODS!

At least that’s what the advertising world would have us believe. There is no scientific definition of the term but it certainly has become a buzzword of late. If you look on the Internet or on magazines racks you can find lists of supposed life changing foods… top five, top 10, top 20 with no two lists being alike but all claiming that these foods have virtually magical health-giving properties.

Some that appear frequently are açai berries, salmon, green foods, blueberries, nuts, flax seeds, red wine, green tea, avocados, yogurt, beans, whole grains, the alliums (onions, garlic, shallots etc.), sweet potatoes and pomegranates. Then there are apricots, cinnamon, eggs, kiwis, quinoa, cherries, hot peppers and sprouts, etc.

So what’s the real deal? It begins to sound like a list of every healthy food you can name. We would all like a magic potion, one that would guarantee us a long healthy life while we lounged on the sofa watching TV, popping blueberries. Well, it ain’t gonna happen! Foods are not pharmaceuticals. Genes, as well as exercise and low stress for example, are also crucial to longevity.

There is no question that fruits and vegetables are healthy and some are healthier than others, in particular foods that are high in antioxidants, and phytochemicals including flavonoids.

Foods high in antioxidants are especially helpful in combating free radicals, which are harmful molecules that damage cells and can contribute to aging, heart disease and cancer.

These include black currants, strawberries, and red and yellow peppers. Phytochemicals act in other ways to protect against disease. New research suggests they may be even more important than antioxidants alone. These are found in blueberries, white onions, carrots, green and black tea, soy and kale, etc. This very short list shows one glaring fact — a variety of colored foods, the so-called “rainbow diet” is the way to go.

Esoteric produce found in far off jungles like açai and goji berries are “berry” expensive, unregulated and have a heavy carbon footprint. Also, they are not fresh because they lose dramatic amounts of their nutrients the minute they are picked.