Superfoods

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Imagine: You are in the supermarket faced with two products. The first claims to contain 11mg of Phosphorus, 0.061mg of Pantothenic Acid and 107mg of Potassium per 100g. The second item is a SUPERFOOD with ANTIOXIDANTS to help fight FREE RADICALS. Which would you choose? Of course, they are the same product. An apple.

We are not all scientists. Some of us are only just getting our heads round polysaturated and monosaturated fats. What chance do we have when faced with a list of twenty or thirty nutritional components? Not much. So the kind food industry comes up with useful slogans to point us in the right direction, and ‘superfoods' is one of these slogans. The word ‘superfood' has no agreed definition in terms of nutrition, but in general, it means a food which is especially rich in nutrients, with high levels of antioxidants. And we all know that antioxidants are good for us, even if we don't know why.

So why has the term ‘superfood' become so popular recently? Well, the cynical among us would say it is simply the latest marketing tool. The less cynical might point to the fact that more and more research is being done into the properties of food and their effects on the human body.

As always, you have to read between the lines. For example, goji berries are big news at the moment. They have one of the highest level of vitamin C of any fruit in the world. You will see claims that goji berries contain 2500mg of vitamin C per 100g. But before you rush off to buy a bottle of Goji berry fruit drink think about this. Most drinks are heavily diluted. Many contain apple juice, grape juice and water. One widely advertised brand of Goji juice contains 15mg of vitamin C per serving. A medium sized orange contains about 70mg. Yet still people spend huge amounts of money on products made from these berries which are harvested in Tibet, with all its connotations of yogic truths and Buddhist calm. One wonders whether Goji berries would market quite so well if they only grew in Wigan.

Cynicism aside, are superfoods worth buying? Well, yes. Superfoods do contain fantastic health properties, and the more variety you eat the more likely it is that your body will get all the nutrients it needs. The right diet really can lower your cholesterol (only the ‘bad' sort of course), reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and many other illnesses and give you more energy into the bargain. And superfoods don't have to be rare, unpronounceable leaves and berries found only in the Himalayas or wherever. Some of the best superfoods available have been in our supermarkets for years. These include broccoli, oats, oily fish, tomatoes, spinach and, yes, apples.

So are you now going to scour the shelves for food labelled superfood? Well, don't bother, because the term itself is likely to die out over the next two years. New EU rules are banning the term ‘superfood' and other unproven claims on all foods made or sold within the EU unless accompanied by a specific, proven health claim. Although the legislation is already in place manufacturers have two years to comply with the new regulations. That gives them two years to come up with another way to convince you of what you already know - fruit and vegetables are good for you.