By David SmithEvery year, and very predictably, a new “super-food” will hit grocery store shelves and every TV doctor and scripted, well-marketed “health professional” touts its amazing benefits and life changing properties. Every food has all the same qualities as far as being “the most nutritious” or “the fuel of ancient warriors” and all that jazzed up hype.
Some of the latest “super-foods” include the Acai berry, Kale, and, most recently, the Moringa leaf. While some of the claims are true as far as the heavy nutritional content, many of them are exaggerated. They do contain sufficient amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants which are all very good to maintain overall health, however this is no more or less than you’d find in berries, spinach or any other fruits and vegetables. These new foods do offer a nice new variety to your diet and may introduce new flavors, which are always good, but they are not miracle foods. It is important to add them into your current healthy, well-rounded diet that incorporates other nutrient dense foods as well.
Don’t fall for the marketing schemes. These foods are marketed in a way to sell more, they will exaggerate any claim on the food to try and influence people that this particular food might be a cure-all for everything from health conditions to weight loss. The food itself is more a novelty or a fad. It’ll be the best thing ever until next year when the next best thing ever comes and a year after that nobody will remember ever hearing of the previous fad. This will go on for as long as people continue to get on and off the bandwagon. Remember there is no one miracle food or miracle pill or miracle anything. It is always good to try new things and incorporate new and different things into your life, just make sure you do your research and don’t fall for the marketing and hype.
David Smith is the owner of Stonewall Fitness, holds a degree in exercise science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and holds several fitness certifications including ACSM Personal Trainer and Group Fitness.
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