Nutrition

Superfood: Is It Real Or Is It Just A Myth?

The superfood hype is literally all over the place and is still growing worldwide. Since having a healthy lifestyle became popular and posting a burger on your Instagram is so last season, suddenly everyone seems to be super-health-conscious. This would be an amazing thing if it was not for the trends and the fake news. The media is feeding us with fabulous stories about how blueberries will protect you from cancer and dark chocolate will not only save you from a heart attack but also improve your mood. Well, this is exactly the case of “too good to be true”. As we are all humans, we tend to fall for these “scientifically proven” tricks; I did as well, but let’s see the reality.

CAUTION!

Although these fairy tales are actually based on real-life research, everything has limitations. First of all, let’s highlight the fact that measuring a single food’s effect on our systems is a tricky one. According to the NHS, there are several so-called “confounders”, which are personal factors that also influence our health and length of living. Since eliminating the effects of all confounders is impossible, finding a health improvement isn’t directly related to consuming a certain food. Therefore, we really shouldn’t build our lives around eating cabbage to avoid cancer.
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Secondly, media always exaggerates. This is a golden rule that we should all keep in mind. Don’t expect to save your life by drinking red wine and eating dark chocolate every day or to become America’s next top model from eating avocados for two weeks.
Lastly, despite Jessie J telling us “it’s not about the money”, it really is. All these cancer-curer and calorie-burner superfood headlines are working in favor of some retailers to make you spend your monthly salary on goji- berries and matcha lattes.

DO IT RIGHT!

Let’s get on the positive side now. In spite of all the fake claims, most of these superfoods are actually really healthy. If you check the nutrition info, and they are full of vitamins, antioxidants and fiber, you certainly won’t go wrong with having them in your diet. If you balance them well, they will help in keeping your life on a healthy track. In addition, besides gaining 10 new followers, you can definitely spice up your daily meals with some of them. For instance, I am absolutely crazy about chia seed pudding, which might not reduce the chance of heart disease, but is definitely delicious, super filling, and can make my mornings more special than the usual oatmeal-yogurt combination.
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A balanced diet is the key to everything. This means that you can absolutely stock up on superfoods, since they can be beneficial for us in many ways. However, don’t fall for every lifesaver claim about them and certainly, don’t force yourself to eat the ones that you don’t like just because they are trendy. Be healthy for yourself!
 

Written By Lilla Laczo

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Lilla Laczo

Lilla is a content writer and community manager at Shape.
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Use our free guide to design your very own personalized nutrition plan.
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