Page 6 - EatingWell Special Edition Superfoods 2019

I N T R O D U C T I O N

JUST

WHAT IS A

SUPERFOOD?

The term is used to describe ingredients

as different as broccoli and turmeric.

What makes foods “super,” and should
you seek them out?

BY JOYCE HENDLEY

has
so
W hen was the last time the buzz spread that it has an entry in the Merriam- Webster
become
wide-
“superfood”
term
The
superfood
a
new
around
nudged you to put it in your dictionary: “A food (such as salmon, broccoli, or
The
concept
cart?
shopping
of superfoods may seem pos- blueberries) that is rich in compounds (such as
antioxidants, fiber, or fatty acids) considered ben-
itively trendy nowadays, but these healthy ingre- eficial to a person’s health.”
dients have likely been with us for as long as we’ve In truth, though, nutrition experts and scien-
been eating. Take quinoa, the nutritious grain- tific authorities don’t have an official “superfood”
like seed that’s superfood royalty now: it was definition. Most argue that it’s purely a market-
just as prized long ago in South America, where ing term, designed to crown the latest “it” food
the Incans ate it as a sacred daily staple and even or ingredient and make it go viral, fueling rock-
used it in religious offerings. And new superfoods star sales (just look at the growth curve of chia

seem to keep cropping up in our consciousness, seeds, moringa or acai berries in the past few years
from yesterday’s pomegranates and kale to today’s for proof ). Sales data strongly confirm this: be-
maqui berries and oat milk. tween 2011 and 2017, the number of food and bev-
But what exactly is a superfood? erage products flagged as being a superfood on

4 E A T I N G W E L L