Food safety matters

I'm excited that more people garden and farm at home and community gardens. It's fulling to grow and harvest at least some of the food you eat. Whether you buy food at a large supermarket, a food coop, a farmers' market, or grow it in your backyard, the principles of food safety still apply.  Food safety matters from the farm, garden, or backyard to the table. It is a responsibility we all share to keep ourselves, families, friends and neighbors healthy and fed.

Organic farmers fertilize with manure instead of chemicals. Eating organic reduces your exposure to chemicals like pesticides. That's great, but it is not without risk. There are microorganisms in fertilizer that can cause foodborne illnesses if foods are not handled properly (check out FightBac! for more info on food safety).

Chickens raised in your backyard are free-range, you know what they eat (as much as you can), and are involved in caring for them. However, chickens carry and transmit microorganisms. Chickens raised in backyards and on small farms carry microorganisms on their feet, in their bodies, and on the egg shells and in the eggs.

The following article was published in Poultry Times. It describes a research study done by agricultural scientists at Penn State to find out if backyard chicken eggs and small farm chicken eggs test positive for  Salmonella (the type associated with foodborne illnesses) more often, less often, or as often as chickens from large farms. The result might surprise you.

Eggs from small flocks more likely to contain Salmonella enteritidis - Poultry Today

Food Insecurity on College Campuses

As of 2015, 13.5% of households in the United States were food insecure (Feeding America). That means people in these households people experienced a period of time (or many times) when they were unsure about where or how they were going to get food. This is an unacceptable problem. We have plenty of food in the United States, but as a society we would rather throw away food than equitably distribute it. 

Here are some U.S. food waste estimates from Feeding America - Food Waste Statistics

•  25-40% of the food that is grown and processed goes on to be wasted food 
• About 70 billion of pounds of food are wasted each year

Food insecurity doesn't discriminate

Food insecurity affects people of all ages and all stages of life.  Many college students experience food insecurity. This has been a problem for as long as I can remember. I was lucky because I always had enough money for rent, tuition and books. I was a full time student and I always worked part-time. I had enough for food until it came close to payday . When money was tight, I hunted for returnable cans and bottles, hauled them to Econo Foods and exchanged them for money. Again, I was lucky because I was in Michigan where you get you $0.10 per returnable item. I could gather enough to buy groceries, toilet paper, and a pitcher of very cheap beer (before I knew I had celiac disease). I bought inexpensive, energy dense and nutrient poor food because it cost less. I know many people who didn't eat sometimes because they had choose between rent and food. We took care of one another the best that we could but food insecurity was not something that was ever officially discussed. Everyone I knew lived this way. It seemed normal. Some of my friends occasionally received food packets from St. Vincent De Paul to help fill their food gap. Looking back, they were they were the smart ones. 

Food insecurity on college campuses

College students lack access to affordable, nutritious food. They face even higher tuition rates. Rent and utility costs continue to go up but wages don't rise proportionately. The financial burden and stress college students face grows.  I don't know for sure, but I suspect food insecurity impacts more college students now than ever before.  Yet we continue to rationalize student poverty, food insecurity and hunger, as part of the "normal" college experience. 

A recent survey of >3,700 students at universities and community colleges in 12 states revealed that nearly half of the students didn't have reliable access to nutritious, affordable food during the last 30 days. Here is a link to an article that describes the research study: 1 in 4 College Students Are Hungry

Food insecurity and hunger are not normal. It is unacceptable and we can do better for our students and our society.

Food pantries on college campuses

Today's college students have seen the problem and taken action. Over the last several years, students have opened food pantries on their college campuses. Student operated food pantries provide outreach and support to their food insecure peers. 

The College and University Food Bank Alliance is an organization that brings colleges and universities together as they work to establish and run food pantries on college campuses. As of October 16, 2016, 367 colleges and universities are a part of this alliance. It's an impressive organization. It also reminds me how much work we have to do to just be better at helping one another.

If you would like to learn more about hunger in the United States or would like to donate in some way, check out 

Feeding America (About Us)

Proteins and amino acids

Protein complementation is real - it isn't a myth. It recently came to my attention that there are websites that talk about the "myth" of protein complementation so I want to clarify some basic nutrition facts about amino acids, proteins, what protein complementation is and when it may be important to consider incorporating it as part of an eating plan.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins

• Different combinations of 20 amino acids make all of the proteins in the body. 
• Some amino acids can be made in the body but others have to be consumed from food (protein sources of food). The ones you need to eat are called essential amino acids. 
• Your body cannot make new proteins without enough of each of the 9 essential amino acids. You get the 9 essential amino acids from the foods you eat and from the natural process of breaking down proteins in your body and reusing the amino acids from the broken-down proteins. It is important to regularly bring new essential amino acids into your body so that there are always enough available to meet your needs. 
• Non-essential amino acids are made in the body. There are 11 non-essential amino acids. 

Protein quality

Animal proteins are considered "complete" and "high quality." This does not mean that animal sources of protein are better or superior to plant proteins. They are called "complete" because animal proteins provide all 9 essential amino acids in the right amount for the human body to use in making its own proteins. They are considered "high quality" because they are easy to digest sources of protein. Keep in mind that animal proteins also contain saturated fat and cholesterol - things that we want to limit in the diet to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, high blood pressure, etc. We don't need to complement animal proteins because all of the essential amino acids are adequately represented. We also do not need very much animal protein to meet our dietary needs.

Plant proteins are limited ("short") in one or more of the essential amino acids relative to the amount that the human body needs in order to make proteins. Plant proteins are a little more complicated for the body to break down and use so it takes a little more dietary plant food in the diet to meet essential amino acid needs. Plant proteins are limited in at least one essential amino acid and are a little more difficult to digest and are are considered "incomplete" and "low quality." Don't be mislead by the terms "low quality" and "incomplete" - plant proteins are a very healthy and sustainable source of protein. Furthermore, soy and quinoa are complete proteins and soy is also considered a high quality protein because it is easier to digest.

Protein complementation

Protein complementation is a way of combining proteins that are limited in different essential amino acids together so that you get a complete set of essential amino acids. For example, rice is limited in lysine but has lots of methionine and cysteine. Beans are limited in methionine and cysteine but have lots of lysine. When you have beans and rice, you provide your body with a complete set of essential amino acids.

By rusvaplauke [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Protein complementation can happen throughout any 24 hour time frame - it is not limited to a single meal. The body is always breaking down proteins and releasing amino acids into the blood so that the amino acids can be re-used to build new proteins.

Plant proteins are excellent sources of protein and eating a variety of plant-foods each day is the easiest and best way to make sure a vegetarian (or anyone) gets their essential amino acids. Vegetarians who eat a variety of plant-based foods easily meet their protein needs. A diet that contains whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and soy is going to provide all the essential amino acids.

Who may benefit from protein complementation?

• People new to vegetarianism
• Anyone looking for new ways to plan meals and limit animal proteins in their diets

If a vegan doesn't eat a variety of plant foods for an extended period of time, she may encounter some challenges that inhibit her ability to make body proteins. One day (or even a week) of not eating well on a vegan plan is unlikely to cause many problems. Somebody with chronically poor eating habits or who is new to a vegan diet may benefit from focusing on protein complementation to make sure that they know how to make healthy and varied protein choices. Over time, it hopefully becomes second nature. 

Final thoughts

It seems as if almost everyone (and their acai berry bush) posts videos, podcasts and blogs passionately promoting positions, gimmicks, how-tos, products, or top-ten lists about nutrition. As a society, we open our arms and warmly embrace anyone who wants to climb the virtual pulpit and preach about nutrition. We accept it when someone (anyone) tells us that everything you've ever known about nutrition was an outright lie. Whatever they feed us, we gobble it up. Qualifications be damned because pesky issues like facts, research and evidence-based knowledge and relevant credentials don't apply when it comes to spreading nutrition knowledge across society.

Protein complementation isn't a myth. It isn't bullshit. Protein complementation is a way to develop healthy eating habits and plan meals, especially for someone new to vegetarianism or looking for ways to include more plant-based foods in their eating plan. A plant-based diet is a very healthy approach to eating. Plant-based proteins are low in saturated fat, cholesterol, and provides lots of vitamins, minerals, fiber. A vegetarian, particularly a vegan - a person who does not eat any animal-based foods at all - who eats a variety of foods, will easily meet her protein needs and get all of her essential amino acids.

According to common sense, avoiding nutrition headlines is a healthier nutrition choice

"News" reporters and gods of pop culture slather our minds with misinformed and misleading information like it was Bitchin' Sauce* on a cracker. Journalists and freelance writers create copy by copying the copy put out by institutions with vested interests in the success of the buzz. Nutrition news writers usually don't even read the scientific paper that the press release was about let alone investigate how the results fit into the larger body of scientific nutrition research.

Research is slow, expensive, and yields far more negative and uninteresting results than interesting ones. It is hard to publish results that prove a null hypothesis - results that find the treatment or intervention group ended up essentially the same as the control group and therefore had no effect. Research dollars are limited and funding agencies tend to give more money to potentially new and novel projects rather than ones that replicate experiments already done by other groups. However, science is not a one-and-done process and repeating research is an important part of the scientific method. We tend to skip that step these days.

Public relations departments, tasked with increasing funds and awareness of their institution's accomplishments, push out press releases. Unfortunately, PR writers sometimes (often) overstate and misrepresent results the research team may have accurately and responsibly reported in the actual scientific paper. PR departments do this to excite and encourage donors to give money. Nutrition "news" writers retool the press release and spit it back out. Consumers gobble up "news" with an endless capacity to suspend disbelief and common sense whenever there is promise for a little magic.

Do You Believe in Magic (song and video, YouTube)

It is time for us to demand responsible, proportionate and relevant nutrition science news coverage. I love nutrition science, but nutrition news is rarely worthy of being called "breaking news." The exception usually involves food poisoning / food borne illnesses outbreaks.

John Oliver took on the problem of how science is reported in a Last Week Tonight segment that aired on May 8, 2016.  If you have not seen the video yet, here it is:

*Bitchin' Sauce is really good and aptly named.

Food Labels & Microwaveable Popcorn

I’m angry about the razzle-dazzle practice of using irrelevant serving size information on Nutrition Facts panels. Specifically, I’m pissed off about the way the way some big manufacturers choose to label microwave popcorn. They market products in the best possible “lite” regardless of whether it misrepresents a product. The disingenuous practice of using deceitful yet legal labeling and marketing approaches needs to stop.

About Nutrition Facts Panels

A Nutrition Facts panel cannot empower consumers to make informed and healthful dietary choices if it contains obsolete information. It’s time to make serving size information consistent across similar types of products and realistic for today. The Food and Drug Administration recognizes the need for clearer information on food labels and reports that change is underway, according to their website. You can read more about the proposed food label changes at the FDA’s website FDA for consumers - Update - Proposed Changes.

In the late 1970s and the late 1980s surveys were conducted by the U.S. government to determine typical portion sizes consumed by Americans. The data from those surveys were used to establish guidelines for serving sizes on our food labels. 

• Serving size refers to the amount used to report the nutrition content of a product. It isn’t a recommendation about how much to eat.
• Portion size refers to how much you actually consume. Your portion size may or may not match-up with the serving size on a product.

It's now 2015 and we still rely on survey data from the 1970s and 1980s. Our portion sizes are larger and this discrepancy makes our serving sizes outdated. We often consume more of a product than is indicated by the serving size. When the serving size is disconnected from your portion size (what you actually consumed) it becomes harder to make sense of your diet and keep track of your overall calorie intake. Losing track of extra calories that you may consume through bigger portion sizes often contributes to weight gain.

I would like manufacturers to step-up and make changes now, even before new recommendations or guidelines are in place. As the FDA works towards making changes to help create labels that are more transparent and easier to identify with, I hope we will see more Nutrition Facts panels that do what they should to help people make informed choices.

Popcorn

Popcorn is a whole grain, high fiber, low calorie snack food. It is a healthy snack food when it is eaten in moderation and prepared with little or no salt and little or no fat. I like to flavor plain popcorn with seasonings instead of salt – garlic and pepper are my favorites – and replace butter with a small amount of oil like olive oil (a monounsaturated fat) or flaxseed oil (a polyunsaturated fat).

I used to make popcorn on the stove-top because we didn’t have a microwave. Our microwave went up in flames back in 2006 when I tried to use it to steam our first ever homegrown beet. Not my best moment but the cinder block duplex still stands even if the microwave doesn’t. I always make too much popcorn when I cook it on the stove-top and end up stuck with chewy leftovers for days. We have a microwave now and I'm rediscovering microwavable popcorn. I really like it. I like the smell, the flavor, and the crunch of freshly microwaved popcorn. I also enjoy reaching into the bag and pulling out little fluffs of popped corn. I can easily overindulge with it, so mini-bags work well for me. They are packaged as a single-serving item.

Are you kidding me with that serving size?

When I buy mini-bags of popcorn, I expect to eat an entire bag. Prior to this week, I also expected that all of the nutrition information on a mini-bag would reflect a serving size of 1 mini-bag. I was wrong. each manufacturer has flexibility to determine the serving size to use for Nutrition Facts panel of their popped corn. 

Mini-bags from generic brand.
Nutrition Facts panel reports information based on 1 serving -
the contents of an entire mini-bag.

Some products, like the generic brand Essential Everyday, report the nutrition information about 1 mini-bag of popped corn. I understand this because it relates directly to what people are likely to eat. It is, after all, a single serving product.

Essential Everyday
Nutrition Facts Panel

Other manufacturers are sneaky about how they report their nutrition information on the Nutrition Facts panel. For example, all of the Orville Redenbacher’s products I looked at use a serving size of 1 cup of popped popcorn for the Nutrition Facts panel. Who today (or ever) eats 1 cup of popcorn?  

Mini-bag of lime and salt popcorn.
The contents of the popped bag were emptied into the bowl (left). 
One cup of popped corn (25 total calories and 10 calories of fat) are depicted in the measuring cup. The mini-bag of lime and salt flavored Skinnygirl popcorn yields about 6 cups of popped corn. The 25 total calories with 10 calories from fat in 1 serving equates to about 150 calories with 60 calories from in real-life 1 mini-bag.

The Skinnygirl lime and salt mini-bag microwave popcorn is a member of the Orville Redenbacher's family. According to the package, a box of 10 single-serving mini-bags, a mini-bag will yield about 6 cups of popcorn when it is fully cooked. 

The Nutrition Facts panel for the popped corn is based on a serving size of 1 cup. 

Skinnygirl lime and salt
Nutrition Facts panel
Black on red (I find this hard to read)

Why? Why use a 1 cup serving size when you know that a single serving mini-bag is most likely going to be eaten by 1 person during the course of a single snack time? 
Isn't that the purpose of the product?

I think there are 2 reasons why

1. Using 1 cup as the serving size allows the company to say that a single serving provides only 25 total calories and 10 fat calories even though an entire mini-bag, the amount a person is anticipated to consume, provides about 150 total calories and about 60 fat calories. Orville Redenbacher's and Skinnygirl are manipulating consumers by assuming people will stop reading when they reach "25 calories" and "Skinnygirl." It's not a bad product, but many people will get more calories than they expect when they eat this product because of deceitful labeling. Unacceptable.
2. I looked at 3 different Orville Redenbacher’s products (Skinnygirl, Naturals, and Smartpop!) and they all reported nutrition information with the same serving size - 1 cup of popped corn. I assume that this practice encourages consumers to readily compare products within the Orville Redenbacher's family. The serving size is unrealistic and irrelevant to what people eat. Unacceptable. 

Popcorn, Snacks & Food Labels

When I seek out a snack, I decide what I want to eat based on my hunger, appetite, mood, and other food and calorie choices that day. When I choose popcorn, it is not because of the brand. It is because I want a snack that offers whole grain, fiber, maybe something familiar. I pick popcorn because it is a snack food I enjoy for about 100-120 calories. A mini-bag of popped corn can be a great snack that sometimes checks off all of my boxes.

I want simple, easy, and straightforward snacks. When I select a food in a single-serving package, I reasonably expect the nutrition information to directly reflect what I eat. I'm irritated if I have to convert the information on the Nutrition Facts panel of a single-serving product into practical information that I can use. After that kind of effort, the manufacturer should pay me to eat their product. 

Final Thoughts

Food labels are useful when they provide practical information. The FDA is moving towards change, but it will take time. As a consumer, you can question food companies when you see serving sizes that don't make sense. Hanging on to old, and usually smaller, serving sizes often makes products look better than they actually are based on realistic serving sizes.

Have you found any misleading or confusing food labels with serving sizes that are out of touch with reality? If you have, email me an image of it along the name of the product (you can email me at nutritiontuesdays@gmail.com). I will check it out and post it at www.mardiparelman.com. 

Alzheimer's Disease Sucks

I pluck topics for Nutrition Tuesday from news headlines and conversations with friends and family. This week I’m pulling my topic straight from the noise scrolling through the headlines in my mind.

• Mother with Alzheimer’s disease recognizes daughter but daughter no longer recognizes her mother
• Woman’s body outlives brain and finances
• After spending 2 years “near the top” of a resident care waiting list for financially pre-qualified individuals, she is offered a room and then promptly disqualified due to lack of funds
• Alzheimer’s disease sucks

For those of you who know me or who have read my other posts about Alzheimer’s disease (Alzheimer's Disease and Vitamin D, Alzheimer's Disease and the MIND Diet), you know that I have a family history on both sides of my tree and that my mom currently has the disease.  Right now, I’m in Kansas City for a short visit. I came in town to spend a little time with my family and to help my sister – her primary care provider and coordinator - decide how our mom’s care progresses to the next step. It is hard and all-consuming. I don’t know how my sister does it - how she balances her own family, cares for our mom, and works. She is amazing and I am thankful and grateful for all she does. I’m not sure I could do it.

This week, all I can think about is Alzheimer’s disease. I have not done any nutrition research or read any articles. This week I’m not writing from the point of view of a professional. I’m writing as a daughter of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.

My parents - June 2005.
Las Vegas, Nevada

Stuff that makes me sad and frustrated

 Health care in the United States. In this country, there is outstanding healthcare, if you can afford it. Our system is privatized and expensive. I don’t think we have anything in place to deal with the growing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease and living longer lives with Alzheimer’s disease. Appropriate levels of healthcare for those with Alzheimer’s disease are available to those who have money. Lots and lots and lots of money. If you have good insurance and your net worth is enough, you can get home health or into a resident care facility and have decent care. If you have access to a lot of money, you can afford properly licensed, insured, and bonded home health care. The gap between those that have lots of money and everyone else continues to grow. Most of us cannot afford proper care for long, if at all. What are we supposed to do? As I write this, I know that my family is luckier than countless others and our resources are woefully limited for the type of long term care my mom likely needs. 

My mom - spring or summer of 2014
Kansas City

Waiting lists. My mom is on an interminable waiting list for our top choice of care facilities. She’s “near the top” of the list. Unfortunately for us, there are 2 other lists that have priority before they get to her list. In other words, if anyone on the 1^st list wants a room, they automatically get the first room available. Then, they work their way down the next list – a list of people who previously were on the list we are on but were not ready to take a room. So, they said call me back later and see if I’m ready for assisted living then. These are the people that knew in advance about the length of these waiting lists. They planned farther ahead. These people get second priority. Then, if the room is still available, the list my mom is on gets called. 

Privatization of healthcare / health insurance. We have our top choice facility because they are unique – not only is the quality of care very good but if/when my mom’s resources and insurance run out she will not be asked to leave because she is on Medicaid. Not all facilities, especially facilities with reputations like this one, will keep people after insurance and personal resources run out.

Lack of right-to-die rights. I believe in death with dignity and the right to die. I think every state in the U.S. should allow people to create living wills stating what quality of life is tolerable and intolerable for them when dealing with a terminal illness. Alzheimer’s disease is a terminal illness. One person’s personal end point may be when she cannot wake up in the morning and state her name, birthday, and address. Another’s may be when he requires 24-hour care. Another’s may be when she advances to a certain stage of the disease. Everyone is different and should have the right to choose or not to choose. According to an April 2015 article in USA Today, 5 states – Oregon, Washington, Montana, New Mexico, and Vermont – have enacted right-to-die legislation. USA Today, April, 2015: Death with dignity

Alzheimer’s disease. It sucks.

 

My mom just after a nap - August 2015
Kansas City

It’s a balancing act

My sister and I are faced with a balancing act because our mom’s directive is to stay in her home for as long as possible. She set things up in advance and so we know what she wants. Now, as her daughters and caregivers (the main role falling entirely on my sister), we have to execute the plan and balance her directives with reality. We must figure out how to honor that while keeping her safe and financially viable so we can ultimately get her into a facility while she can afford it. It’s tricky because she might very well live a very long time with this disease -  as far as we know, our mom is otherwise very healthy and is not that old. Still, she has always been vocal about never wanting go to a resident care facility. It is sad and scary to witness her personality change and her times of vacantness. I have no idea what it is like for her to experience it. We are concerned that being in a resident care facility will be the death of her. As we balance safety, financial reality, nature of the disease, and who she is and what she wants for herself, I have to wonder if she would care if such a move were the death of her considering what life is like now. 

Final thoughts

It is important to create care directives and I am so thankful that my mom did. As my mom’s needs change, we add new layers of care for her. We continue to wait to see if she makes the cut for our top choice of care facilities and we add to her home companion care team. My mom cannot afford $36 to $45/hour home health care, so we (by we, I mean my sister) luckily connected with some trustworthy and caring companion care providers. My mom doesn’t need nursing care at this time, so companion care is the appropriate care level for her. I cannot imagine how scary, confusing, and frustrating it must be for my mom as new people come into and out of her home as they do, but she takes it in stride. The loss of freedom, control, and power is hard for her, but she doesn’t complain about it. For the most part, she’s responded well to the care team.

Some articles about advanced care directives and right-to die issues

• Deathwithdignity.org, April 16, 2013: Alzheimer's disease and dementia mental health advance directive
• health.ny.gov: Advanced Care Planning
• PBS.org - Frontline: Suicide plan - the evolution of Americas right-to-die movement
• University of Minnesota: Life-ending decisions for Alzheimer's patients

Superfood is my least favorite word.

The dental hygienist navigated her way through our conversation about health and nutrition as artfully as she poked and probed my splayed open mouth. Apparently fluent in a special version of English that doesn’t involve the tongue and lips, she understood everything I said in response to her questions. She learned that I was a former nutrition research scientist and current health coach, nutrition consultant, educator, and freelance writer. We talked about vaccinations and public health, the rising cost of college education, and nutrition. All with my mouth stretched open and my head closer to the ground than my feet.

Then it happened. The nice healthcare professional armed with a sharp dental tool aimed at my gums took the conversation to a new direction. It was like she’d said Lord Voldemort’s name out loud. She said the “s” word – she asked about “superfoods.” I paused. I needed to process her question and engage my mental filter. Her question was legit, after all, and I’m a professional. I reminded myself that she doesn’t know that “superfoods” is literally my least favorite word.

Definition of “superfood”

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) doesn’t provide a definition for “superfoods.” Neither does the medical community. There are, however, some publicly minded medical-media professionals that promote superfoods, such as Dr. Oz. Most nutrition scientists and professionals don’t recognize or use the term “superfoods.”

Government agencies and most medical and scientific professionals don’t recognize “superfoods” because research doesn’t support it There isn’t research to support that consuming one specific isolated food, nutrient, phytochemical, or microorganism will itself have a significant impact on your health. Research suggests that eating a balanced and varied diet along with a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activity and adequate sleep will promote health and help reduce your risk of chronic disease.

When it comes to nutrition, we’re still developing our instruction manual. Scientists are learning more about how whole foods as well as nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, proteins), phytochemicals (plant chemicals), and microorganisms impact the body. It’s exciting. With new information comes new opportunities, and new chances to make money and exploit consumers.

Resources:

• European Food Information Council (11/2012): The science behind superfoods
• Kraft Food Services, Healthy Living: Add the superpower of superfoods to your menu)
• Medine.net: Definition of Superfoods
• Wikipedia: Superfood
• Oxford Dictionaries: American-English definition of superfood
• Cancer Research UK: Food controversies - Superfoods

What makes a food a “superfood”

There is no formal or agreed upon definition of “superfoods.” We also lack standards and official guidelines about what makes a food “super.”  “Superfoods” were invented – created, promoted, and popularized by the media. Labeling a food a “superfood” increases its marketability. Writing and talking about superfoods increases your audience. 

Generally, “superfoods” provide some sort of bang for the buck. For example, “superfoods” may contain

• a lot of antioxidants; 
• a lot of nutrients per calorie;
• lots of fiber
• a lot of omega-3 fats.

Common types of “superfoods” are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats (omega-3 fats). Examples include blueberries, strawberries, oats, avocados, and salmon. 

"Blueberries on branch" by Jim Clark - [1]. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blueberries_on_branch.jpg#/media/File:Blueberries_on_branch.jpg

Resources:

• European Food Information Council (11/2012): The science behind superfoods
• Cancer Research UK: Food controversies - Superfoods

“Superfoods” online

If you’re exhausted and confused after slogging through the quagmire of lists, articles, videos and advertisements promoting “superfoods,’ you’re not alone. On July 15, 2015, I searched “superfoods” and was overwhelmed by 9,550,000 hits. Here are some examples of what I found (I don’t endorse any of these links):

• KPTV story: Bacon of the sea - university creates superfood seaweed that tastes like bacon
• Health.com: Superfoods you need now
• Real Simple: 11 superfoods you should know about
• Woman's Day: Eat health America - 52 superfoods
• Greatlist: Awesome recipes to incorporate superfoods daily
• Rhythm Superfoods: Snacks (they seem to sell chips)
• Dr. Lipman: The top 9 superfoods
• Joy Bauer: The top 10 superfoods
• Natures Path: Seller of superfood cereal as well as other products
• Superfoods for Superhealth: Top 10 superfoods

If the "superfood” label encourages you to eat more fruits and vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains, that’s great. But be savvy about it. Think twice about foods and products you’ve never heard of before. Ask yourself questions like

•  Is this product safe to consume? Some sites of interest:
• The Mayo Clinic - www.mayoclinic.org
• The Office of Dietary Supplements - https://ods.od.nih.gov/
• The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State - http://lpi.oregonstate.edu

• Why have I never heard of this food or product before? 
• Does this information make sense or does it seem too good to be true? Remember, no one food or food component will itself cure or prevent disease.
• Is this a sustainable choice? Is it grown locally, regionally, within the country you live or is it shipped from a far-off location? Does enough of it exist for lots of people to start eating or taking it? If not, can this last?
• What evidence (research) exists to support claims about this being a “superfood?”  

Be a critic and draw your own conclusions – whatever they may be.

Final thoughts

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and low-fat dairy are healthy foods that health professionals encouraged people to eat long before there were "superfoods." I think we ended up with “superfoods” because as technology improved, scientists started learning more about how whole foods, as well as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and microorganisms affect the body at the cellular and genetic level. This has been a boon from a marketing prospective. It’s lead to research and development of other foods and products. And it influences consumer spending.

From an article published by the European Food Information Council: “The science behind superfoods: are they really super?” (European Food Information Council (11/2012): The science behind superfoods) -

“When it comes to ensuring a balanced nutrient intake for good health, we need to increase the range of nutritious foods in our diets rather than focusing solely on a handful of foods claimed to be ‘super’. Importantly, this should include a greater quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables. Many European countries provide food-based dietary guidelines to help people reach this goal.”