Nowadays, it’s like there’s a new superfood craze that pops up every couple months. Consumers then go out and spend millions upon millions of dollars on that new craze, thinking that it will improve their health instantly. Truth is, it won’t and you’re most likely wasting your money.
Superfoods are actually not required to have any definitive benefit for anybody. I can sell a case of apples and call them “superfood apples”, but I would really hope people don’t actually buy them. The term “superfood” is typically thrown on a food with newly discovered health benefits.
I don’t have all day to go over the food crazes of the past decade, but here a few you must have heard of.
Wheatgrass Shots
After a short amount of research, you probably will be overwhelmed with the amount of benefits that wheatgrass juice can have for you. Dense in vitamins and minerals, detoxifies the blood, and even gives you “life-force energy”. What the hell is “life-force energy”? Will it give me Jedi powers?
Truth is that there is barely any research done on the use of wheatgrass in human trials, and the majority of the ones that were done are only in the very preliminary stage. Definitely not something that can be relied on as the end-all-be-all cure that people think it is. We’re not even entirely sure whether or not humans are even able to fully digest wheatgrass.
So if you’ve been drinking a wheatgrass shot every time you hit up the smoothie bar, maybe next time just try to have a smoothie dense in green, leafy vegetables.
Açaí
I have a little more faith in Açaí than I do with wheatgrass. It has many similar benefits that are boasted with wheatgrass, but as a berry, it is definitely more accessible for our bodies than grass is. Very nutrient dense, loaded with antioxidants, and may potentially boost various body functions.
But again, there is not a great amount of research that yet backs the claims of Açaí improving various body functions. If you decide that an Açaí bowl is for you, then by all means go ahead, I would say that it’s a safe “superfood” for you to be spending your dollars on, but watch out for any added ingredients such as sugar. All it takes is a couple grams to turn your superfood to superbad.
So what?
If you’re someone that believes that superfoods can have a tremendous impact on your life, step back for a second and evaluate, “is your current diet in a place where superfoods would benefit you”? If you regularly consume high quantities of sugar and processed food, or lack a healthy balance of nutrient dense vegetables in your diet, you would be better off starting there rather than spending 7 bucks on a tiny shot that claims to almost give you superpowers.
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