For some reason, it feels more and more complicated when it comes to being healthy. First, we have to try this diet, cut out gluten, avoid all sugar, forget those carbohydrates, and start eating these super specific, super healthy, superfoods. However, many people feel as if they’re simply being fed a load of keywords in order to sell various superfood mixes and shakes. Here’s why you don’t need superfoods to be a healthy person.
Cracking the superfood code
Superfoods often come with their own slogans or marketing ploy, but what makes them better than the rest? The trouble with this is that language is power. When we’re told that these foods are excellent anti-oxidants, they help to really bring a range of nutrients to our diet and may have fat-burning properties – we listen. The problem with this is that, while this might be the case, that doesn’t mean that it’s somehow better than having a balanced and healthy diet – minus these so-called ‘superfoods’.
Getting the right balance
You have to break superfoods down to know what they’re really made up of. However, they’re often made up of two general categories: some exotic ingredients such as acai berries or maca root powder and ordinary supermarket foods. However, these exotic-sounding foods aren’t necessarily better than what you can get by eating a decent mixture of vegetables, fish, meat, and so on. What this means is, rather than spending a fortune on getting a super-exotic sounding combination of superfoods – you can get fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables. Put this together with good protein, and you have a similar, if not better, balance in your diet.
It’s all in our minds
If we were to tell you that broccoli is an excellent vegetable for helping with the positive function of your kidneys and liver, and that apples and grapefruit help to clear out toxins, cleanse, and filter out the bad stuff from your blood, it all sounds amazing, right? Well, it’s all true, so why does it feel as if superfoods are somehow better than your regular fresh fruit and vegetables?
No definitive evidence
You’ve probably functioned reasonably well without those exotic additions that create a superfood mixture before you heard of them. This is because you will be able to get everything you need from taking on a balanced diet and researching the food groups for your specific desired outcome. After all, much of the allure of superfoods is the name and terminology – why don’t we start calling fruit and veg super fruit and super veg? There is no definitive evidence that superfoods are any better or more effective than fruit or vegetables, healthy oils, and so on.
Healthy without the superfoods
Many people are perfectly healthy without having to implement a superfood shake and diet into their life. This is because we can get all the nutrients and vitamins we need from taking on a well-balanced diet, taking some time out at the store, and thinking about what we’re having for dinner. Besides, you’re basically eating superfoods, minus the exotic-sounding additions, if you’re eating legumes and vegetables.
Fruit and vegetables have all kinds of healthy qualities, and the success of superfoods could be attributed to the lack of knowledge on what fruit and veg really do for our bodies. Healthy doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to be well-informed.
