Why Superfoods Aren’t Always What You Think

Superfood’s are a trendy category of foods that if overly relied on for health support, can potentially fall short in those who hope otherwise. From poor quality issues, to questionable sourcing and purity, superfoods can often offer more harm than good.

Superfoods often come in the form of a powder, which is commonly just the dried and ground version of the original super plant or food. If not properly prepared or handled, superfoods are not only ill absorbed, its weak preparation does not provide close to the health benefit that one may think. It’s critical to understand that real whole foods (such as blueberries, salmon, yogurt, green vegetables, oatmeal amongst many others) are truly the real superfoods we should all be eating. Less time should be focused on ‘supplemental’ superfoods, and more time on real foods that create consistent, long term health benefits.

Superfoods are a category of wellness nutrients and powders that have taken the limelight in health as providing the highest level of nutritional benefit compared to any other foods in the world. Common superfoods consist of globally sourced powders such as acai, maca, spirulina, moringa and many others. For most people, misinformation about superfoods and their boasted benefits preemptively tempt many to supplement with these in place of creating and maintaining a consistently healthy diet. Not only this, but when it comes to a balanced diet, the actual benefits of superfoods are also continually coming into question.

Superfoods are often sourced from around the world. Due to poor growing standards, transport, and preparation, many of these ‘superfoods’ have the potential to bring forward weak benefits at best, and the possibility of impurity and false hope for peoples’ health. This is why if considering adding a superfood to your diet, it’s absolutely critical to do your homework and confirm such things as source, handling, preparation and strength.

There is a movement in the superfood industry that touts consuming superfoods as a reliable source to support and heal all in the realm of preventive health and disease. Science can easily confirm that although superfoods can offer benefit, solely relying on it to cure disease or support your overall health is mostly theoretical at best. What we know here at Cornerstone is that the best approach to optimal health and fighting disease is a whole food approach instead. So although the next found superfood may promise to ‘do it all’, the most confident and consistent path to better health is to eat sensibly, consume a variety of healthy foods, and at best, rely on a single supplemental superfood only once in a while. Confused about where to start or where to go next when it comes to a healthy diet? We’ve got you covered here at Cornerstone and can easily help you get or stay on track.