I have been pondering a couple of thoughts this week and haven’t yet come up with an answer…any thoughts / ideas etc. gratefully received.
The first notion meandering about my brain is that of superfoods. I had just #superfood for one of my instagram postings and it got me thinking. The hashtag was for kale – the latest superfood. When does a food become a superfood? Who decides? What is the criteria. If I think about kale – I used to eat it all the time when I was little. Then, it wasn’t a superfood – just another vegetable on the plate eaten in the same way as Savoy cabbage. As far as I am aware it hasn’t been genetically modified in any way so why the relabelling? The same with avocados. In the 80’s trendy ‘hippie’ types, as my elderly aunt would call people who ate anything that wasn’t meat and two veg, ate the new fruit – avocado. I distinctly remember putting the ‘pear’ in a fruit salad and being deeply disappointed. I also remember the trend of suspending the stone in some water and growing an avocado plant – I grew several. It then went out of fashion for being too calorific. and full of fat as the low-fat diets swept the country. Now of course we know that the fat within this food is good for us. I adore avocado and eat/ drink it daily.
The other thought entwining my grey matter is that of recommended daily intake – food agencies determine using scientific evidence the recommended daily intake of various food stuffs. What I don’t understand is that the daily recommendations vary for different countries…but we are all people just living in different places. The UK recommends at least 5 portions of fruit/veg a day whereas the Australian Government guidelines are 5 portions of vegetables / legumes a day and no more than 2 portions of fruit. It’s different again in Japan – 5-6 portions of vegetable dishes and only 2 portions of fruit.
How can we mere mortals hope to keep up if the facts are always changing?
Jo's food bites. 
Superfood was invented for advertising purposes, used to lure people to buy a product under the pretense that consuming it will instantly enhance their health. Most foods considered “superfoods” are nutrient dense and help various systems in your body.
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Thank you ☺
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Superfoods are just another way for people to cram daily important healthy living and diets into one quick bullet fix so they can feel good about themeselves and avoid growing and carefully preparing their own fresh food and strenuous exercise, or just taking time out. So they can get back to their speed of light existence or intoxicants. Nothing on this planet gives you more health benefits than regular daily Exercise and Mindfulness, both of which are covered with gardening. My Granny lived to be 96 and was happy and healthy until her last few days she had never heard of a super food! You can pack all the antioxidants, polyphenols, catechins, and vitamins in, but if you’re not Mindful you will eventually have a nasty accident, choke or go insane. I hope this helps you put things into perspective. Kind regards 😊.
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A Mindfulness approach to life is one I try to follow. Thank you for your thoughts.😊
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Your welcome.
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