It seems like there’s a new fad every week in the fitness industry. It’s hard to keep up and gauge which ones are worth your time. However, one trend stuck longer than most – superfoods.
There’s a good reason for its persistence, though. Adding superfoods to your diet can do wonders for your health. You’ll be much more relaxed while checking out health insurance plans, if you have already fixed your diet and maintained a healthy lifestyle. Plus, it doesn’t have to be expensive and entail massive changes in your daily routine.
Today, we’ll remove the mystery from this trend. By doing so and sharing some practical tips, we hope to help you make the most of it.
What Are Superfoods?
A straightforward definition of a superfood would explain it as a nutrient-rich plant or animal product beneficial for people’s health and well-being. Such foodstuffs tend to be exceptionally high in micronutrients, including minerals and vitamins, enzymes, antioxidants, and healthy fats
These macronutrients are crucial. They fuel your body and help you fight chronic disease, nutrient deficiencies, and their consequences. Some of the benefits include improved digestion, immune function, reduce d inflammation, and increased energy levels.
The issue appears when you try to determine which foods fall under this category. The truth is, you’re likely already eating most of them without even knowing it. Some widely-available examples include:
- Berries
- Fish
- Olive oil
- Nuts and seeds
- Leafy greens
- Cruciferous veggies
- Whole grains
- Yogurt
The list is much longer and still incomplete. These examples only show how possible it is to have a superfood-packed diet without too many nutritional adjustments.
The fact that most of these are nature-based ingredients leads to a controversial question. Is CBD oil a super-ingredient, too?
After all, as the experts could explain, it influences your energy levels, stress, and pain tolerance, and even helps control heart disease. We answer that CBD is a superfood if you decide to label it as such, which brings us to our next point.
Superfood vs. Regular Food
Superfoods aren’t a new phenomenon, at least not in their essence. People have been eating yogurt, kale, and seeds for a long time before this trend emerged. The fitness industry merely gave some of those ingredients a new name.
So, while researching this topic, you should remember one crucial thing. Fitness is an industry, and it’ll launch trends for financial gain. While the science behind superfoods holds, it’ll name an item as ‘the next big thing’ to spur profit.
You can navigate this field by learning how particular foods benefit your body and finding those that work for you. In general, it’s fantastic that more people are taking an interest in healthy eating.
If you learn how to ignore inflated statements and see the latest fitness influencer suggestion for what it is, you’ll maximize the benefit. Learn what comprises a healthy, well-balanced diet and introduce superfoods that make you feel good.
Adding Superfoods to Your Diet
Having cleared up the fashionable aspect of superfoods, let’s consider the practical one. You might want to make your diet healthier, but find it challenging to cook full meals using these ingredients. These tricks can help.
Sprinkle It
Many superfoods come in the form of spices or seeds, which are easy to add to what you’re already eating. So, add some chia to a smoothie, ginger powder to lemonade, or flax seeds to your morning bowl of cereal.
Drink Up
Smoothies are all the rage in our fast-paced world, and you can make them extra nutrient-packed by adding a bit of kale or spirulina. Once you toss in your favorite fruit, you won’t even notice the flavor.
If you’re not a fan of smoothies, there’s another alternative. Green, turmeric, and ginger tea are fantastic for your digestion without adding to your daily calorie count. Lemon makes water taste better, and cinnamon does wonders for coffee.
Snack
Most of us snack between meals and some of those bites before dinner could be precisely the nutrient boost you need. Try to have some nuts instead of a cookie. Plus, almonds dipped in dark chocolate taste (almost) as good!
Simple Swaps
You can replace an ingredient you’d typically use with a superfood. Good examples are sweet potatoes instead of mashed for more potassium or greek yogurt and quinoa instead of sour cream and rice for more protein and fiber.
Raw vs. Supplemented
Some people’s lives are too hectic to consider all their micronutrient needs. In such cases, approved superfood supplements can be a fantastic solution to make you feel better and more energized, although you should still start making steps towards healthier nutrition.
Remember that supplements aren’t the same nutrient-wise as real foods. Plus, you have to consider possible medical interactions in this case.
Always go for a supplement recommended by the FDA, ideally, one that’s also third-party tested. Check with your doctor and do independent research instead of trusting what the box says.
In a Nutshell
If there’s one thing we want you to remember, it’s that superfood is just glorified food. The public attention it receives is a fantastic way for more people to consider what they eat, but it’s not an obligation to follow religiously.
First, identify what the superfoods are, start replacing other ingredients with these and then decide whether you stick with the raw ones or consider supplements. With that as a foundation, adding superfoods can only do you good.
