Originally published February 8 2006
Superfoods are a great boost for people looking to improve their nutrition
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The San Francisco Chronicle features an article on 10 superfoods, including walnuts, spinach, avocados and dark chocolate.
This year's version of New Year's salvation lies in the concept of "superfoods" -- the current darlings of healthy-eating bestsellerdom.
It's eating lots of blueberries and avocado, spinach and, yes, dark chocolate, although not necessarily on the same plate.
The premise is that certain foods are nutritional powerhouses, and should be piled into grocery carts and lunch boxes.
Current superstars are tea and dark chocolate, both brimming with antioxidants.
Avocado's monounsaturated fats are healthier than, say, the saturated fats in butter.
It's called nutrition, a concept dietitians have been trying to sell for years.
The sulfurous brassicas do contain lots of vitamin C and some other useful phytonutrients, and they're very good for you.
Pratt, and co-writer Kathy Matthews, have probably done the most to popularize the concept.
Pratt noticed the connection between good nutrition and health when patients suffering age-related macular degeneration improved when they started eating more nutritious foods.
The thing to remember, as both Pratt and nutritionists like the Bay Area's Jo Ann Hattner emphasize, is that superfoods are really just a way to think about adding whole foods to your diet.
One ounce of dark chocolate may be good for you, but more is not merrier -- at least nutritionally.
Chocolate -- and likewise olive oil -- has so many calories, you really should eat only a little at a time.
The other thing is, the superfoods list means people are likely to be eating lots of blueberries while ignoring all their berry friends, like raspberries and boysenberries, as well as other red fruits like cherries.
"You don't want to eat just blueberries because you may miss out on other nutrients in other fruits that you need as well," Hattner says.
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