The Superfoods They Don't Tell You About

From Health Freak Revolution. Ahhh--good ol' Eddy.

"su·per·food / ˈsoōpərˌfoōd/• n. (not in technical use) a natural food regarded as especially beneficial because of its nutrient profile or its health-protecting qualities.

Superfood isnt real a real term. It’s been invented by food companies to make money out of you. And hell it’s worked. But going by this definition there are some superfoods which are much better than theirs, but they just havn’t got round to telling you yet. Not that you’re going to be over the moon when you find out :) .

“Health-protecting” qualities is a bit woolly. For the general population, health protection come from simply being healthy. Foods don’t protect you, they equip your body, which then does the job. “Nutrient profile” is a stronger idea. Some foods have lots more vitamins and minerals than others. before I tell you about the superfoods you didn’t realise lets look at the nutrient profile of a few common ones. Everything I show below is in 100g quantities for comparison. What’s 100g? It’s a small chicken breast, or a bit less than a can of tuna. All the stats below are from fitday.com

Here’s a few you know about:

When I was the stereotypical health freak, or orthorexic, I lived of some of these. Munching all day every day.

Blueberries

Here’s 100g, they are touted as superfoods all the time. I like these, I wouldn’t tell you to not have them. The anti-oxidants are one of the most attractive properties. But are they really superfoods? From the graph here, how many 100g servings of blueberries do you need to reach 100% of you RDA (not that I believe government RDAs are correct). Blueberries could be an expensive option."

Broccoli

Any better? Again, love it, a lot cheaper too, but supringly the most nutrient dense element is the vitamin C!

Brazil Nuts

OK now were are starting to get into real Superfood terretory 100g of these gives you a big hit of alot of things, occasionally hitting the 100% mark:

So now we get to my list of SUPER foods. I’m not saying I eat all of these all the time, but it’s just about perspective. The ones to think about:

Liver

Beef liver has been named nature's vitamin pill and you can see why. yeah I still haven’t quite enjoyed the taste, but is it worth eating some pate? Or mixing some grated liver into your Chilli Con Carne?

Kidney

Remember just 100g! Look at what you get for your money.

Heart

This one is actually nice! Promise! Stuff them, or slow cook them. Tastes like a rich steak.

Brains

Just to freak you out.

Bone Broth

Easy as making your own gravy. Not quite as awesome as the others, but remember its cooked in alot of water. Below is pork bones.

Fish Roe

Yeah you get the idea now, it’s all the cheaper weird bits, that our society dont eat, but are sacred around the world.

As you can see, animal products can deliver more, quicker. Is it just out distorted tastes which prevent us from enjoying these? Too much salt and sugar in our diets? Tastes can be changed. These bits were the favourites of ancient cultures who had excellent health.

And if you’re about to tell me about too much fat, you need to read around this blog more, and other paleo sites, to discover that fat and cholesterol are not he most dangerous things you could be eating."

All charts in larger detail over at the original link at the top of the page.

This dovetails nicely with a debate I'm having with Mark Sisson on whether or not it's really worth buying and eating the rainbow when you food dollars are limited, and nutrition's paramount. He recommends all kinds of fruits and other colorful foods for their known antioxidants, and I say we can get all that and more with less-colorful foods (as shown here), avoiding the exposure to fructose and other sugars entirely.

My argument with Mark is that nature gave bright colors to animals as warning signs not to eat--bright colors mean toxic (think yellow toads, red/black snakes, etc.). Why doesn't food also follow this natural law?

This article also dovetails nicely with what I said about organ meats and renal failure.

Now you see what brown can do for you! If you really feel you must have vegetation in your diet, look to sprouts to offer cheaper-yet-greater nutrition than mature plants. Brown and green = lean and mean...well, okay, maybe some cauliflower for Omega-3 effect when you're allergic to fish, but white's the ABSENCE of color.

Is anybody else hearing the familiar strains of Primal Toad and his Survival Foods collection right about now?