“Superfood” is a term coined to define foods rich in phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are certain organic components of plants, thought to promote human health. Fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts and teas are rich sources of phytonutrients.
Common phytonutrients include carotenoids, coumarins, flavonoids, indoles, lignans, isoflavones (including genistein and daidzen) organosulfurs and phytosterols.
Phytonutrients are usually related to the color of fruits and vegetables — green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white. Because of this natural color coding of nutrients, dieticians recommend the rainbow diet—eating fruits and vegetables of varied color each day.
Evidence that eating a variety of fruits and vegetables protects human health is accumulating from large population studies, human feeding studies, and cell culture studies. As research expands, more conclusive results are awaited. “For now”, the USDA Agriculture Research Center states, “it appears that an effective strategy for reducing risk of cancer and heart disease is to increase consumption of phytonutrient-rich foods including fruits, vegetables, grains and teas.”
Foods rich in
phytonutrients are:
- red, green, yellow and orange vegetables (apricots, peaches, melons, squashes, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, pumpkin)
- cruciferous veggies (kale, broccoli)
- dark leafy greens (spinach and romaine)
- fruits (citrus and berries)
- flaxseeds
- whole grains and legumes
- garlic and leeks
- soybeans
- green teas and other herbal teas
The National Cancer Institute recommends eating at least 5 – 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. On average, Americans consume 3.3 servings of vegetables a day. Dark green vegetables and deep yellow vegetables each represent only 0.2 daily servings. About 48% of Americans consume less than one serving of fruit a day.
Fruits and vegetables retain more nutrients when they are organic. Organic foods are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge. Organic foods are not genetically modified. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions. Organic food production is legally regulated.
Organic SuperfoodsOrganic Superfoods contain a combination of superfoods as natural, organic ingredients in a synergistic ratio. You get a good dose of phytonutrients in one single serving! It is important to read the label carefully to make sure you are buying a product made with organic ingredients as these have the highest nutritive value and are more easily digested by the body.
Organic superfoods are not meant to be a replacement for food. But not all of us can consistently eat the required fruit and vegetables we need each day. Superfoods can augment your daily diet to make sure you are getting phytonutrient power for optimum health protection.
