Superfoods

Scientists and writers for health websites now have hundreds of common and exotic foods proclaimed 'superfood', but let's for a moment at the seven above. They make clear why we have difficulty with the superfood hype. Positively to the superfood trend or superfood hype, is that they make people aware again of the value of everyday, raw and unprocessed foods. That, and not all kinds of industrial products or supplements, are the foundation of a healthy diet that you as an athlete can make progress on.

Any dietitian will tell you almonds are healthier than candy bars, that pomegranate and cherry juice is healthier than soda, and that cod fillet is healthier than a sausage. But on the other hand, later we show that behind almost every cheering publication on a superfood there are (hidden) financial interests. Some of the studies are not intended primarily to let you eat healthier, but to put a product in a good light. The danger of the superfood hype is that too many people have passed through, and to follow a fashionable diet - but what we call - green tea, acai berries, grapefruit and broccoli. All these superfoods fit well into a healthy diet, but a diet consisting solely of those superfoods is unbalanced, unhealthy, and extremely ineffective if you want to build muscle and lose body fat.

Clean Eating

It is not uncommon to find an athlete's diet centered on rice, pasta, chicken and fish. A review of such an eating plan will uncover serious nutritional deficits. And changing one's protein sources around or adding a few servings of fruits and vegetables per day, or an occasional salad - while strongly advised - is, though a good start, not ideal. A devoted gym rat, who incidentally creates massive free-radical assisted cellular damage every time they train at high levels of intensity.

So what are these super foods and what do they do exactly? You may have heard the term, but with these foods' strong association with medical research - the resveratrol found in red wine and the studies done on its cardio-protective properties

Simply put, super foods are those rich in special chemicals that promote fast and efficient cellular repair and enhance longevity. So by all means, stick to your current low fat, higher protein and moderate carbohydrate fare comprised of several staple food groups, but do include in your meals - in moderate amounts - the following super foods to supercharge your health, energy and performance

Insecticides - Pesticides

NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority) has found residues of plant protection products ie pesticides on goji berries, chia seeds and quinoa.

In 12 of the 52 examined samples the amount of pesticides was exceeding. It was in 8 samples of goji berries, 3 samples quinoa and 1 sample Chia. But there was no possible health hazard. For comparison: For fruit and vegetables, 98% found to be safe, so there was only 2% with too much pesticides. NVWA will test more superfoods later this year. The NVWA: “we started our research because we received more and more complaints from people who became sick after eating Goji berries. In 23 percent of the analysed samples we found more pesticides than allowed by law. The NVWA still doesn’t know the reason why so many people got ill after eating goji berries, because the found amount was much too high, but couldn’t have caused the complaints. For the record in Chia seed Fipronil was found. In Goji berries they found Fenpropathrin, Acetamiprid, Cypermethrin and Imidacloprid. In Quinoa Carbufuran, Fluopicolide, Methrin and Imidacloprid was found.

Organic Quinoa

In the Netherlands, almost only organic quinoa is sold. And that is remarkable, because in Peru there is hardly any grown organic quinoa, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture. Biological means no chemical fertilizers or pesticides are used in growing.

Skal Biocontrol the Dutch organisation that controls biological products, analysed some samples of Quinoa. The results can be considered to be remarkable. Three of the five species contained pesticides. A total of four types of pesticides were found. In two cases, the maximum permissible dose (which applies to non-organic products) was even exceeded. On one sample from Ekoplaza two pesticides were found, together accounting for 44 percent of the maximum allowable daily intake (MRL). In NatureCrops quinoa also two pesticides were found, a total of 168 percent of the allowable dose. In Pure Raw Food they only found one pesticide (methamidophos), but as much as 730 percent above the allowable standard.

Celebrity Diet

The superfoods and ancient grains gained in popularity after magazines and internet sites raved about the health benefits of the Ancient Grains diet practice by several famous Hollywood celebrities including Jessica Alba, Emmy Rossum and Angelina Jolie. It outlines that the health diet composes of ancient grains refer to grains such as chia, wild rice and quinoa, which are packed full of essential vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fibers. It also highlights the weight-loss wonders of ancient grains rich in fiber.

Ancient grains (also called heritage grains) include crops such as amaranth, quinoa, millet, chia seeds, kamut, spelt and buckwheat, which have been around, unchanged, for millennia.

Angelina Jolie has started following an ancient grain diet not just for the nutrients, but for the amazing beauty benefits. Apparently eating quinoa, millet, chia seeds, spelt, farro and buckwheat leaves you with gorgeous skin and hair, she has been snacking on the grains, as well as nuts and seeds, and incorporating them into her daily meal plans.

After that many especially higher educated people followed the Superfood and Ancient Grains hype. But who wants to try these superfoods cheap, can also visit the pet shop, because quinoa and chiaseeds are also bird seeds.

Sponsored Studies

Almonds-An ideal snack for anyone who wants to stay healthy and watches his weight, which this blog has already written. Contains protein, good fats and is low in carbohydrates. Add them to your diet, it improves your cholesterol metabolism and the amount of fats in your blood, and decreases your risk of cardiovascular disease. At the same time you are able, thanks to the satiating effect of this superfood, to control your weight better. For each almond nut you eat, you eat less of other foods apparently, claiming these scientific studies. Who incidentally are all financed by organizations of almond growers. So do not go crazy on your almonds.

BeerBeer used to be just alcohol, a drug from which you start to talk strangely after excessive use, behave stupid and makes your body fat percentage skyrocket. That time is over. Nowadays studies tell us - and websites tell us the same - that beer is good for your bones. That's because beer would be such a good source of silicon. What all those beer-friendly messages don’t tell you is that silicon is present in almost all plant foods. Three dates contain 7 mg, a banana contains 5 mg and 8 mg are found in a portion beans. Also tea can be a good source of silicon. Nutrition Scientists suspect that you need about 40 mg silicon daily. You can reach that amount perfectly without beer. //beerbeer.org/?p=4347 Some truth in it because Arnold always praised beer: “Milk is for babies, when you grow up you have to drink beer.” But of course it is part of the Austrian and German culture to drink a lotta beer. And I love it too!

Pomegranate-Take a daily glass of pomegranate juice, and your blood vessels are protected against atherosclerosis. Furthermore pomegranate juice increases, according to animal studies, your testosterone. And, probably due to its stimulating effect on the production of vasodilation substances in blood vessels, men have a harder erection. According to a real scientific study. Paid by a producer of pomegranate juice.

//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18222572

Green Coffee Bean- Unroasted - and thus still green - coffee beans are a superfood on the point of breakthrough. Weight Loss Supplements containing extract of green coffee are already in stores and at trade shows producers are peddling with sports bars containing Green Coffee Bean. The plant compounds in green coffee should increase the uptake of glucose by muscles enabling you - wait for it – to lose up to 8 kg fat in twelve weeks. According to a scientific study, which does not tell who funded the research. Blogger and dietitian Diane Kress tried to find out. According to Kress, the money for the study came from a producer of Green Coffee Bean products. And of course seen at dr. Oz.

//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22291473 Cherries- Bodybuilders recover faster from their workout as they daily drink a bottle of expensive cherry juice. The phenols in the juice inhibit inflammation after a workout, and thereby reduce the damage to the muscle tissue and muscle pain, accourding to British sports scientists. And now you should be able guess who paid for that research ... //bjsm.bmj.com/content/40/8/679.abstract

Milk- If after your strength training drink a pint of skimmed milk, and drink an hour later another a pint of milk, then you build more muscle and lose more fat than if you only drink fast carbohydrates after your workout. That's scientifically proven. Thanks to a financial contribution from the dairy industry. //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19997019 Fish- If you want to lose weight, then you have more results with a diet in which lean fish is your lean protein source, than a diet with chicken and steak as lean protein sources. Lean fish is a good source of selenium and iodine, contains taurine and proteins from fish seem to have an extra slimming effect, as reported Icelandic food scientists in 2009. They were paid by the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and the national fisheries sector. Fish is an important export product from Iceland. //www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19356912

Are Superfoods useless?

Off course not, but it is useless to build your diet around them and using those that are the hype of the day. We all know that some vegies and fruits are extremely useful and healthy for the bodybuilder/fitnesser. But we don’t need to buy expensive and exotic ones.

And just because some producers finance scientific studies and modify or hype the results, does not mean these products have no value. Our long-trusted Milk, eggs and organic meat are superfoods too!! But different.

Super foods are those that offer a huge amount of nutrients however are light on calories. Super foods typically contain nutrients that we need which our bodies don’t produce normally. Like the resveratrol in red wine, the lycopene in tomatoes, tomato ketchup (some are extremely full of sugar), tomato soup etc. Like tomatoes, broccoli contains a substance that can offset the development of prostate cancer and enhance the overall health of this gland. While tomatoes provide lycopene, broccoli contains the cancer-fighting chemical sulforaphane. The combination of 1.5 cups of raw broccoli/2.5 cups of fresh tomato daily has shown to dramatically shrink prostate tumors.

Blueberries– Researches have actually shown that blueberries help to reduce blood pressure, enhance motor skills, and prevent memory loss. Plus, these berries are rich in antioxidants that battle wrinkles and signs of aging, and they’re reduced in calories. Although professionals state that wild blueberries are the very best, you can discover fresh blueberries or frozen ones at virtually any grocery store.

Broccoli– This dark green vegetable is rich in many nutrients that women need including calcium iron, potassium, fiber, vitamin A, and vitamin C. There’s likewise research that recommends eating broccoli can help prevent bust cancer cells by combating excess levels of estrogen.

Walnuts– Walnuts are packed with all kinds of vitamins and minerals in addition to fiber, protein, and heart-healthy omega-3s. Additionally, researches have actually shown that walnuts assist to combat cancer, lower cholesterol, make your rest much better, and help you cope with stress so you do not rely on unhealthy food when upset or anxious.

Greek Yogurt– Not just is Greek yogurt tasty, however it’s also high in calcium which is essential to keep your bones strong and prevent osteoporosis. Plus, Greek yogurt is high in probiotics which helps to keep you routine and ease the symptoms of cranky bowel syndrome, a condition that’s an effect on mostly ladies.

Dark Chocolate– Yes, dark chocolate not just tastes outstanding however it benefits you! Dark chocolate has a lot of antioxidants and has been shown to reduce the danger of heart disease and stroke. It also includes vital minerals for strong bones consisting of magnesium, zinc, copper, and phosphorus. Make certain to keep your day-to-day intake to simply one-quarter of an ounce!

Watermelon- As a condition often hidden until it is too late, high blood pressure, with its few direct warning signs, is insidious and extremely dangerous and damaging. For men especially, regular medical checkups for any irregular fluctuations in blood pressure are advised. But there is also something we can do to help keep blood pressure as far away from stroke territory as possible.

Recent evidence has pointed to potassium as being an excellent way to maintain healthy blood pressure levels and one food very high in this valuable mineral nutrient is watermelon. In fact, with 664 milligrams of potassium per large slice - with 2000 milligrams being a recommended daily amount - such a serving of watermelon contains more potassium than one large banana. Watermelon, with its high water content, is also excellent for maintaining an optimal state of hydration in those who work in hot weather or workout with maximal intensity.

When there is a hype the allsurrounding supplement industry will try to seduce the athlete to buy one of their overpriced and often useless products.

Considering how excellent super foods taste it isn’t a punishment to eat them and take great care of your total wellness. Try to think of foods as nutrients not only as a method to obtain ‘complete nutrition’. Numerous foods have medicinal functions and help disorders.Research your food a little, you’ll be amazed by what you might discover.