SuperFoods…Are a Super Waist Of Time
See what I did there… I said Waist instead of Waste! Man oh Man! I is gettin’ really good at the english. Thank you Rosetta Stone.
If you have not heard of a superfood then I am going to assume that you have not involved yourself in any type of media related news source. I am not going to hold that against you because, I will make the assumption that you have been doing better things with your time then paying the news too much attention.
What are “superfoods” ? you ask…Let me tell you.
Superfoods are foods (even nutritional supplements were once actual foods)plain and simple. However, they are foods that have been marketed specifically to target certain problem areas our society has within areas of health and wellness. If I can give you a good example it would be with blueberries. Once just known as a fruit that is delicious and makes your face purplish in color if smeared on, is now referred to as a superfood because some research that showed the chemical makeup and nutrient(s) (that blueberries have always had in them) may now help with specific conditions like inflammation, cancers, heart conditions, blood sugar etc. etc. etc.
The Superfood term and label is essentially the new generation’s clever marketing way of saying “ an Apple a day keeps the doctor away” This saying was also a marketing slogan used to try to sell more product(apples). As we all know this is not true; yes apples contain some good stuff for us to eat but they are not a cure-all medicine to keep us living without sickness or declining health…sorry if I ruined that for you.
They did a great job in marketing superfoods because lets face it…who does not want to be more better superer simply by eating the SUPERFOODS!?
How is being Super actually being Bad
The system is flawed:
On one hand you have the Superfoods which are literally just foods you should already be eating in a well-balanced diet. On the other hand you have the heavily marketed superfoods, which are often manufactured in some way to make a new processed “health food” or a concentrated , extracted, proprietary blend chemical compound supplement. Again, that is without a doubt heavily marketed as being better than whatever food or source it came from.
This system is gimmicky
The focus is usually on one small aspect or one sole nutrient that has the great benefit of a particular food. When this happens you are almost promoting a type of tunnel vision focus on promoting the benefit and leaving the consumers to almost forget about some of the negatives that these foods could have to your health. Essential they are saying “hey this is the ingredient we NEED, what about the other nutrients?…you do not need to concern yourself with them.
I will leave you the example of eating Avocados:
Said to be a superfood for their abundance of healthy fats and anti-aging properties….WHAT REALLY Skinnier and Younger! SIGN ME UP!
Saying this can promote a rapid increase in the consumption of Avocados because the person eating them want to get those results and we typically have a more is better approach to everything. But, this same person will forget that the Macronutirnet Fat (in any form) is a calorie dense nutrient; 9 calories per gram. Meaning even small amounts Fats contain a lot of calories. For our example: Avocados: 200–400 calories per cup. If you eat too many calories what happens to your body…not skinny. It is unfortunate but sometimes only focusing on the good… is really bad.
No Proof
It is also full of bloated claims and manipulated research study results (which is something the supplement industry is verrrrry good at doing). How many magic pills for fat loss have you seen advertised on TV and in magazines…think Slimquick with the Kardashians( I can’t believe google had a correct spelling suggestion for their last name when I spelled it wrong) . Just like in the Fitness Industry, there seems to be a new revolutionary superfood out and available. There is no difference from the health industry to the fitness industry here, all a product needs is a trustworthy celebrity with a medical background (DOCTOR OZ) to vomit out of their mouth some key words and boom marketing gold.
Show me well documented no bias studies and research that proves it works more than 50% of the time and that result s are not atypical.
Show me how results that of using your product without exercise and diet alteration have a larger statistical significant advantage over both not using your product and a progressive healthy diet and fitness program.
Test it Verses a Placebo and include all of the above requests in those test.
Omit any proof of the supplement working in your favor with ANY animal trials…We are humans 98% similar is not 100% the same.
If you can not do that then I am not going to spend my hard-earned money on something that I would have similar or better results without. Remember supplements of any kind are not regulated by the FDA for the products actually doing with they say they will. All the company has to do is prove that they have at least one documented study saying the active ingredients did what they said it could one time and then some clever wording like “may help” ,Could relieve” . “could reduce” and many others to make them legally able to sell.
Too Much of a Narrow Concentrated Focus to fix a problem
If a you are trying to restore an old fragile building back to its original glory; is your primary focus going to be to use a better hammer or create a stable foundation for the building?
This is all extremely similar to the way the fitness industry markets supplements. they market a “simple, easy, one step solution to your problem; all you have to do is take this or do this and you will reach success. When in reality the reason you are continually far away from reaching your goal or improve health is going to be a much larger fix. Raspberry Keytones wont make your body think it is skinny if you continue to have a poor exercise program and a poor diet of processed “health meals”.
THE BETTER ALTERNATIVES
FOCUS ON CREATING A BETTER LIFESTYLE SUITING AND A LIFELONG DIET OF ACTUAL FOODS.
IF YOU GO OUT AND BUY WHATEVER SEXY PRODUCT OF THE DAY IS ENDORSED TO CURE YOUR AILMENTS; DO YOU PLAN TO NEVER STOP? IF IT IS ONLY FOR THAT QUICK FIX BENEFIT OR QUICK FIX FEELING OF PROGRESS THEN JUST SIMPLY AVOID IT.
CREATE BETTER HABITS.
AVOID THE ENRICHED AND SO CALLED HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES TO NUTRIENTS. BECAUSE YOU ARE NEVER JUST AVOIDING ONE NUTRIENT WHEN YOU ELIMINATE CERTAIN FOODS FROM YOUR DIET.
AGAIN CURE(FIX) THE PROBLEMS WITH YOUR CURRENT DIET PLAN INSTEAD OF TRYING TO SIMPLY MINIMIZE THE SYMPTOMS OF YOUR HEALTH.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT “NEW STRICT VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS TRYING IT OUT TO BETTER THEIR HEALTH” STRUGGLE WITH. SAYING THEY ELIMINATE ANIMALS IS EASY BUT, TO LIST OFF ALL THE NUTRIENTS THEY WILL BE HAVE TO FIND OTHER SOURCES FOR IS A LOT HARDER TO DO.
IT IS REALLY EASY TO MARKET THE BENEFITS OF A NEW SUPPLEMENT OR PRODUCED FOOD. IM PRETTY SURE YOU DO NOT NEED HEAVY ADVERTISING THE BENEFITS OF STRAWBERRIES.
TAKE THE MONEY YOU WERE GOING TO SPEND ON THE MIRACLE SUPPLEMENTS AND PUT IT TOWARDS SOMETHING MORE PRODUCTIVE FOR YOUR GOALS.
SUPPLEMENTS ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE! YOU ALREADY AVOID PAYING FOR THE HIGHER OCTANE GAS BECAUSE THE CAR MANUFACTURE SAID ITS FINE USE THE REGULAR INSTEAD OF SUPER DUPER HIGH OCTANE 93 SUPER PLUS PLUS.
IF YOU HAVE MONEY TO “WASTE” USE IT BETTER. I KNOW YOU WOULD RATHER SPEND IT ON SOMETHING YOU WANT INSTEAD OF SOMETHING SOMEONE TOLD YOU YOU MIGHT NEED.
IF THAT IS A BODY TRANSFORMATION MAYBE A GYM MEMBERSHIP OR AN AFFORDABLE PERSONAL TRAINING OPTION.
IF YOU ALREADY TRAIN THEN MAYBE YOU NEED TO TALK TO SOMEONE (EDUCATED AND NOT AFFILIATED WITH A PRODUCT) ABOUT YOUR NUTRITION OPTIONS.
Bottom line is be a smarter consumer. The Information is out there for you.
Originally published at fitletes.com
Thanks For taking the time out of your day to read.
If you enjoyed it then I hope you follow, It would really mean the world to me.