Super-foods are just a super-con

FROM extending your life to fending off cancer, super-foods are said to be the answer to a host of problems.

Yet again, pomegranate has been hailed as the super-food we should all be eating, after research suggested that it contains a molecule (urolithin A) that can slow down the ageing process.

So is there really a group of elite foods that will make us younger, brainier and all round better? I’m afraid not. Coconut water, chia seeds, kale. These so-called super-foods come in and out of fashion.

Remember Noni juice? No? The fruit used in folk medicine by Polynesians for millennia was the fad about 15 years ago. Now I never hear about it.

The definition of a super-food is fickle and not based on any meaningful science.

Yes, fruit and veg have important nutrients and vitamins. But the idea that one is superior to others isn’t true.

This obsession with super-foods feeds on our anxiety that we are lacking something in our lives and promises that one (usually very expensive) item will answer our problems. Actually, eating a balanced diet is all that’s needed.

You can’t compensate for a bad diet or unhealthy lifestyle by eating endless avocados or handfuls of blueberries.

The fact is that behind these foods that are being sold to us as ‘super’ are cynical companies and food manufacturers trying to promote their products.

The only difference between a food and a super-food is a good marketing campaign.