Cail, spinach, avocado, chia seeds: how scientifically is the concept of surfed products?

It is popular with the belief that there are superfuds - products, in the small volumes of which a high amount of various beneficial substances are concentrated. It is believed that thanks to this feature they have miraculous properties. We decided to check if this is confirmed by scientific data.

The existence of superfuds and their incredible benefits for humans are written sites retail chains and supermarkets healthy food, as well as sites selling BIODOTS And technology For physiotherapy. They are interested in the topic Lifestail, Bloggers And magazines About yoga. Note Superfuds can be found even on the Rospotrebnadzor website. It, in particular, says that buckwheat is also superfood, and chia exotic seeds can be replaced with flax seeds.

Although the term "superfood" (Superfood) They began to actively use Only a few decades ago, in advertising they used it earlier. So, at the beginning of the 20th century, United Fruit Company, which sold bananas in the United States, Faced With a decrease in demand for these fruits, which ceased to be exotic, and launched an aggressive advertising campaign. Bananas began to position as a super -rush - an affordable, tasty and healthy product, thanks to the peel, has natural protection against bacteria and microbes. The article “The Food value of the banana”, published in 1917, even received a positive review from the journal of the American Medical Association. 

Subsequently, the term “superfood” took root, but did not acquire a specific, and most importantly, consensus definition. The main dictionaries of the English language (for example, ""Cambridge Dictionary" And Collins) limited to rather general formulations like “a product that is considered very useful for health” or “a product that contains a lot of vitamins”. On the website of the authoritative clinic Cleveland It is saidthat superfuds are usually called natural products that are especially rich in nutrients and at the same time contain few calories. Legally, the term is also not fixed, although in 2007 the European Union was introduced Prohibition for advertising products as superfuds without providing customers with scientific evidence of their benefit.

In the framework of this analysis, superfuds mean products that are advancing in advertising and media as containing a large number of different useful substances (antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and fatty acids). These include, for example, the berries of Coji and Asai, blueberries, avocados, seeds of chia, spirulina, film, match, as well as some vegetables, such as cabbage Kale (aka Kale) and spinach. Beneficial substances in these products supposedly Contained in an easily digestible natural form, due to which it is better penetrate In the cells of the body in comparison with synthetic vitamins. Also superfudes, as is often claimed, capable Strengthen the immunity, reduce the risk of serious diseases, including oncological pathologies and heart disease, as well as help in the fight against depression, reduce blood cholesterol and contribute to weight loss.

In 2023, Spanish scientists AnalyzedWhat products in English -speaking media are most often called superfuds. The top ten included cale, spinach, salmon, blueberries, avocado, chia, walnuts, beans, dairy products and garlic. Further, the researchers checked what useful properties attribute to these products and which of them are confirmed by scientific data. It turned out that many “superpowers” ​​of these superfuds were recorded only in the in vitro experiments (that is, on the culture of cells), but either not explored or showed any advantages in the experiments of in vivo (that is, on living creatures, including people). For example, in Keil there are compounds of glucorafan and glucobrassycin, which in vitro really Effective Against the tumors of the liver, prostate, breast and pancreas, ovaries and colorectal cancer, but it is not known how these substances will behave into the digestive tract, and not on isolated cells. Accordingly, there is no data on how much Cayle needs to eat to combat oncological diseases. At the same time, the Spanish scientists who studied superfoods and their Italian colleagues focused on the anti -cancer properties of glucorafan and glucobarussin, note: these substances are rich and other vegetables from the cruciferous family, such as colored cabbage, broccoli, kolrably and radish (although they do not consider them superfuds). There is no data in Kayle something better.

Another product, often characterized as superfood, is spinach. Although exist Studies confirming that a diet rich in leaf herbs contributes to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, Spanish scientists insist: there is no reason to consider spinach an effective means of protection. The fact is that its usefulness is shown mainly by those works in which the lifestyle of subjects and other food features were not taken into account. At the same time, those authors who used an integrated approach in their studies came to the conclusion that spinach did not bring any special benefit. The leaf greens in general and spinach in particular are usually consumed by people who lead a healthier lifestyle, therefore it is logical that cardiovascular diseases are less common in this group. It is not known whether the risk of a stroke or heart attack in a sedentary, smoking, having excess weight and abusing alcohol is reduced if he adds spinach to his diet, consisting mainly of fast food, compared to the same person who avoids spinach. Therefore, to endow this plant with some magical properties against cardiovascular diseases at least prematurely. 

Moreover, the key substances contained in spinach and protect against cardiovascular diseases are nitrates, it is their derivatives that reduce pressure and strengthen the walls of blood vessels. However, the excessive use of nitrates that can be enriched artificially, using fertilizers, is potentially dangerous. Excessive nitrates in the human body are converted into nitrosamines - compounds that presumably have a carcinogenic effect. Moreover, the consumption of green leafy vegetables, which are rich in vitamin K, responsible, including for the reduction of blood, should Limit those who take medications to prevent blood clots. So, although in general, spinach is an important part of a healthy diet, it should not be abused.

Scientists made no less interesting conclusions in relation to avocados. Although in the experiments certain substances contained in these fruits effectively destroyed cancer cells and, probably, can be used in the future in the development of drugs to treat some cancer, these compounds are located in the inedible part of the fetus - the peel and seed. The flesh, in general, is generally useful, apparently, does not have properties unique for the prevention of cancer.

Chia seeds (another popular superfood) do not show great efficiency in the fight against excess weight, however, the studies included limited samples of volunteers and significantly differed from each other in methodology, portions and method of use. Therefore, it is also impossible to make a conclusion about the special benefits of this product for losing weight.

Having studied studies on the benefits of other popular superfuds, scientists have come to the conclusion: on the one hand, they all have some useful properties, and on the other hand, these properties are not unique. Other, not so advertised products contain the same substances in comparable concentrations. Moreover, for plant products determining from the point of view of the content of beneficial substances there will be a place and method of growing and storage, and, for example, for fish - food and lifestyle (for example, it was caught or artificially grown). Researchers also note that the most popular characteristics of superfuds-protection against cancer and cardiovascular diseases-were checked mainly only on cell cultures, and not in humans. At the same time, rare studies in vivo are so much different in design, methodology, characteristics of participants, duration and other parameters that it is impossible to draw some unambiguous conclusion.

The conclusions of Spanish researchers are agreed by their colleagues. So Doctor of Sciences in the Food Industry of Emma Davis in the material "Are there any superfoods?" For BBC Science Focus Turns Attention: although anti -Kicorogenic properties are attributed to antioxidants from such products, evidence of their real efficiency in relation to living people is few (judging by the available data, most of these compounds are destroyed in the digestive process). Moreover, although the concentration of antioxidants, for example, in the blueberries and berries of the Comedi is higher than in other products, it is still small compared to the volume of these compounds, which showed the effectiveness against cancer in vitro studies. That is, to eat such a number of these products that antioxidants in the process of digestion remain enough to prevent cancer (if such an effect is in principle possible in humans) will be extremely difficult. Nutritionist Victoria Taylor in the commentary of the British Heart Association Noticethat superfuds even become the ingredients of some sweets, bars and drinks, however, the content of fat, sugar or salt in such snacks, despite the presence of a supercomponent in them, makes them more harmful than useful. Harvard School of Public Health summarizes: Superfoods lead only to super -sale, and their main drawback is that the release of such products in a separate category can force people to focus on them and ignore other, no less nutritious, but not so widely advertised alternatives. 

Products that could be called such a loud word as “superfood” exist, but no one positions them like that. A vivid example is genetically modified rice, artificially enriched with beta-carotene. In the countries of Africa and Southeast Asia, this cereal traditionally makes up a significant part of the diet, while the poorest segments of the population suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which is almost not obtained from food. Scientists deduced a special variety of rice by introducing the corn gene (it enriches the granny of beta-carotene) and the bacteria Pantoea ananatis and Escherichia coli (they contribute to the transformation of beta-carotene in the human body into vitamin A). Genetically modified rice, according to various estimates, can close from 30% to 100% From the daily need for this vitamin. Although some international and national relevant organizations recognize such a cereal safe for use, this candidate for super -fodes has not yet been allowed to grow in any country in the world.

Thus, most products that are called superfuds in popular sources in reality do not have the miraculous properties that they attribute to them. Firstly, most of these properties like protection against cancer and cardiovascular diseases are demonstrated only in experiments on cell cultures, and not on living people. Secondly, those studies that studied the inclusion of these products in the diet of volunteers, or have a very imperfect methodology, or have not shown significant changes in subjects. Thirdly, a balanced optimal diet is more important than the consumption of one useful product with generally unhealthy food habits.

Image on the cover: by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

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