Sales of ’superfoods’ are soaring with the public desperate to include them in diets after headlines about their potential health benefits. A success story as far as the fresh produce industry is concerned, superfoods have added a new dimension to sales. One category that has really benefited has been berries, blueberries in particular, and the phenomenon has also created a new identity for niche lines like pomegranates.
Several supermarkets now flag up the benefits of superfoods to their customers, and there is already a library of cookery books available on the topic. Meanwhile, the food industry as a whole has not been far behind, extolling the benefits of superfoods and creating a range of themed products, including everything from smoothies, energy snacking confectionery and meal solutions. The latest fruit products to fall under the heading are açaí , mangosteens, and goji berries.
Açaí berries - Nature’s Energy Fruit
Studies have shown that this little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Açaí (ah-sigh-ee) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature’s perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores, (often in juice form).. A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available.
Mangosteen - Queen of Fruits
Few people are aware of the incredible power of xanthones, chemical compounds found in nature with many times the antioxidant levels of vitamins C or E. Xanthones have recently won high praise from numerous scientists and researchers for their medicinal potential, since they demonstrate a number of pharmaceutical properties:
Supports balance in every system of the body
Builds and maintains immune system health
Promotes joint flexibility and pain relief
Provides positive mental support
The whole fruit of the mangosteen represents the single greatest known supply of these tremendously beneficial xanthones. The pericarp, or rind, of the mangosteen is particularly rich in xanthones, which represent the next generation of powerful phytonutrients. In fact, recent scientific studies on human patients suggest the xanthones may offer support to every system of the body and a healthy alternative to many conventional treatments.
Search for scientific research on Xanthones and Mangosteen at www.pubmed.org
Gogi berries - Fruit Viagra!
Small, red, dried, and a bit like a savoury cranberry, this nutritionally-rich fruit is making the leap from specialist store to supermarket. Pronounced “go-gee”, they’re supposed to contain, weight for weight, more:
vitamin C than oranges
beta-carotene than carrots
iron than steak
There’s no messy peel, and the berries are so light that a “daily serving” is just 10-30 grams. Beta-carotene in the fruit is thought to help fight heart disease, defend against cancer and protect skin from sun-damage. The berries are a good source of B vitamins and anti-oxidants - which may help protect against the fallout from chemical reactions in the body.
But what exactly is a ‘Superfood’? Definitions have become blurred, the message is now spreading away from fruit, with the addition of products like salmon, tea, and soya to the category. Perhaps what is most extraordinary is that to date there is no official definition of the term, coined in 1990, although it is largely accepted that it refers to products which, to quote dieticians, are ‘antioxidant dense’. These are known to be beneficial, but this is as far as any claim can go.
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