Superfoods: More super than other foods?

Check out a recent article from Mother Jones, questioning the efficacy of certain so-called 'superfoods.' The loose definition of which is a food that packs a huge health punch, brimming with a disproportionate share of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, phyto-chemicals, you name it. I had to laugh a little to myself when I was reading this. Here I am part ad agency exec, and part health coach. And yet I've even found myself influenced by great food marketing from time to time.

Foods we never heard of five years ago are now positioned as the ones that will save us all from ourselves and the world. If you have a hard time figuring out which ones, you can often just look for the really exotic sounding ones you don't quite know how to pronounce.

Here's the thing: while these foods may be truly fabulous, the more fabulous fact is if you eat lots of fruits and veggies - the "normal" kinds you've eaten since childhood like broccoli and blueberries - it should be 'superfood' enough. (The not-so-fabulous fact is that this country doesn't actually GROW enough fruits and veggies to satisfy our daily recommended minimums. But let's ignore that for now.)

Superfoods have been in the produce section of our supermarkets forever, yet we're being brainwashed into thinking we need to jump from the middle aisles directly in a bowl of chia seeds to survive.

We don't.

So eat those gojis and that quinoa if you like them. They are good! But don't get overwhelmed by them and their brethren. Keep it simple! And then if you want to experiment with the more exotic, by all means go for it.

Now please excuse me while I go grab a bottle of premium water with 100% naturally-occuring electrolytes.