Skip to main content

Super foods raise debate about claimed health benefits

SHOPPERS are spending a small fortune on fad super foods with unclear health benefits or far cheaper substitutes. 
 
Consumers are being slugged as much as $125 a kilogram for the latest craze foods spruiking miracle powers such as fighting heart disease, cancer and ageing.

Foodwatch.com.au nutritionist and Food and Nutrition Companion author Catherine Saxelby said some expensive and trendy products could be replaced with cheaper and better-tasting alternatives containing similar nutrients.

Examples included substituting barley grass and wheat grass - which can cost $25 in 200g packs, or the equivalent of $125 a kilogram in powdered form - with dark green leafy vegetables such as baby spinach and silverbeet.


Consumers could get their fill of the B-complex vitamins in goji berries, which sell for the equivalent of $40-$60 a kilogram, from whole grains, vegetables and lean meats. Ordinary brown rice with lentils comes close to the hot-selling super-grain quinoa.

Brown rice and a boosted intake of purple-black foods, such as black cherries, berries, purple grapes and onion, red cabbage, beetroot, plums, raisins or pomegranates, were also cheaper ways to glean the nutrients of black rice.

Flaxseed or oily fish had similar omega-3s to chia seeds, while almonds and sesame seeds were also high in calcium and good fats such as chia, which retails for $20-$30 a kilogram.

Basic cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli were as nutrient-rich as the exotic-sounding, curly-leafed kale.

Ms Saxelby warned some emerging products - and even tried and tested super foods such as garlic, ginger and cinnamon - needed to be regularly consumed by the spoonful for any clinical benefit.

She feared some consumers used fad superfoods as an excuse to neglect other areas of their diet.

"The danger is that people feel they only have to have a little bit of a wonder food and then can eat whatever they like," Ms Saxelby said.

"We live in a world where people are constantly on call, 24-seven. They are tired and looking for a quick fix."

More extensive studies were needed to demonstrate compelling evidence of health benefits for some.
"For now, think twice before you part with your money," she said.

Her preferred superfoods, among them blueberries, oats, spinach, citrus fruit, and oily fish, are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre or protein and low in kilojoules.

Others, such as garlic, green tea, ginger and many herbs and spices, have a long history of reported medicinal properties.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Box Hill High School Zone

Parents are struggling with moving into a good reputable school for their kid(s). Here is the zone for Box Hill High School.   Good luck with house hunting!

Brivis Heater - Error Code #69

My Brivis HX23 Heater broke down this week.  H01 Code #69.  This code was not even listed in the User Manual!  Searching around the web and here is what I found: Secret Reset: This is not in the User Manual.  On the networker controller press FUNCTION > 1 > 4 keys and the screen will go blank and come back on after 30 seconds, this has rebooted the main PCB and reset the fault code. Use this with caution as too much gas build up could cause an explosion. Use it only after the unit has enough time to air out the gas build up. What is Code #69 or any other unpublished codes?  The best way to find out is to open up the heater unit.   There is a little LCD on the PCB showing what error exactly is. (Note: Opening up the unit may void your warranty.)

The Bose Soundbar 700 Won't Connect to App

Bose has one of the best speaker sound. I learnt about Bose more than 25 years ago and still a fan.  I bought Soundbar 700 in 2018.  It took me a while to set it up but it has been giving me troubles once a while.  Recently, I was not able to connect Soundbar 700 with my phone.  Done the factory reset on the soundbar, it didn't work. I spent hours reseting everything multiple times and finally I found this article,  https://www.bose.com.au/en_au/support/articles/HC1380/productCodes/bose_soundbar_700/article.html .  Tweaking them all and finally got it to work again. I think the most important setting is to TURN WPS OFF on the router!  Hope it helps.