(NaturalNews) Let's face it: The word superfood has
become overused. This title, which was originally intended for foods whose
nutritional value considerably exceeded that of the average fruit or vegetable,
seems to be attached to almost any natural food these days. Mainstream health
magazines are particularly guilty of this abuse, often preferring to use
superfood as a marketing term rather than an objective declaration of
nutritiousness.
That said, there are a small number of foods that
truly deserve to be called superfoods. These tend to be exotic foods that are
seldom found in the average Westerner's home, but which are packed with so many
naturally occurring, bioavailable nutrients that they put most multivitamin
supplements to shame. This article lists four of the best of them.
Moringa oleifera
Arguably the king of superfoods is Moringa oleifera,
a fast-growing Himalayan tree whose leaves are bursting with so much goodness
that researchers have nicknamed it "The Miracle Tree" and "The
Tree of Immortality." Moringa leaves contain over 90 different types of
nutrients in high quantities, including seven times the vitamin C of oranges,
four times the vitamin A of carrots, four times the calcium of milk and three
times the potassium of bananas. The leaves are also a complete protein source,
since they contain all eight essential amino acids. (1) Given this
nutritiousness, it's unsurprising that studies have linked Moringa consumption
to the treatment of diabetes, anti-inflammatory diseases, cancer and much more.
Moringa powder is easy to purchase online, and makes
an excellent natural vitamin and mineral supplement. You might also like to try
Ben oil, a sweet-tasting oil made from the tree's pods that is rich in
disease-fighting antioxidants.
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is a gluten-free food prepared from the
young shoots of the wheat plant. It was popularized in the 1930s by the
American chemist Charles L. Schnabel, who claimed that 15 pounds of wheatgrass
is equal in nutritional value to 350 pounds of regular garden vegetables! (2)
While this claim is now considered to be exaggerated, it is true that
wheatgrass is one of the most nutrient-dense foods known to science.
According to spectral analysis, a mere 4 grams of
wheatgrass powder supplies us with 1,600 percent of our recommended daily
allowance (RDA) of vitamin E, 7,000 percent of our RDA of manganese, 15,293
percent of our RDA of riboflavin, 413 percent of our RDA of zinc and similarly
astounding concentrations of other essential nutrients. (3) It is also one of
the world's finest sources of chlorophyll, a powerful blood builder and
cleaner. This makes wheatgrass a potent detox food as well as a superb nutrient
supplement.
Chlorella and spirulina
Chlorella and spirulina are two single-celled algae
that thrive in the sunniest parts of freshwater bodies. Though both of them
probably qualify as superfoods individually, they become something truly
special when consumed together. This is because chlorella and spirulina possess
complementary rather than identical nutrient profiles. For example, chlorella
tends to contain more chlorophyll and iron than spirulina. Chlorella is also
better at chelating heavy metals from the body than spirulina and at repairing
cell damage due to its unique growth factor. Spirulina, on the other hand,
contains more protein, gamma-linoleic acid (a beneficial fat that is essential
for brain function) and cancer-fighting phycocyanin than chlorella. (4)
Consequently, consuming these two foods together supplies our bodies with an
extremely well-rounded infusion of nutrients -- far more than the average fruit
or vegetable could possibly provide!
Sources for this article include:
(1) http://www.villagevolunteers.org
(2) http://www.wheatgrasscan.com
(3) http://nutritiondata.self.com
(4) http://www.detoxyourworld.com