Good, better, superfoods?
Superfoods are literally on everyone's lips. And for almost ten years, it has been hard to imagine the German language without them. According to the dictionary, superfoods are «nutrient-rich foods that are considered to be particularly beneficial for health and well-being». However, the origin of the trend word dates back over 100 years and was used to market a fruit that we know well: the banana. As a superfood of the first hour, the former luxury good was soon advertised as a «cheap and easily digestible source of nutrients in its own packaging».
Is the long transport route justified?
The superfood family has now grown considerably. Foods with a species-specific high vitamin or mineral content and large quantities of secondary plant substances from all over the world are hailed as particularly beneficial to health. Goji berries, for example, are said to support the immune system with plenty of vitamin C and the calcium contained in chia seeds is said to optimise growth.
Nevertheless, they are increasingly being criticised: the word «super», which once stood for «healthy», is increasingly associated with «expensive» and «harmful to the environment» in the case of foods that often come from exotic countries. Long transport routes, questionable working conditions and the use of harmful pesticides cast a shadow over superfoods. The positive effects on health are also increasingly being called into question, as they have often only been tested under laboratory conditions and with large quantities.
Local superheroes
Don't get me wrong: sufficient vitamin and nutrient coverage is still an important cornerstone for growth and health in general. But you don't have to reach for exotic imports to find products with a high vitamin and/or mineral density.
Switzerland and its neighbouring regions also offer a wide range of nutrient-rich power packs. But to study nutritional tables and compare healthy foods with each other to see which vegetable is slightly better than the other in terms of vitamin content is, in my opinion, exaggerated. Just try to focus on a mostly balanced and varied diet.
11 tips for everyday life
- Buy seasonally and regionally to ensure variety and freshness.
- The range of fruit and vegetables available from wholesalers is constantly growing. Try out new varieties.
- Go colourful: different colours indicate different nutrients. So make sure your portions of fruit and vegetables are varied.
- Nuts, kernels and seeds provide important fatty acids and can be easily and unobtrusively integrated into dishes.
- Frozen berries and fruit are a great alternative in the colder months. They are ideal for muesli or wähen.
- Depending on the variety, vegetables that are shock-frozen immediately after harvesting contain up to 50 per cent more vitamins than market vegetables sold the next day - and can also be enjoyed out of season.
- You can easily grow sprouts yourself. Children in particular enjoy gardening.
- Spinach, whether fresh or from the freezer, is a wonderful source of potassium and can therefore be used as an alternative to bananas. For better acceptance, spinach can be mixed with potatoes or pasta, for example.
- Dried fruit is ideal for those with a sweet tooth. However, due to their high sugar content, you should only offer them in small quantities. You are on the safe side with a small handful.
- Linseed, which has recently been increasingly cultivated in Switzerland again, is in no way inferior to chia seeds, which have travelled far and wide, in terms of valuable dietary fibre.
- If you still want to compare the nutritional values, the website www.naehrwertdaten.ch is a good place to start. There you will find practical overviews, comparison tools and a search function to search for individual ingredients.
