Look, up in the sky! It’s a fruit! It’s a grain! It’s… a SUPERFOOD! Superfoods are the magic bullets in health and fitness, touted to do everything from burn fat to increase energy to — in some cases — prevent or even cure disease. How many of the following have you heard such claims for? Pomegranate, acai berry, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, quinoa, fish oil, green tea, fucking kale.
These are just a few of the allegedly “super” foods that will dramatically transform your life and health if consumed frequently. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of them (if taken in whole form), but none of them are SUPER in that they are going to peel 20 pounds off of you overnight, cure cancer, or ensure that you will live to 101.
The current superfood du jour is beet root powder. There are tons of (over-priced) beet supplements on the market promising everything from increased energy to higher libido to weight loss. It’s true that beet root increases/improves blood flow and increases nitric-oxide production in the blood, making it a decent supplement prior to exercise. I’ve used it myself. But like any other “super” nutrient, it is not going to drastically change your life. If you want to down beet root before hitting the gym, great. If you don’t, your biceps will not shrivel up.
Whenever you see a claim for anything, a good rule of thumb is to ask two questions:
1. “Compared to what?” For example, you read that a certain vegetable is high in a certain nutrient. Compared to what? Is it significantly higher than every other food, or is it a milligram higher?
2. “Is the opposite true?” You read that a certain supplement may help prevent a certain condition. Is the opposite true? In other words, if I don’t take the supplement, will I develop that condition this afternoon and die?
Probably not.
Again, I’m not saying all of these things (and dozens if not hundreds more) have zero benefit, only that you don’t need to stress over not regularly consuming everything you hear a claim for.
Thanks for reading. Next, why you should probably be dead already (but aren’t).
Until then,
Dan
