Kale may be among the first superfoods that come to mind when searching for superfoods online, due to its abundance of vitamins, minerals, and disease-fighting plant compounds.
Top superfoods include berries, salmon, avocado, chia seeds, walnuts, beans and fermented dairy. But it’s important to remember that superfoods should only ever be seen as part of an overall healthy diet plan.
Legumes
Legumes, or legumes, are an assortment of vegetables which include peas, beans and lentils. Studies show their regular consumption can lower risk for chronic diseases as well as help manage blood sugar and weight.
Integrating legumes into meals is easy! Both supermarkets and delis carry many ready-made options like hummus dips, refried beans, minestrone soup, tofu/tempeh products and Indian dhals that you can find easily at their shelves.
Although legumes offer many health advantages, only about 8% of adults report regularly including legumes in their meal plans. This could be attributed to perceived difficulties associated with preparation – some believe that beans and peas require long soaking periods or complex cooking methods; but with a few simple strategies for soaking and cooking legumes they can become an easy and inexpensive addition to meal planning.
Sweet Potatoes
Superfoods take health and energy levels one step further by providing vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds that boost body functions. Kale, sweet potatoes and fish can all be found in your supermarket’s produce section while others such as spirulina or goji berries may need to be supplemented in pill form for best results.
Sweet potatoes contain an easily digestible starch that raises their glycemic index (GI), thus increasing their GI value. Boiling can lower this index value by allowing more of their slower-digesting starches to escape digestion and feed friendly gut bacteria.
West Africans commonly consume the leaves and vine tips of sweet potato as vegetables, rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene. Kumara (yellow cultivars) and Okinawan sweet potatoes used in dulce de batata production as well as being sold roasted for street food consumption are all sources of these vitamins.
Fermented Dairy
Dairy products are an integral part of life, providing essential vitamins and minerals. By adding fermented dairy such as yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese or koumiss into our daily diets we take this staple food even further.
Dairy-fermented foods are an incredible food source to improve GI health, providing probiotics that may aid with digestive discomfort and inflammation as well as calcium to promote bone health and prevent fractures.
Studies show that regular consumption of dairy-fermented food products not only provides immune-enhancing vitamin D, but is also associated with reduced cholesterol levels and an improved gut microbiota, leading to decreased risk of cardiovascular disease [107]. These benefits may be due to lactic acid bacteria present in fermented dairy products preventing absorption of cholesterol by large intestine, thus lowering circulating levels and providing antimicrobial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory benefits [108], [109][109].
Mushrooms
Superfoods encompass many foods that fit the definition, including berries, nuts, legumes, whole grains, cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens, seafood, avocados, pomegranates, garlic and onions. By including more nutrient-rich foods into your diet such as these superfoods can help you reach and maintain a healthier weight as well as decrease risk of disease.
Mushrooms are widely considered an antibacterial, antioxidant and antiviral food with many medicinal uses. Furthermore, mushroom polysaccharides promote immune cell activity that help combat cancer and other illnesses. Mushrooms contain vitamin D2 as the only nonanimal source and the B vitamins riboflavin, pantothenic acid and niacin are present as well.
According to a 2022 study, higher mushroom consumption was linked with reduced risks of mild cognitive impairment. While more research needs to be conducted, including mushrooms in your diet may provide protection from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
