What's the story with superfoods?There was a time when all that was needed to keep the doctor at bay was an apple, but these days, if you're serious about living as long as possible, you'll have to find an increasingly exotic cocktail of fruit and vegetables, writes Conor Pope.
These magic bullets, in the shape of the blueberries, pomegranates and walnuts that are stocked high on our supermarket shelves, are supposed to combat cancer, fight obesity, keep your heart pumping, improve your skin and pep up your sex life. They taste good too. The only downside is the cost - a fruit considered "super" can cost almost 10 times as much as one with qualities that are held to be less heroic. Take, for example, the Tibetan goji berry, an extremely expensive and not entirely pleasant-tasting red berry rich in amino acids and antioxidants grown in the foothills of the Himalayas which has, in the last year, made its way from the shelves of specialist health food stores to mainstream outlets.
While the list of superfoods gets longer by the day as manufacturers and retailers seek to cash in on the healthy eating craze - it won't be long before battered sausages take on magical healing properties - new legislation which came into force yesterday aims to bring an end to the labelling free-for-all. The term superfood is to be severely restricted under new EU legislation and all such claims will now have to be backed up with independent scientific evidence detailing the health benefits of the products in question. Consumers won't notice any immediate change, however, as manufactures and marketing companies have two years to get their houses in order.
Blueberries have, in recent times, been top of the superfoods pile. Sales have increased by 132 per cent in the past two years, according to market analyst Nielsen, and last year a staggering £95m (€141m) was spent in Britain alone on the little blue berries that promise so much.
In Ireland they are also big business and the once-rare fruit is now to be found in almost every supermarket while a unique blueberry farm has been established in Co Offaly to provide a growing number of stockists with fresh fruit through the summer months while selling blueberry products online year-round.
Advocates claim that blueberries maintain youthful-looking skin, are high in vitamins, low in calories, contain some 40 compounds which are thought to have cancer preventative properties and a number of antioxidants to help circulation and keep the heart healthy.
While they are undoubtedly good for you, they are certainly not so good for your wallet. Last week, 125g punnets of blueberries were selling in Tesco for €2.49 or €19.92 per kg. Granny Smith apples, meanwhile, cost €2.39 per kg in the same store while Coxes were an even more impressive €1. 89 per kg.
It is not just blueberries that have benefited from our growing interest in wholesomeness. In Britain, iron-rich spinach sales hit £42 million (€62.5 million) in the past year - up from £32 million (€47.6 million) in 2005 - and salmon sales increased by 31 per cent over the same two-year period to £450 million (€669 million).
Shelled walnuts - up 30 per cent - and green tea - 45 per cent - have also benefited from a superfood bounce while soy is another "star grower", with annual sales of non-dairy soy drinks rising 50 per cent since May 2005.
The increased consumption of superfoods does not seem to have made much difference to our waistlines, however, and two-thirds of Irish people have a problem with their weight. This paradox concerns VHI nutritionist Nuala Collins. The problem is that while people may be eating more superfoods, they are also eating more junk foods.
Consumption of the former, sadly, does not counterbalance consumption of the latter, says Collins. "There is no magic bullet, and eating some superfoods is not a substitute for a poor diet. But it is good to be enthusiastic about them and to remember to include them in your diet," she says.
She accepts that the current trend is "a bit of a food fashion and a bit of food science," but believes that "if you eat more superfoods you will feel better. There are real, tangible benefits to including them in your diet," she says. "I think that it is another positive way of talking about food nutrition. It allows us as nutritionists to talk about nutrition and health in a positive way, so instead of saying don't eat this or that, we are saying eat more of this."
She points out that while there is perhaps nothing about blueberries that makes them intrinsically better than more commonplace fruits, the variety they bring is welcome. "Are they better? No, honestly, they are not, but what they bring to the table is a fantastic variety and taste."
Collins accepts that some people might be priced out of the market for some foods but says oats, which contain soluble fibre that lowers blood cholesterol, and eggs, which are high in protein, are nutritious and cheap superfoods. "Superfoods don't have to be expensive," she says.
Safefood, the food safety promotion board, is singing from the same hymn-sheet and deserves credit for its ongoing campaign aimed at highlighting simple dietary changes that can make a big difference. Its message is that many ordinary foods including bananas, peas, wholegrain bread and red meat are in fact superfoods but are easier to find and easier on the wallet.
Its campaign promotes the inclusion of unrefined carbohydrates such as wholegrain bread, jacket potatoes, brown rice and oatmeal and says many everyday vegetables have antioxidants and the right balance of minerals and vitamins that are as good as expensive superfoods.
Theoretically, Safefood should be pushing an open door as Irish shoppers are among the most health-conscious in Europe, according to a recent study carried out on behalf of Bord Bia. The study, conducted by Healthfocus International, showed that 68 per cent of Irish shoppers always or usually buy food for health reasons.
However, the same research also pointed out that while we might eat healthy food, we do have a tendency to combine it with junk, which explains the ever-expanding waistline of breakfast roll man and profiterole woman.
