Superfoods: from seeds, berries to quinoa

SUPERFOODS? The very word puts you in mind of marketing spivs conning gullible shoppers - but could kale, quinoa and goji berries actually provide extra portions of health-giving goodness in a standard British diet?

The answer, as always, is possibly.

Last week, a Newcastle University study for ITN suggested that the blueberry hype may be justified - five women showed improved antioxidant protection after eating two bowls of the North American fruit every day for eight weeks.

With the price of blueberries nudging £10 per kilo in Tesco yesterday, the fruit becomes an expensive daily essential for a family of four. And steady as you go, advises Nottingham-based nutrition coach Susan Hart. Eating too much of one food goes against one of the cornerstones of good diet - variety.

'Almost every week, something gets described as a 'superfood' and the latest thing is bee pollen,' she said.

'It can be confusing for the shopper, so the first thing I would advise is to go with a shopping list, which saves you money, and then to concentrate on variety and colour.

'Do that and you will automatically pick up 'superfoods' - which is a made-up word designed to sell different things.

'Often the best foods are brightly coloured, so look at purple blueberries, or blackberries now they are in season. Look out for raspberries and peppers and beetroot, which is very good for blood pressure.

'All of these have a high nutritional content with specific vitamins and minerals.'

A superfood is reckoned to have health-promoting and/or disease-resistant properties. But although beloved in media and food marketing circles, the term is rarely used by white-coated dieticians and never by nutrition scientists.

It's not just fruit and vegetables that achieve superfood status. Never mind arborio rice, bulgar wheat and couscous, the grain of the moment is quinoa - a staple in its high-altitude South American homeland and, thanks to a University of Nottingham student, now a low-altitude British crop.

Quinoa - pronounced 'keen-wah' - has been developed for the European market by Stephen Jones while studying for his PhD in crop sciences at the university's school of biosciences at Sutton Bonington.

He has established the British Quinoa Company, which grows the grain on his family's farm in Shropshire and holds the exclusive UK rights to grow the only quinoa varieties bred for the European climate.

The initiative was featured on last Sunday's edition of the BBC TV rural affairs show Countryfile.

Stephen said: 'Countryfile has been a fantastic way for us to raise the profile of this new British grain and we hope to have a large increase in our production area over the next few years to satisfy a rapidly growing market.'

It is grown not because of its flavour but because of its nutritional properties.

Susan Hart welcomed its growing popularity. 'I love quinoa,' she said. 'It's low in fat and cholesterol and because it is high in protein, it's perfect if you don't eat meat. I tend to flavour the water it is cooked in - adding a stock cube gives it something extra. I'd eat it cool in a salad.'

And bee pollen? According to its champions, it does everything from extend life and prevent infectious diseases to regulate the intestines and protect against radiation.

Fans like Victoria Beckham will pay about £44 a kilo for a product that sprinkles well on your organic muesli with whole almonds, sunflower seeds, goji berries and added oat bran.

But what Susan Hart describes as the ultimate superfood will never be ranked by marketing spivs alongside blueberries and bee pollen because, although it contains no calories, deters excessive eating and is brilliant for the skin... it costs next to nothing and will never command a hype premium.

It's called tap water.

Are you a superfood consumer or do you resist the marketing hype? Share your experiences on nottinghampost.com

For more about Susan Hart visit http://ift.tt/1B54QxB.

Entities 0 Name: Susan Hart Count: 4 1 Name: ITN Count: 1 2 Name: South American Count: 1 3 Name: University of Nottingham Count: 1 4 Name: Stephen Jones Count: 1 5 Name: Victoria Beckham Count: 1 6 Name: Tesco Count: 1 7 Name: BBC Count: 1 8 Name: Newcastle University Count: 1 9 Name: Shropshire Count: 1 10 Name: UK Count: 1 11 Name: North American Count: 1 12 Name: Stephen Count: 1 13 Name: British Quinoa Company Count: 1 14 Name: Sutton Bonington Count: 1 Related 0 Url: http://ift.tt/V3zjvY Title: Fuel right! 9 triathlon nutrition rules Description: A superfood is easy to find in the grocery store, contains nutrients that are known to enhance longevity and has other health benefits that are backed by peer-reviewed, scientific studies. Broccoli makes the list because it's one of nature's most nutrient-dense foods, with only 30 calories per cup.