August 16th, 2009

Alexa Stevenson, Research Penn State

Are Superfoods Really Nutritional Powerhouses?

EXCERPT

“Research is beginning to show that restricting calories can have health benefits beyond weight loss, such as extending life span.” However, “There are a lot of ways to practice caloric restriction. One way is just to cut calories, regardless of whether you’re cutting nutrients. This isn’t good because you won’t meet nutrient recommendations for good health. A better way is to cut calories but not nutrients, and to do that, you really need nutrient dense foods.” 

A bioactive component, on the other hand, is a compound that has known health benefits but that, unlike essential nutrients—the vitamins and minerals our bodies need daily—is not required to achieve a nutritionally adequate diet. “The key one I can think of,” says Kris-Etherton, “is resveratrol, which seems to be an anti-aging compound.” Resveratrol is found in grape skins, among other sources, though how much is necessary to obtain a benefit is still under debate. Current research suggests that it is a lot—much more than we can get in a typical healthy diet. 

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