Health

The 6 Newest Super Foods to Add to Your Diet

Sure, they may be trendy, but there's a reason these foods are being hailed as "super"

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Ah, super foods. You know the deal: Trendy foods with hard to pronounce names (see, "acai") from far off places, that always seem to be especially far from your local grocery store. The coming and going food fads seem like an episode of "Project Runway": One day goji berries are in, the next day, they're out. It's enough to make you pine for simpler times, when all you really needed was an apple a day. A plain, easily spelled, highly accessible, apple.

But before you roll your eyes at the latest foods that are en vogue, bear with us! Super foods are more than just trendy and exotic; they're actually deserving of that luxe label. "Super foods are quality, polynutrient foods that deliver nutritional value far beyond what you'd get from average foods," says Elena Kulakovska, AADP. We're talking foods that are jam-packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids, all of which help the body return to a state of balance. So, sorry apples, you may be good for us, but these "it" ingredients are great for us.

Super foods are also known to boost the immune system, lower inflammation and cholesterol, and reduce the risk of cancer. If that laundry list of benefits isn't enough to convince you to believe the hype, then maybe good old fashioned curiosity will get you to expand what goes in your shopping cart.

To give you a nudge in the right direction, we talked to health experts to get the inside scoop on the newest super foods you should be eating. So go ahead, keep sipping on that acai and popping pomegranate seeds, but make room in your daily diet for these new super foods in town.

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Older comments

Love this

by Mollysunshine Thursday, May 2, 2013 at 02:11AM Report as inappropriate

interesting...

by 92jess11 Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 11:07PM Report as inappropriate

Cacao by itself is very bitter, so I suggest sticking with dark chocolate that has a high cacao content. Bee pollen, can't try that since I am allergic to pollen period. Spirunia tastes like and smells like fish food. But more realistically, eat your fruits and veggies because these are the "original" superfoods that are actually palatable and safe to eat. If anything these are "fad" ingredients that will need more research to show an effect worth purchasing (let alone trying to eat!).

by hiddenexpose Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 01:23PM Report as inappropriate

I've seen most of these on Dr Oz and will be trying them soon. Nice information, thanks!

by EricaC123 Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:35PM Report as inappropriate

I've never heard of any of these but I appreciate the information. Its seems worth looking into.

by msbrown822 Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 05:50AM Report as inappropriate

Cool info! I have never heard of Spirulina.

by yestfl Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 09:56PM Report as inappropriate

Bee Pollen???!!!!!

by Chris213 Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 04:20PM Report as inappropriate

This intrigues me enough to look into these foods further, but doesn't provide enough data on things such as how much to consume to see benefits -- or whether any of them are harmful in large doses (as is vitamin A).

by purple9a Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 03:56PM Report as inappropriate

What breakdown of the actual benefits of these super foods! So often we are told that xyz is a great "superfood" but not necessarily why or how it works. I use spirulina and eat hemp seeds but this makes me want to venture out and get some chia seeds as well!

by HeathRene Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 01:40PM Report as inappropriate

A great article but realistically, dark chocolate. But if I see these in the everyday supermarket, I will try them since I now know about their benefits from this article..

by cmarie Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 01:04PM Report as inappropriate