WHAT IS A SUPERFOOD? SERIOUSLY. WHAT THE HECK IS A SUPERFOOD?

I learned to read with my face buried in comic books. I was eight years old when I bought my first comic book (Fantastic Four #108 for anyone that might care) and for the next ten years or so, I often crossed over into realms where extraordinary heroes guarded humanity from planet-devouring space beings or the tiniest villains from inner space.

These days, whenever I hear the word “super” affixed to anything, it still makes me think of those superheroes of my childhood. To become super still means to become bigger & better than the original. Super is a word that confers exceptional power, not to be taken lightly.

Each superhero had an origin story. Something scientifically extraordinary had to happen to transform a relatively ordinary human into someone super. The Fantastic Four flew a space ship through cosmic rays. Spiderman was created by the bite of an irradiated spider. The Incredible Hulk was exposed to gamma rays. And Superman, well, he came from a whole other planet. That’s pretty super in my book.

All of this got me wondering what exactly constitutes a true “superfood”. Obviously, superfoods don’t come from other planets. They aren’t irradiated by cosmic rays or modified genetically. In fact, as I pondered this I began to realize that all the comic book ways for things to become “super” didn’t much appeal to me when it came to my food. (Yes, amazingly, I rather prefer foods that haven’t been irradiated, mutated, transformed, or come from other planets.)

But what the heck is a superfood?

I was checking out at the Phoenix Ikea the other day and the cashier, studying my Powered by Rejuvenate! Superfoods t-shirt, finally had to ask, “What the heck is a superfood?” I wondered at first if she was serious because it seems so self-evident. Of course a superfood is… well, super! Like a superhero, only food. But…

Okay, it was a good question.

The dictionary defines a superfood as a food that is considered to be beneficial to your health and that may even help some medical conditions. MedicineNet.com offers this: “A non-medical term popularized in the media to refer to foods that can have health-promoting properties such as reducing one’s risk of disease or improving any aspect of physical or emotional health.”

I’m not a doctor or scientist, but by my standard of “superness” these definitions seem a little weak. WebMD lists the following foods as being superfoods:

•    Beans
•    Blueberries
•    Broccoli
•    Oats
•    Oranges
•    Pumpkin
•    Salmon
•    Soy
•    Spinach
•    Tea (green or black)
•    Tomatoes
•    Turkey
•    Walnuts
•    Yogurt

All of these foods are excellent sources of some amazing nutrients. I eat  all of them (except broccoli, lingering childhood food trauma, don’t ask!). Combined in a meal, all these foods which are super make a supermeal. Salmon with an organic blueberry chutney (Yes, it exists, click here for the recipe), soy sauce, and spinach, along with a cup of green tea, now that’s a supermeal! But…

I still think that for something to be super, it has to actually be bigger, faster, stronger than the original. That’s my opinion, supported by decades of superhero lore. Are blueberries super? You bet they are, but what about blueberries mixed with aronia berries? Wouldn’t that be even more super? Is chlorella super? Sure it is, but what about chlorella combined with organic sprouts, spirulina, and hemp protein? That would be truly super!

Is there really such a thing as a superfood?

I know what you might be thinking. Superheroes don’t exist, so maybe superfoods don’t exist, either. Our friends over at naturalnews.com offered my favorite definition:

Superfoods are vibrant, nutritionally dense foods that offer tremendous dietary and healing potential. They are powerful sources of clean protein, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, good fats, essential fatty and amino acids, and other nutrients that offer deep levels of nutrition.

Superfoods are foods that go above and beyond. They pack in the good stuff that we all want rallying for our health on a daily basis. Although there are long lists of foods that contain nutrients that support health, superfoods turbo charge the system – especially when eaten on a regular basis.

Now that’s a superfood definition I can get behind!

Rejuvenate! Superfoods Are Truly Super

There are plenty of highly designed superfoods available in health food stores. Over the years I’ve tried plenty of them. My personal favorite, and the one I consume on a daily basis, is Rejuvenate! Berries & Herbs. A scoop goes on my morning cereal, in my smoothie, and even in that delicious blueberry chutney I mentioned above. Here’s the quick lowdown on the Rejuvenate! line of superfoods sold by Integratedhealth.com.

Rejuvenate! Plus

Rejuvenate! Plus is a complete, high-RNA, high-protein, sweet green superfood. It is designed to provide all the nutrients you need to thrive, including protein, essential fats, vitamins (including a coenzyme form B complex), minerals, great-tasting green foods, and high-potency nucleic acids (RNA/DNA), nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleic acid precursors (e.g., d-ribose) that build powerful health.

• A Green Food with a Sweet Delicious Flavor!
• High Antioxidant (ORAC) Value of 6,300+!
• Suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans & Gluten Free
• Mixes Well with other Rejuvenate!™ Superfoods
• Delicious in Smoothies!

Rejuvenate! Berries & Herbs

Rejuvenate! Berries& Herbs is a delicious, high-RNA and high-protein superfood that includes organic freeze-dried blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and strawberries. It also includes a complete cell-protective blend of organic and wildcrafted herbs and antioxidants. This formula does not contain any “green foods” yet provides therapeutically levels of RNA (primarily from nutritional yeast and RNA extracts of nutritional yeast).

• Delicious Berry Flavor Bursts with Real Berries!
• Powerful Cell-Protective Herbs
• High Antioxidant Value (14,270 units)!!
• Suitable for Vegetarians and vegans. Gluten Free.
• Mixes Well with other Rejuvenate!™ Superfoods

 Rejuvenate! Original Greens

Rejuvenate! is the world’s first superfood designed to provide therapeutic levels of dietary nucleic acids. It is not only the first ever dedicated high-RNA superfood, but is also “supergreen”, providing highly blended levels of chlorella and spirulina. It is the the most detoxifying of the Rejuvenate! superfoods. Rejuvenate! contains chlorella, d-ribose, nutritional yeast, chia seeds, rice bran solubles, spirulina, Vitamin C, chlorella growth factor (CGF), magnesium, dulse, kelp, yeast RNA, folinic acid, and methylcobalamin.

• A hardcore SUPERGREEN FOOD and a great DETOXIFIER!
• Great for Vegetarians and Vegans & Gluten Free
• Mixes Well with other Rejuvenate! Superfoods
• Add to SMOOTHIES for a super-powered drink!