It's my first opportunity to bring some good nuggets o' knowledge from my new natural foods workplace to the pages of my blog.. hooray! Working with the public is very educational. Topic of the day? So-called miracle fruits and/or foods. Yesterday, on a few separate occasions, customers came by asking for items that they couldn't even pronounce.. magazine article in hand - literally pointing to the name of an item and wanting it.. not knowing if it was a juice, or a snackfood, or a supplement.. they just want it! Now!
I'm always wary of food fads. On behalf of your dignity, emotions, and your wallet, I beg you to also be wary. These are some cautionary signs that signal to me to get out my skepticism boots and ask: 'is this food sounding more like a "miracle fruit/food" whose healthful qualities may in fact be all, or at least over-dramatized, hype?' Here are my red flags:
(The item in question may hit one, a few, or all of these points)
1. Touted as a miracle food - "the key we've all been missing to fast weight loss," "instantly slimming," "fat flushing," etc.
2. The food or ingredient in question seems to be suddenly popular and everywhere (not just 'health food stores' but in larger grocery stores and Target, on TV Shows like Oprah and Rachael Ray, magazines and tabloids, infomercials, gym and spa juice bars)
3. 'Comes from' some jungle, desert, or rainforest about which I've heard little or nothing about (seems to be made to sound exotic and 'newly discovered' 'a secret of Tribe 'X' all these years')
4. I start hearing or overhearing recommendations from friends/family that sound something like the following: "You need to try it; my sister-in-law's husband's uncle's cousin swears by it!"
Don't get me wrong - I love trying new foods! As a matter of fact, I'm gearing up for my next post to introduce an awesome one to you (one that will likely be caught up in the next hype, but has legitimate healthful qualities that can survive scrutiny). But I would never describe something as a miracle food, as I have literally, as I'm typing this, heard Oprah in a commercial refer to something revealed on her next show. (Oprah is a firestarter for waves of 'miracle food' insanity.. grr. Like the woman, but come on now.)
Foods can be wonderfully healthy, but no one specific food is the 'answer we've been looking for.' We need to be educated about the foods we're putting into our bodies; it's the fuel for everything we do. Why would I ingest something I know nothing about? I would never in good conscience recommend to my readers that they try something without explaining it first, or at least giving a few key facts and providing real links to more comprehensive information from trusted sources. These 'miracle food' commercials and packaging tend to just say you need it, because it has "300% of your daily antioxidants/etc," and people who have included it in their eating plans have lost weight. We all know that there are waaay too many factors in a person's life to determine that a specific, singular ingredient caused an individual's weight loss. More than likely, the person in the study who ingested the 'miracle food' and experienced good results ate other nutrient-dense foods, in the proper caloric amounts and macronutrient proportions, stayed hydrated, and exercised. This tidbut of info is usually included in the fine print.
Chances are it won't hurt to integrate a new natural fruit or grain into your plan, and sometimes they really do offer some great benefits - but are they much greater than any other variety of fruits and veggies? So much greater that they are (often) up to 200x as expensive as other items found in the produce section? 'Miracle foods/fruits' manufacturers are typically riding high on the wild publicity, and you could end up paying $40 for a bottle of acai essence or goji extract or hoodia capsules.. Be careful people. Often the amount of real ingredient in that pill or bar is not nearly close enough to the amount used in whatever study that concluded it contributed to any kind of result, if the ingredient ever contributed anything in the first place. A healthy weight loss rate is about .5-1% of your body weight per week - less if you're including healthy weight training in your plan (because muscle weighs more than fat). Rapid weight loss is usually water and/or muscle loss - yikes.
Additionally, we've learned by now, I fervently hope(!), that food in its natural, whole state is usually much more preferable over pills, supplements, or juice blends of that food. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, but when you're eating foods in their whole states, they come naturally, synergistically packaged with other nutrients and fiber to control how much your body can absorb. Thanks for watching out for us, Mother Nature! You're dandy.
This all being said (no less in a tirade I didn't know was coming.. oops!), if adding an extract/etc to your intake makes you feel better, helps fire your motivation, doesn't interact with any medications or intolerances/allergies you have, and you are removing some empty calories from your regular dietary intake to make room for the calories from your new food - keep at it.
It is tempting to try new fad foods. Some foods that have been swept up and over-processed into bars and pills actually are quite good for you. Remember to not confuse superfoods with miracle fruits/foods. Sometimes they seem interchangeable, but in my book, they are very different. (I recommend again, Superfoods Rx by Dr. Steven Pratt to read up! Sumemr reading perhaps?..) Where miracle foods are usually a moderately healthy food with claims that they alone are the missing key to your weight loss, superfoods are foods that have an impressively high nutrient quality/quantity per serving. Sometimes they can be both. For example, a superfood that got swept up as a miracle fruit/food are goji berries. Goji berries, like most small berries, are very high in antioxidants and fiber, and are an ingredient in some very healthy granola mixes.
If you take anything away from this lil post o' mine, let it be a heads-up to be skeptical and make up your own mind, based on real evidence, on whether a new food find will help you reach your goals. There's a lot of potential profits for food manufacturers out there. I promise I won't ever post a random food recommendation simply because I heard about it on TV. I might hear about it and check it out, but if I find nothing impressive, I won't bother to write up a post about it. Keep an eye out for my next recommendation.. a unique kind of food with potential superfood-iness qualities ..which I think we will notice is on the rise of the food fad world. We will have to stay tuned.. and skeptical. Oi.
Note: Googling 'miracle food' can be an entertaining visual aide after reading this post.
I'm always wary of food fads. On behalf of your dignity, emotions, and your wallet, I beg you to also be wary. These are some cautionary signs that signal to me to get out my skepticism boots and ask: 'is this food sounding more like a "miracle fruit/food" whose healthful qualities may in fact be all, or at least over-dramatized, hype?' Here are my red flags:
(The item in question may hit one, a few, or all of these points)
1. Touted as a miracle food - "the key we've all been missing to fast weight loss," "instantly slimming," "fat flushing," etc.
2. The food or ingredient in question seems to be suddenly popular and everywhere (not just 'health food stores' but in larger grocery stores and Target, on TV Shows like Oprah and Rachael Ray, magazines and tabloids, infomercials, gym and spa juice bars)
3. 'Comes from' some jungle, desert, or rainforest about which I've heard little or nothing about (seems to be made to sound exotic and 'newly discovered' 'a secret of Tribe 'X' all these years')
4. I start hearing or overhearing recommendations from friends/family that sound something like the following: "You need to try it; my sister-in-law's husband's uncle's cousin swears by it!"
Don't get me wrong - I love trying new foods! As a matter of fact, I'm gearing up for my next post to introduce an awesome one to you (one that will likely be caught up in the next hype, but has legitimate healthful qualities that can survive scrutiny). But I would never describe something as a miracle food, as I have literally, as I'm typing this, heard Oprah in a commercial refer to something revealed on her next show. (Oprah is a firestarter for waves of 'miracle food' insanity.. grr. Like the woman, but come on now.)
Foods can be wonderfully healthy, but no one specific food is the 'answer we've been looking for.' We need to be educated about the foods we're putting into our bodies; it's the fuel for everything we do. Why would I ingest something I know nothing about? I would never in good conscience recommend to my readers that they try something without explaining it first, or at least giving a few key facts and providing real links to more comprehensive information from trusted sources. These 'miracle food' commercials and packaging tend to just say you need it, because it has "300% of your daily antioxidants/etc," and people who have included it in their eating plans have lost weight. We all know that there are waaay too many factors in a person's life to determine that a specific, singular ingredient caused an individual's weight loss. More than likely, the person in the study who ingested the 'miracle food' and experienced good results ate other nutrient-dense foods, in the proper caloric amounts and macronutrient proportions, stayed hydrated, and exercised. This tidbut of info is usually included in the fine print.
Chances are it won't hurt to integrate a new natural fruit or grain into your plan, and sometimes they really do offer some great benefits - but are they much greater than any other variety of fruits and veggies? So much greater that they are (often) up to 200x as expensive as other items found in the produce section? 'Miracle foods/fruits' manufacturers are typically riding high on the wild publicity, and you could end up paying $40 for a bottle of acai essence or goji extract or hoodia capsules.. Be careful people. Often the amount of real ingredient in that pill or bar is not nearly close enough to the amount used in whatever study that concluded it contributed to any kind of result, if the ingredient ever contributed anything in the first place. A healthy weight loss rate is about .5-1% of your body weight per week - less if you're including healthy weight training in your plan (because muscle weighs more than fat). Rapid weight loss is usually water and/or muscle loss - yikes.
Additionally, we've learned by now, I fervently hope(!), that food in its natural, whole state is usually much more preferable over pills, supplements, or juice blends of that food. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, but when you're eating foods in their whole states, they come naturally, synergistically packaged with other nutrients and fiber to control how much your body can absorb. Thanks for watching out for us, Mother Nature! You're dandy.
This all being said (no less in a tirade I didn't know was coming.. oops!), if adding an extract/etc to your intake makes you feel better, helps fire your motivation, doesn't interact with any medications or intolerances/allergies you have, and you are removing some empty calories from your regular dietary intake to make room for the calories from your new food - keep at it.
It is tempting to try new fad foods. Some foods that have been swept up and over-processed into bars and pills actually are quite good for you. Remember to not confuse superfoods with miracle fruits/foods. Sometimes they seem interchangeable, but in my book, they are very different. (I recommend again, Superfoods Rx by Dr. Steven Pratt to read up! Sumemr reading perhaps?..) Where miracle foods are usually a moderately healthy food with claims that they alone are the missing key to your weight loss, superfoods are foods that have an impressively high nutrient quality/quantity per serving. Sometimes they can be both. For example, a superfood that got swept up as a miracle fruit/food are goji berries. Goji berries, like most small berries, are very high in antioxidants and fiber, and are an ingredient in some very healthy granola mixes.
If you take anything away from this lil post o' mine, let it be a heads-up to be skeptical and make up your own mind, based on real evidence, on whether a new food find will help you reach your goals. There's a lot of potential profits for food manufacturers out there. I promise I won't ever post a random food recommendation simply because I heard about it on TV. I might hear about it and check it out, but if I find nothing impressive, I won't bother to write up a post about it. Keep an eye out for my next recommendation.. a unique kind of food with potential superfood-iness qualities ..which I think we will notice is on the rise of the food fad world. We will have to stay tuned.. and skeptical. Oi.
Note: Googling 'miracle food' can be an entertaining visual aide after reading this post.
