Features Science & Tech
page 6 • tuesday, february 7, 2012
Technician
Spilling the truth on Superfoods Your body needs a variety of nutrients from a variety of foods that no one food can deliver. Eric Rizzo Senior Staff Writer
Superfood? Calories per container: 300 calories, or 15 percent of your daily recommended calories Vitamin C: 20 percent Vitamin A: 200 percent Main fruit ingredient: Apples As compared to: 4 ounces of carrots: Calories per serving: 40 calories Vitamin A: 308 percent Vitamin C: 4 percent
The circulation of information on nutrition and food labels can make it hard to find the best foods on the market. However, some foods seem Source: nakedjuice.com/nutritiondata.self.com to be the stars of the produce aisle, labeling themselves “Suday; they’re trying to have a perfoods.” This title can lead optimally. With all of the marketing out gluten-free entree every day. people to believe it’s healthy to According to Eberhar t, only eat “Superfoods.” This is there, you may wonder how you can find the most nutrient- things with a lot of color also false. “I think you have to be care- packed, “superfoods” out there. have antioxidants. These foods ful when you hear the term The answer is simple: color. include spinach, sweet pota‘superfoods,’” Sarah Ash, nu- Goodell said, “Eat a rainbow toes and blueberries. There is a day,” Ac- research out there linking freetrition proc ord i ng to radicals to cancer and other fessor, said. Goodel l, i f gene-mutating diseases, which “Not t hat you focus on antioxidants would counteract. t hey’re not eating a natu- However, there is no definite good foods, rally colorful answer out there. According they just plate, instead to Goodell, in certain situahave a betof focusing tions, if you have too much of ter ‘cheering on a “super- a certain substance, it could section’ than f o o d ” y o u trigger free radical production. other foods.” Suzie Goodell, will consume “Eating the same thing everyAccording assistant professor of nutrition science the necessary day is not healthy, even if it’s a to Ash, while vitamins and salad,” Goodell said. According f r u it s l i k e minerals and to Goodell, you need a variety blueberries in your food consumption. and pomegranates are good will be better off. Some people believe in eat“We try to have a lot of color for you, the reason people call them “superfoods” is due to because we want it to look ing for certain situations, such the marketing strategies of the pretty,” Lisa Eberhart, N.C. as building up an immune State dining dietician, said. system. However, according industry that produces them. Although there are no mir- “But color is also a sign of good to Ash, it’s hard to do research on certain nutrients curing acle foods, there are nutrient- nutrition.” The process of selecting foods common ailments. While most packed foods that you should make a part of your diet, which for the dining halls considers people believe Vitamin C helps most people label as “super- many factors affecting stu- with a cold, a better measure foods.” These foods, accord- dents. According to Eberhart, would be to regularly wash ing to Suzie Goodell, assistant when creating the menu with your hands, according to Ash. While studying for an orprofessor of nutrition, have the dining hall managers and nutrients and minerals that chefs, they must have vegetar- ganic chemistry final, you may your body needs to function ian and vegan options every turn to food as a supplement
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“Eating the same thing everyday is not healthy, even if it’s a salad.”
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for the falling energy levels you experience as today turns into tomorrow. However, Ash, Goodell and Eberhart agree that nothing is better than sleeping. Although you may decide to drink five cups of coffee, there’s research that shows your brain continues to work problems while you sleep, according to Goodell. Another fact to consider, according to Eberhart, is that you’re more likely to get sick and less likely to retain information when you’re tired. “The sad reality is that there’s no substitute for getting sleep,” Ash said. However, if you still decide to embark on an “allnighter,” avoid carbs at all costs. According to Ash, carbs will put you to sleep even more than the dry literature in your textbooks. While “superfoods” are not miracle substances, there are some very nutrient-rich foods out there. Instead of focusing on those specific foods, however, you may want to try the simple solution and make your plate more colorful.
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