Experts affirm that a healthy diet based on seasonal and local products is enough to cover our nutrient needs
For the WHO, ‘superfoods’ are all those foods that should never be missing from our diet, and this category would include foods rich in vitamins, antioxidants or healthy fats. A list in which, according to this premise, basic foods such as citrus, nuts or oily fish.
Therefore, it would not be necessary to resort to exotic foods or foods from distant countries to obtain health benefits attributed to an exclusive product. In this regard, África González, a doctor of Medicine and specialist in Immunology, stated in a recent report published by Faro de Vigo, from the Prensa Ibérica group, in which she maintained that “there are no ‘superfoods’; it is just a marketing to sell products at inflated prices, when our usual fruits and vegetables are the best option. Nor do they activate the immune system.”
Nicolás Piedrafita Páez, a registered dietitian-nutritionist, expresses himself along these lines. “It is true that this type of food is seen more and more and everything is greatly intensified through the social networks, but many times they are attributed to foods that, by their nature, have a high level of certain nutrients and totally extraordinary benefits or that can even improve or cure certain types of pathologies when, deep down, neither It really is like that & rdquor ;, he says.
On this point, Piedrafita maintains that “there are foods that have nutrients, such as vitamin C, Omega-3, etc., which are very interesting and important in food; There are foods that have a good proportion of these nutrients, but it is also true that in a varied diet we can reach these levels without having to eat a specific food”. In this sense, the dietitian-nutritionist maintains that “many times an attempt is made to hold a single food responsible for a person’s health being better or worse and it really is the whole of everything we eat& rdquor ;.
Thus, he considers that it is very important to “know what is consumed & rdquor ;. “You have to be quite critical. with all the messages that reach us, above all, from social networks and the internet, because they are an accessible information resource but that, sometimes, are masked through advertising or certain marketing work behind it& rdquor ;. “It is a reality that there are certain nutrients that are very important, but in the end we end up ingesting them if we maintain a varied and logical diet & rdquor ;, he insists.
Everything we have at our disposal is enough for the body to stay healthy
Although Piedrafita, who also works in health centers, maintains that “as regards the issue of vitamin D, yes, in areas like Galicia, due to the environment in which we live or work, we are very little exposed to the sun and we have it at levels low”, but even at that point I would not recommend any of the considered ‘superfoods’ to alleviate said deficit. “Having a Varied diet of local and, above all, seasonal fruits and vegetables, which is an important point because they are going to have a higher level of nutrients, it would already be enough to have good levels of vitamins that are going to come in handy. I don’t see it as necessary in that sense& rdquor;, he stresses: “A varied and healthy diet is enough to cover all the requirements we need& rdquor;.
In addition, with the issue of ‘superfoods’, the expert notes that, many times, “it is believed that consuming much more of certain nutrients is better, and this is not always the case,” he warns. “The body has some needs, some requirements, and covering them is usually enough.. There are cases, in pathologies where one can be more delicate, in which more importance is usually given to certain foods or to certain culinary techniques that can preserve more nutrients, but, in general, all we have within our reach is enough for the body to stay healthy & rdquor ;.
Myths in food
So it is important to avoid myths in food. “They always proliferate, but it is that even They can also demonize certain foods because they are believed to have negative effects. or influence certain physiological situations, but this is not really the case, always talking about eating real food, obviously, removing everything that can be processed or ultra-processed& rdquor ;, he qualifies.
And it is that many times, all these myths are born because “we want a food to solve our health problems, make it as easy as that. And, really, what marks our health the most are the habits we have (food, hydration, sports…) and it is what it will do as long as we stay well& rdquor ;.
The price is another important element to take into account in the shopping cart. “That is why we have to consume local and seasonal food, because if we have to resort to exotic foods, which are not from our area, the price rises,” says Piedrafita. “It is not so difficult to eat well, what we need is a good intake of seasonal fruits and vegetables, by price and flavor, and prioritize those things that are good for us: legumes, eggs, preserves, meat and fish…& rdquor ;, he lists. The price also exercises a kind of “screening & rdquor; or wall when accessing certain products.
Unfortunately, there is no product that holds the best kept health secret: “The important thing is to acquire simple healthy habits and maintain them; we look for food to solve our problems, but if that were possible a lot of things would be solved& rdquor ;.
“Nutrition, in general, is a very young science, although we have been eating our whole lives,” reflects Piedrafita, “so often the messages change over time: what was bad is now suddenly good and That, many times, makes it difficult for the population to understand what they should really eat, what is the most appropriate& rdquor ;. And at this point, she insists: “What is clear to us is that Eating fresh food, of which we know its origin, is the most important thing”. An easier recipe, impossible.