Secret Superfoods
6 foods they told you not to eat that will in fact take your vitality to the next level
What comes to mind when you hear someone say superfoods? Probably the mental image of a blender full of kale, spinach, blueberries, chia seeds and oats- or something along those lines. What does it actually mean, for a food to meet the criteria of being a ‘superfood’? It means nothing. The term ‘superfood’ has no scientific, no nutritional definition whatsoever. The term is nothing more than a marketing label. A label that has unfortunately been slapped onto foods rather arbitrarily- and in some cases, quite incorrectly.
So today, we are here to set part of the record straight. To be clear: there is really no such thing as ‘superfoods’. However if there were, here are 6 foods that have incorrectly been labelled as harmful, that are in fact pretty super, and which most people should be eating if they want to take their vitality to the next level.
1. Steak
To no surprise, the first superfood on the list is steak. Steak has been unfairly and unfoundedly labelled as a cancer-causing food, that is also going to put a big strain on your heart. Both of these claims are false. There are no specific causal links between red meat, and cancer and atherosclerosis (heart disease). Yes, a high protein diet can seem to augment the growth of pre-existing cancers through the activation of M-TOR and other growth pathways. However that is not an effect specific to protein from red meat, and should not be a reason to avoid a high protein diet if you are a healthy, cancer-free person. Similarly, yes there is a correlation between heart disease and high cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. However the intake of saturated fat, does not cause an increase of cholesterol in the bloodstream. Therefore this is not a reason either to avoid red meat.
With the ‘cons’ debunked, let’s talk benefits. As already alluded to, steak is a great source of protein, and is a natural source of creatine. Creatine is great for tissue hydration, growth and maintenance of muscle mass, as well as cognitive focus and all around mental performance. Creatine is a hard amino acid to come by (if you are not supplementing it) and steak is the creatine king.
The benefits do not just stop at protein however. Unlike some other popular meat proteins such as chicken and pork, steak is jam-packed full of vitamins and minerals. Steak includes significant amounts of vitamin B12, zinc, selenium and niacin, amongst others. Furthermore the saturated fat found in steak is not something to be feared, but in fact sought out. Saturated fat gets converted into cholesterol, which is then used as the building block for testosterone and other hormones essential to your vitality. Steak is your daily protein powder, creatine, multivitamin and shot of HRT, all rolled into one delicious slab of meat. So stop saving it for the monthly Miller & Carter’s date night, and eat as much of it as you want!
2. Eggs
Eggs, like steak, have improperly been labelled as a food that will give you heart disease- due to the misinformation that saturated fat leads to an increase of cholesterol in the blood stream. Egg whites are an excellent bioavailable source of protein, with a high proportion of leucine (the amino acid responsible for triggering muscle protein synthesis). Egg yolks are a great source of saturated fat- again something to be sought out, rather than feared- and also contain an incredibly wide variety of vitamins and minerals. Egg yolks contain:
Choline (important for healthy regulation of the nervous system)
Vitamin A (important for good eye, heart and lung performance)
Vitamin E (antioxidant and anti-inflammatory)
Vitamin K (helps blood clotting and overall cardiac health)
Calcium (important for healthy bones and teeth, as well as muscle contraction)
Phosphorus (important for tissue growth, maintenance and repair)
Zinc (important for proper functioning of the immune system)
Vitamin B1 & B12 (boost energy production)
Selenium (important for healthy thyroid function)
Lutein (protects the eye against cataracts)
Eggs are a great source of vitamins, minerals protein and fat. They are heart protective (not damaging) and you can eat as many of them as you want- just skip on the toast.
3. Milk
There is a theme emerging here. When you got to a certain age, you were told you could not longer have full fat milk, because it was no longer ‘good’ for you. So, saturated fat is good for us up until a certain age, and then all of sudden, no more? Interesting- and again, completely false. Milk is not only another great source of saturated fat, but carbs and protein too- having an almost equal split between the 3 macros. We all know it is a great source of calcium, but if you have it raw it also contains significant amounts of vitamin A and zinc- in addition to being great for your gut.
Yes, drinking milk is obviously consuming liquid calories. Therefore if your primary goal is weight loss, drinking a lot of milk may be not be the best nutrition protocol for you. On the other hand however, if you are looking to gain weight, then drinking milk daily is an easy way to get in extra, nutritious calories. When it comes to bulking, milk is an essential daily superfood.
4. Honey
“Honey is just sugar”- false. Honey is not just sugar. Honey contains a multitude of minerals and compounds beneficial for your health, and has excellent anti-bacterial properties, making it not just a food but a medicine too. Furthermore the sugar in honey, is not the sugar you find in chocolate, sweets, cereal, etc. The body uses and disposes of the sugar found in honey, much more easily and efficiently than processed sugars. This makes it a great, easily-digestible source of carbs to fuel your workouts with.
The only thing is you must make sure the honey is raw. Off the shelf honey has been heat treated, which releases a number of toxins into this liquid gold. The easiest way to ensure your honey is free from these toxins is to buy it as pure honeycomb. So long as it is raw, honey is a superfood that we have been using to fuel and heal us since hunter-gatherer times, so enjoy it guilt-free.
5. Butter
Aaaand, we’re back to the ‘saturated fat causes heart disease’ facade again. Butter is a cooking fat we have been using for millennia. Heart disease was a small risk to humanity until just a few decades ago- you play out the logic. Kids love eating sticks of butter, and let them eat as much of it as they want. Butter is not only another great source of saturated fat (essential for cholesterol production, which provides the building blocks for vitality) it also contains vitamin A, D, E, B12 and K2. Butter is delicious and nutritious. Use it to cook with (providing the heat is not too high), slap it on top of your meat and potatoes, and also just reach into the fridge and bite a chunk out of it every now and then, if you fancy.
6. Potatoes
Last but not least we have the carby companions to our meat- potatoes. Potatoes have wrongly gotten a bit of a bad rap. Let’s be clear: there is a big difference between chips/fries and potatoes- or there should be. Chips/fries are glazed and cooked in rancid and reheated vegetable oils. Potatoes are an unprocessed whole food, that you should be cooking in a bit of olive oil, butter, ghee or tallow. Potatoes are a great source of potassium, containing roughly twice the amount that bananas do. They are also incredibly satiating- this has been measured. This means they are a good food to incorporate if your goal is weight loss, as they will leave you feeling fuller, meaning more bang for your buck when it comes to your calories. Potatoes are a good, clean source of carbs, containing an electrolyte mineral that can be difficult to consume enough of from whole foods alone. Combine that with its use as an effective food for weight loss, and that puts potatoes on my list of ‘bad foods’ that are actually pretty super.
There you have it. 6 foods that you have been told not to eat, because they are ‘bad’, that are in fact great for you and in the right contexts will help you take your vitality to the next level. They are also 6 foods that you probably think are delicious (it is almost like we know, right?) so hopefully you will be glad to hear that you no longer need to fear indulging in them.
Eat well, enjoy, and have a blessed day.