What are Superfoods?
A Five Week Guide to 5 Fabulous Superfoods: Where they come from and how to use them including recipes and serving suggestions.
So, what are Superfoods?
Natural, pure foods that contain a broad range of important nutrients such as enzymes, phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, chlorophyll, and antioxidants are often called ‘Superfoods’.
They are superior sources of essential nutrients – the nutrients your body needs, but which you cannot make yourself without food. These natural, organic elements are better absorbed by the body, and make a fantastic contribution to your daily nutritional requirements.
Whilst you may quite easily add more fruits, salads and vegetables into your diet by changing how you shop in the supermarket, there is growing awareness of concerns about the quality of those mass-produced foods. Many are grown on mineral depleted soils, or preserved using gasses and air-freighted from foreign countries.
All this concern and controversy makes properly cultivated, organic superfoods a popular addition to your diet if you want to really take care with what you are eating.
Moreover, superfoods are nutritionally more potent than regular foods, are wonderful food sources of antioxidants, and are nutrient-dense and calorie-sparse!
Including superfoods in your daily diet can help you to provide your body with all the nutrients, antioxidants and other fuels it needs to get you through the day happily, energetically, fantastically!
Many superfoods are available in powder or granular form, which makes them super easy to incorporate into recipes; blended into smoothies, or just sprinkled over your regular meals.
Other recommended superfoods are straightforward items we are all familiar with – nuts and seeds, berries and common veg, garlic and fruit. The less familiar items, like Raw Cacao, Barleygrass, Maca, Spirulina and other algae, quinoa, aloe vera etc may seem more exotic, but are now easy to get hold of.
Many of them are now appearing in the local supermarket or farmers’ market, and many others you’ll find for sale at www.nutri-health.co.uk
The following is an introduction to Five Amazing Superfoods all of which are included in the Superfood Starter Pack by Nutri Health.
This exclusive Superfood Starter Pack has been specifically put together to provide you with an easy and comfortable way of introducing Superfoods into your diet – conveniently and deliciously!
The fab five are:
MACA POWDER is an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium
GOJI BERRIES are fantastic for vitamins C and B, and beta carotene
CACAO POWDER is a nutritional powerhouse and packed with sulphur and magnesium
BEE POLLEN loaded with B Vitamins and a brilliant energy source
BARLEYGRASS is full of antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals
The following information will tell you more about the benefits and origins of these five great superfoods, and will tackle the common question – ‘How do I introduce these foods into my diet?’ by giving you some easy recipe ideas.
WEEK ONE: MACA POWDER
Maca Powder comes from the Peruvian root vegetable, Lepidium meyenii and grows in the Andes Mountains at very high altitudes. The rich soil located at these mountain plateaus accounts for the high levels of trace minerals found in Maca.
Maca is a very hardy plant, able to withstand great extremes in temperature. No other plant in the world can survive the extreme weather conditions and intensive sunlight that this amazing superfood grows in.
The size of a radish, Maca in Peru is eaten as chips or made into porridge.
Maca has been cultivated for at least 2000 years and is said to have been consumed by the Inca warriors to increase strength, vitality, stamina, endurance and mental clarity. It is a highly nutritious food that has been used traditionally to gain increased energy, support fertility and enhance immune system function. It is also known for its aphrodisiac properties for men and women, and has an interesting modern nickname of Spanish Viagra!
Widely recognised for its hormone-balancing properties, Maca is particularly helpful for women during their monthly cycle.
Maca is also an adaptogen, which means that it helps to maintain your body’s homeostasis, or in other words, rebalance your body.
The rich iron and calcium content makes Maca a great supplement for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. Its ability to increase stamina and endurance means it is popular among athletes too.
Adaptogens like Maca assist in maintaining the balance of your hormonal system, and offer support to your immune system – supporting whatever functions are weak and in need of assistance, gently restoring you to optimum health.
Overall Maca Powder is a Superfood best known as an excellent source of protein, while also containing all the essential amino acids. It contains substantial amounts of essential nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, vitamin B1, B2, B12, C, E, riboflavin, thiamine, ascorbic acid and essential fatty acids. It is also rich in sterols, alkaloids, tannins and saponins.
Maca continues to be a significant staple food and medicinal plant for the Peruvian people and is now widely available, and growing in popularity the world over as a whole food supplement.
The key benefits of Maca Powder:
• An excellent source of protein
• Contains iron and calcium
• Known to increase stamina and endurance
• Raw, vegan and pesticide free
Quick directions for using Maca Powder:
• Add to smoothies, porridge or yoghurt
• Makes a great breakfast addition by sprinkling over cereal.
• Start wi
th a quarter teaspoon a day and increase the amount gradually up to a tablespoon a day
You can purchase Maca Powder by Nutri Health 100g at £2.95 and Maca Powder by Nutri Health 250g at £6.95
