The Superfood Myth

The term “superfood” has been used now for several years and is accepted by many people as factual – meaning that certain foods have super healthy benefits and without them, your body will suffer. This is far from an accurate characterization. Below is the list of the 10 top superfoods found on a pro-superfood website:

Almonds, Broccoli rabe, Avocados, Raw milk, Wheatgrass, Salmon, Flaxseeds, Blueberries, Cinnamon, Sweet potatoes

Now, have a look at the list of 10 top superfoods from the National Health Services in the UK, which correctly criticizes the characterization of these foods as “super”:

Blueberries, Goji berries, Chocolate, Oily fish, Wheatgrass, Pomegranate juice, Green tea, Broccoli, Garlic, Beetroot

The position taken by the superfood advocates, is that these foods are needed to somehow supercharge one’s health, or that optimal health cannot be achieved without these foods, which are views that reflect a lack of understand of health promotion.

Consider the fact that most Americans are overweight and inflamed – this means that adding a cup of blueberries per day, or adding cinnamon or garlic to meals, will NOT have a “super” effect on the system and convert an inflamed obese person into a DeFlamed obese person or somehow stimulate weight loss.

Before food modernization, remote societies were capable of eating only that which they grew, foraged, or hunted, and these societies were remarkably free of the degenerative diseases compared to their prevalence in industrialized nations. Arctic Eskimos largely ate fatty meats, such as whale, walrus, and seal. The Masai tribe in Africa lived primarily on meat, milk, and blood. Neither of these populations ate a single superfood and each population was healthy for generations.

Consider hypertension, a very common condition in America. Fasting studies have demonstrated that a 2-week water fast can normalize hypertension or reduce it to pre-hypertension levels (1,2). In this case, no foods were consumed at all, just water.

So the notion that we need a superfood to achieve a healthy state or to reverse an unhealthy state is obviously an overblown claim. The goal should be to avoid pro-inflammatory foods and replace these with anti-inflammatory foods, such as those incorrectly called superfoods, and only eat enough calories to achieve and maintain a normal body weight. The simple details of this concept and process are outlined in The DeFlame Diet.

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Cardiovascular Health Promotion - Nutritional Supplements

There are many cardiovascular conditions from which people suffer, most of which are caused by chronic inflammation, including atherosclerotic-induced heart attacks, peripheral artery disease, erectile dysfunction, and hypertension. Back pain can also be promoted by atherosclerosis of the arteries that feed the spine.

The use of aspirin (salicylates) by patients demonstrates the inflammatory nature of cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, vegetables and fruit contain low doses of salicylates, and these foods are recommended by the American Heart Association for heart health.

Regarding supplements, magnesium, fish oil, vitamin D, botanical/spices, and coenzyme Q10 are all known to offer cardiovascular health benefits via their anti-inflammatory actions. So the best nutritional supplements for cardiovascular health promotion are included in the Basic and Advanced Health Promotion programs.

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Prostate Health Promotion - Nutritional Supplements

There are three main conditions that compromise the prostate gland: prostatitis, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and cancer.

In particular, prostate hypertrophy and cancer are known to be promoted by ongoing chronic inflammation, long before any symptoms begin. So, in addition to whatever pharmaceutical or surgical treatments that may be used, it is important to include health promotion (deflaming) activities as well.

These activities include the anti-inflammatory diet as described in the Diet Book and the Basic or Advanced supplement programs.

Additionally, certain prostate-health specific nutritional supplements have been identified, which are found in Prostana. These nutrients include Saw palmetto, nettle and pygeum.

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Joint Health Promotion-Nutritional Supplements

Joint pain is one of the more universal problems that afflict both men and women and the majority suffer at one point or another. The primary joint health problem is pain and pain is caused by inflammation.

Eating “inflammatory” “joint pain” foods should be avoided and taking either the Basic or Advanced Health Promotion supplement programs is a good choice.

Regarding specific joint health nutrients, glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and joint protective effects. Glucosamine/chondroitin are the building blocks for proteoglycans, function to imbibe water like a sponge, allowing for joints to resist compression without injury.

Joint space loss as we age is known to be caused by a loss of proteoglycans, secondary to chronic inflammation and inappropriate joint loading. Consequently, supplemental glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate have been popular for years for the purpose of reducing pain and preserving joint space.

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Dr Seaman’s work in area of pain and inflammation has been cited by researchers at Harvard University, the CDC, and other universities in America and abroad.

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