Superfoods have multiple nutritional benefits from common vitamins and minerals found in everyday foods. Superfoods may contain essential fatty acids, higher levels of fiber, phytonutrients, nutrients that stimulate your immune system or anti-aging sesquiterpenes, according to David Wolfe of “Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future.” Adding these foods to your daily diet can add nutrients you may be lacking in your daily diet.
Better Immunity
Omega-3 fats from flaxseed, borage oil, cold water fish, walnut oil, evening primrose oil and black current seed oil are a superfood that has gotten a lot of focus over recent years. Omega-3 fats are important because they play a role in reducing inflammation in your body by down playing immune responses of your body that leads to your immune system attack yourself. Having a diet high in linoleic acid or omega-3 fats turns on what is called anti-inflammatory immune responses. This means, your natural immune responses that keep infections from happening can spin out of control and possibly lead to chronic illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s, joint inflammation and degeneration, insulin dependent diabetes, allergies, multiple sclerosis, and celiac disease, according to Life Extension Magazine. Increasing your intake of Omega-3 fats improves your immune system maintaining your immune system to attack only foreign material and increasing recognition of self better.
Balancing Hormones
Adaptogen is a powerful ability that superfoods, such as goji, asparagus root, gingseng, maca and rhodiola possess. These adaptogens maintain your hormone-gland system and improve hormone levels by balancing out hormones that are in excess and boost hormones levels that are low. According to Wolfe, adaptogens are nontoxic to you and increase your body’s ability to stress by supporting your endocrine system, especially your adrenal and thyroid hormone production. Superfoods provide hormone precursors, fiber, essential fatty acids that your body uses to maintain hormone regulation. Wolfe also states these superfoods can eliminate perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms by minimizing hormone overages and help restore adrenal function to balance out changing hormone levels.
Free Radicals
Superfoods are packed with vitamins and minerals that help fight against free radical production and damage. Superfoods contain high levels of vitamin C, E, polyphenols, catechins, epicatechins, magnesium, selenium and copper. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals to prevent the radicals damaging your cells in order to become less reactive. These vitamins and minerals help to improve cell integrity and neutralize free radicals and the damage caused by oxygen radicals in the body. Cacao, citrus fruits, shitake mushrooms and acai contain high levels of antioxidants to provide added protection against free radical damage in your body.
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