The term “super fruits” is basically commercial terminology for a range of the more rare fruits deemed to have a particularly high nutritional value, especially their antioxidant value. Their perceived health benefits would seem to be the main reason for their popularity.

Some of the more popular superfruits include: acai, blueberry, cranberry, gogi, red grape, guarana, mango, mangosteen, noni and pomegranate. Fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and blackberries are not included here even though they have many of the qualities of superfruits, mainly due to the fact that they are commonly known and have not attracted that novelty value of the other fruits.
One of the main features of the super fruits is the presence of antioxidant phytochemicals. These phytochemicals are thought to have potent antioxidant qualities that are thought to be particularly helpful in many serious diseases such as leukemia, cancer and neurological diseases, as well as conditions such as mental fatigue and inflammation.

The antioxidants that are provided by these superfruits play an important part as free radical scavengers. Free radical damage can occur at cellular level due to pollution, toxins and the stresses of daily life. Free radicals become unstable and attack healthy molecules, this is where the antioxidants provided by the superfruits really come into their own. The more powerful the antioxidant the more protection they offer.

Very often these superfruit antioxidants are taken as a nutritional supplement. It is not unusual to find that they are a combination of superfruits to enable them to offer the best antioxidant activity. These supplements are also often a more concentrated form of the superfruits, to ensure that the highest possible dose is made available.

The capacity of the superfruit supplement is measured in ORACs – Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity. This enables the consumer to have an understanding of the potency of the product they are purchasing to ensure that it is offering good value for money. As an example, mangosteen juice has an ORAC value of 15 – 17 thousand whereas cranberry juice has a value of 8 – 10 thousand.

Although it is generally agreed that all fruits are good for our health superfruits do seem to contain more complex substances that help to maintain good health and keep certain diseases and illnesses at bay

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews

Encouraging people to eat more fruit and vegetables is seen a top priority by the organizations around the world who are promoting a healthier diet. Many serious illnesses are caused by nutritional deficiency due to a diet made up of poor quality food.

Research indicates that nine or ten servings of fruits and vegetables a day is optimal, whereas dietary guidelines tend to recommend a minimum of five servings a day. However it would appear that most populations are consistently not reaching even half this goal. Attempts to increase the intake of fruit and vegetables is proving to be a major public health challenge.

It is a well documented fact that people who eat a diet rich in plant foods have a reduced incidence of heart disease and cancer, but despite this fact the message doesn’t seem to be getting through to certain sectors of the community.

So why are vegetables so beneficial to our health?

Apart from the obvious fiber content in fruit and vegetables, which ultimately aids the digestive process, they contain many vitamins and minerals .

Vitamins

Vitamin C and the B complex vitamins are found in all fruit and vegetables whereas vitamin A is found in read yellow and orange fruit and vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes.

Minerals

The minerals copper, iron, zinc, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and potassium are found in certain fruit and vegetables

Phytonutrients

More recently research has been focusing on a different set of nutrients called phytonutrients. These bioactive substances are found in all plants – not just fruit and vegetables but also in flowers, herbs spices, seeds, nuts, oils, cereals, pulses, chocolate as well as beverages such as tea and coffee. Many but not all of these nutrients are highly coloured. There are 20 top phytonutrients each with their own special name and properties

Professor Heber, the director of the University of California Los Angeles Center for Human Nutrition, divides foods into 7 colour groups: red, red/purple, orange, orange/yellow, yellow/green, green, white/green.

• The red group eg tomatoes, provide lycopene; believed to have anti cancer properties
• the red/purple group eg grapes, provide anthocyanins; believed to have antioxidant and protective effects on the brain and heart functioning
• the orange group eg carrots, provide alpha and beta-carotenes; believed to help against lung cancer and support the immune system
• the orange/yellow group eg tangerines provide cryptoxanthins; believed to help with the maintenance of healthy vision, reproduction and body tissues
• the yellow/green group eg avocado provide lutein and zeaxanthin; believed to reduce the risk of macular degeneration
• the green group eg broccoli provide isothiocyanates and indoles; believed they may have anti cancer properties
• the white/green group eg celery provide allicin; believed to act as an antibiotic in the body and have anti cholesterol benefits

A diet rich in fruit and vegetables can provide the body with all these phytonutrients provided they are consumed on a daily basis.

Ref “The Optimum Nutrition Magazine” Winter 2007

Janet L. Matthews
Skype ID: lindajanetmatthews