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Lotharofthepotatoppl t1_j0f2aj4 wrote

Reply to comment by ACpony12 in TIL that RED bananas exist. They have a sweeter taste, and contain more nutrients like vitamin C, compared to regular yellow ones. by i_hate_you_and_you

Yep. Açai, maybe quinoa, no doubt others as well. Any time some AnCiEnT eXoTiC sUpErFoOd gets big due to fad diet culture or whatever other bullshit, the people who depend on it suddenly can’t afford the food they need to survive. “Superfood” itself is such a bullshit title, unless you’re quoting Tremors 2: “They got into your damn superfood, Burt!”

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SaintUlvemann t1_j0hf0os wrote

Açaí is the dumbest superfood. It is delicious, don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly normal fruit. But that's the problem: it's a perfectly normal fruit.

But they’re touted for things like vitamin A and calcium content. Well here’s a link to the USDA’s Food Data Central database, specifically their record for a fortified açaí berry drink. (Fortified, meaning, it’s had nutrients added above and beyond what the berry itself contains.) Amounts are given on a per 100 gram basis.

  • Vitamin A: 9698 IU
  • Calcium: 19 mg

Here’s the link for carrots:

  • Vitamin A: 16706 IU
  • Calcium: 33 mg

That fortified açaí berry drink still has less vitamin A and calcium in it than fucking carrots do. Are carrots the next superfood? No, because they're not fancy, pretty, or exotic, which is what really makes a superfood a superfood.

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Lotharofthepotatoppl t1_j0hlfjr wrote

I’ve seen blueberries advertised as a superfood. They’ll call anything a superfood if only because it has a greater proportion of some specific nutrient compared to most other foods, but that’s just because it’s a different goddamned fruit or whatever! It’s a bullshit, meaningless buzzword cooked up by some jackoff somewhere who wanted to get in on America’s obsession with eating ourselves to better health while making no other changes.

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