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How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

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Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#11

Post by maxxxxx »

whathaschanged wrote: post #7
maxxxxx wrote: post #2

Whenever someone talks about "superfoods" I immediately think they are full of shit. It's just an attempt to make something simple (normal food) into something expensive to make money from. Same happened to exercise. The basics of exercise haven't changed in a long time but you still have people repackaging it to make money.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

The sad thing is that all this marketing prevents people from making real improvements. I know people who wanted to switch to better nutrition but then they saw the cost of "superfoods" and organics and gave up. I told them to just eat regular vegetables but it has to be either superfood or nothing. Same with exercise. Either you have to do Crossfit to the point of exhaustion or just stay on your sofa.

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#12

Post by misterHN »

maxxxxx wrote: post #2

Whenever someone talks about "superfoods" I immediately think they are full of shit. It's just an attempt to make something simple (normal food) into something expensive to make money from. Same happened to exercise. The basics of exercise haven't changed in a long time but you still have people repackaging it to make money.

In California, the problem is quite serous. There is a food cartel that runs on undocumented labor. The California food industry maintains artificially high prices because the people in it are racists. These sick people will do anything to manipulate their victims, including using words like "superfood" to trick them into a false sense of security.

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#13

Post by adolph »

whathaschanged wrote: post #7
maxxxxx wrote: post #2

Whenever someone talks about "superfoods" I immediately think they are full of shit. It's just an attempt to make something simple (normal food) into something expensive to make money from. Same happened to exercise. The basics of exercise haven't changed in a long time but you still have people repackaging it to make money.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Getting people to value waste byproduct is pretty awesome hacking. It takes a special kind of imagination and guts to say "this trash, I can turn it into treasure."

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#14

Post by blowski »

padthai wrote: post #10
whathaschanged wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Coconut water was always very popular as soft drink in producing countries. Not waste.

In Brazil, it’s a traditional remedy if you have a bad stomach. It’s also sold at a lot of tourist destinations fresh from the coconut as it’s very refreshing.

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#15

Post by blowski »

adolph wrote: post #13
whathaschanged wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Getting people to value waste byproduct is pretty awesome hacking. It takes a special kind of imagination and guts to say "this trash, I can turn it into treasure."

Where there’s shit, there’s gold. I’m all for people repurposing and selling something that would otherwise go into landfill, etc.

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#16

Post by Retric »

padthai wrote: post #10
whathaschanged wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Coconut water was always very popular as soft drink in producing countries. Not waste.

Common, but in somewhat limited quantities.

"Anecdotal sources describe coconut water is used in India for the senicide of elderly people, a procedure known as thalaikoothal.[13] In this custom, the elderly person is made to drink an excessive amount of coconut water, eventually resulting in fever and death, the exact causes of which have not been determined.[13]"

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#17

Post by yumaikas »

whathaschanged wrote: post #7
maxxxxx wrote: post #2

Whenever someone talks about "superfoods" I immediately think they are full of shit. It's just an attempt to make something simple (normal food) into something expensive to make money from. Same happened to exercise. The basics of exercise haven't changed in a long time but you still have people repackaging it to make money.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Coconut water, when it's actually fresh (I don't know about after packing/processing), is actually pretty good for drinking, especially since it has various nutrients you don't get out of regular water. Fresh, it isn't something I'd call a "waste byproduct".

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#18

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

wlesieutre wrote: post #6
maxxxxx wrote: post #2

Whenever someone talks about "superfoods" I immediately think they are full of shit. It's just an attempt to make something simple (normal food) into something expensive to make money from. Same happened to exercise. The basics of exercise haven't changed in a long time but you still have people repackaging it to make money.

It's an extra bummer because they price things higher when there's a market of customers saying "If I keep chugging this pomegranate juice I'll never get cancer, it's got antioxidants!" Some of us just wanted to drink that because it tastes good...

Actually there are studies demonstrating that pomegranate improves blood circulation - and for me that's the main reason to use it. Antioxidants etc. is just bullshit.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4146683/

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#19

Post by will_brown »

They seem to be making strangely isolated measurements that have little to do with the claimed benefits of the alleged superfoods.

For starters I think most people agree there is no need to replace electrolytes during endurance activities that do not exceed 1 hour, oddly the length of time in this study. I’m not sure anyone claims coconut water hydrates better than water, but certainly it’s going to be more beneficial for replacing lost electrolytes. Personally, I’d like to see a study regarding coconut milk vs water and the hydration effects on the intestines themselves, my hypothesis would be intestines hydrated with coconut milk more readily absorb vitamins and nutrients from other foods than intestines hydrated with just water, either way it would be an interesting experiment.

As to chia seeds being compared to salmon, that alone should probably confirm their status as a food rich in omega 3 fatty acids, as salmon is one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids. But what’s the use case? As a runner I am more inclined to drink water or coconut milk with a teaspoon of soaked chia seeds rather than run with a belly full of salmon, but for dinner I’d rather have a plate of salmon than a teaspoon of chia seed. And omega 3s are not the sole benefit of chia seeds, As natures form of time release capsules they will provide some degree of continued hydration during long runs from the liquid they were soaked in that salmon will not. It seems they could have measured the hydrating effects of the chia seed vs the salmon, but instead they only seem to focus on the percent of omega 3 obsorption of chia vs salmon, but as I said these were oddly isolated measurements.

Re: How super are those pricey 'superfoods'?

#20

Post by whathaschanged »

yumaikas wrote: post #17
whathaschanged wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coconut water is repackaged waste byproduct that someone figured out how to make money off of. It's classic marketing.

Coconut water, when it's actually fresh (I don't know about after packing/processing), is actually pretty good for drinking, especially since it has various nutrients you don't get out of regular water. Fresh, it isn't something I'd call a "waste byproduct".

The entire superfood craze is about packaging, processing and marketing. Fresh isn't an ingredient, it's subjective.
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