By Sophia Liao ’25
Superfoods. Think expensive, exotic grains, powders, and berries extracted from the finest grounds and flown in from halfway around the world. They line the walls of nearly every grocery store and have blown up on social media in the last couple of decades with radical claims of fighting illness, preventing aging, and even mitigating cancer.
However, superfoods are not as glamorous as they sound. Since their inception, they have been glorified by social media, enabling companies to manipulate health-eager consumers. Despite being thought to improve and enrich diets, they pose the risk of contracting people’s diets. Yet, regardless of the downsides, in 2022, the global superfood industry was valued at an astounding $162.6 billion, which begs the question: how did we get here?
The easy answer is market manipulation. The term “superfood” was coined in the early 20th century as part of a food marketing campaign for bananas by the United Fruit Company. At the time, bananas were advertised as a cheap, safely packaged, and easily digestible food that could be integrated into everyday diets. However, their popularity only soared in 1924, when medical journals inaccurately cited bananas as a treatment for celiac disease.
Similarly, the acai berry, a relatively new superfood, only rose to fame in the U.S. after Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and popular television figure, said on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009 that acai improves skin health, fights against aging, and aids in weight loss. Today, acai bowls are a trendy, savored, delicious frozen treat seen as “healthy” by its mere association with the acai berry superfood. The cases of bananas and acai berries have paved the way for the appeal of modern superfoods to be their supposed illness-treating abilities and superior nutrition.
However, this enticing perception of superfoods is flawed. For one, superfoods alone cannot cure disease. Balance, variety, and adequacy in diet are what will ultimately lead superfood consumers to achieve their desired health and wellness.
Second, the notion that superfoods are “better” than other foods is misleading. The “super” in “superfood” indicates that these foods are superiorly nutritious; however, the modern societal definition of a superfood lacks a scientific or FDA-regulated benchmark of what foods can or cannot be classified as “super.” Without a universally accepted standard for what constitutes a superfood, the term “superfood” becomes virtually meaningless. Companies invented this term as a way to advertise certain foods as remedies for health issues, not to convey true nutritional value. Thus, since the term is used loosely, companies can easily exaggerate the meaning or effects of superfoods through catchy campaigns targeted at health-conscious consumers. Not surprisingly, foods perceived as healthy show the greatest sales, which explains the superfood industry’s incredible success.
Third, many of the nutrients in superfoods can be found in other more common and often more affordable fruits and vegetables. Thus, when people choose to purchase a bag of rare goji berries picked and flown in from China versus a large red apple from the local supermarket with the same health benefits, they’re buying into a market facade. This notion that superfoods are exceptionally beneficial also has the potential to limit consumers’ exposure to other equally nutritious but less hyped food options. Oftentimes, superfoods are temporary fads, with the next big trend right around the corner. Consequently, due to our rapidly changing trend-focused diet culture, consumers often incorporate individual superfoods into their diets as they come and go in the market. This emphasis on individual superfoods, however, overshadows the importance of cultivating a balanced and well-rounded palate. Eating a diverse range of proteins, fruits, vegetables, and grains is most important to maintain optimal health.
The market glorifies superfoods as highly nutritious foods that can act as a panacea for various health issues — but do not fall prey to these marketing schemes. It is crucial for consumers to recognize that superfoods are not stand-alone treatments for disease and that there is nothing particularly superior about their nutritional values, which are often comparable to other, less-marketed foods. Historically, the ones who advertise superfoods are blogs, television shows, and celebrities — not scientists, dieticians, or nutritionists. The term was developed as a marketing tactic and has no scientific or medical credentials. The very nature of our diet culture pushes us to keep up with food trends, but these fast-paced fads cause consumers to fixate on everchanging superfoods-driven diets and lose sight of developing a well-rounded, nutritionally balanced plate.
