From heather honey to edible crickets, Julia Molony probes the evidence for the health benefits of our new 'wonder' foods
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DCU PhD student Saorla Kavanagh, who led the research that
found Irish heather honey has health benefits comparable with Manuka
honey.
Peak avocado has been and gone. Kale is no longer king. You can't cheat
death by drinking pomegranate juice after all. And reports of turmeric's
importance as a "miracle spice" may, it turns out, have been
exaggerated.
Things move fast in the world of superfood trends. In 2018, health
and wellness influencers over the world may have been busily tucking
into kimchi and slurping down bone-broth but for 2019 attention has
moved to a whole new range of produce and products. Here's our round-up
of the rising stars hitting your supermarket shelves. Irish Heather Honey
For antioxidant power that beats Manuka to the punch
If you've been forking out the euros on expensive jars of Manuka
honey in the health-food store because of its much-touted antimicrobial,
antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, you might want to start
looking closer to home. A study carried out by researchers in DCU and
Trinity College looked at the amounts of phenolic compounds (a measure
of a honey's antioxidant properties) found in various types of Irish
honey. They discovered that humble Irish heather honey packed as
powerful an antioxidant punch as Manuka, and crucially, it is
(currently) much less expensive to buy.
Lloyd Hewson, from Nourish health foods, predicts that the news about
Irish heather honey will lead to a revival of the sweet stuff's
popularity next year. Customers, he says, are increasingly moving away
from sweeteners such as agave. "People seem to be very interested in
honey," he explains. They stock several Irish-produced brands of heather
honey and ivy honey. "They are all raw," he adds. "Customers don't want
over-processed honey."
Edible crickets
For improved gut health
There's been hype building around the value of insect-based food
sources for several years now. Not least since Angelina Jolie heartily
endorsed the notion of bugs as food in 2017, tucking enthusiastically
into a snack of fried spider. It has long been known that bugs can
provide a high-protein, low-fat food source. But new research puts
crickets squarely on the map as part of the growing trend for foods
which promote healthy gut flora - itself increasingly recognised as an
important marker of good health.
Last summer, the results of a clinical trial published in the
journal Scientific demonstrated that participants fed a diet high in
crickets had increased numbers of beneficial gut bacterial and lower
levels of harmful inflammatory markers in their blood. Cannabidiol cookies
Currently taking the UK by storm
Not to be confused with hash brownies, these are treats that are made
with CBD oil (a non-psychoactive chemical derived from the cannabis
plant which won't get you high). Neither will they get you in trouble
with the law, as CBD oil is legal in Ireland and is sold in health-food
stores around the country. Interest in the benefits of cannabidiol is
growing all the time. In Ireland, a number of high-profile campaigns
have been waged to make it available on prescription for children
suffering intractable epilepsy. Research supports its usefulness as an
anti-inflammatory and as a treatment for reducing anxiety. But it's
worth bearing in mind that though the products on sale in health food
shops in Ireland are legal, they are largely unregulated, so it can be
hard to know exactly what you are getting. Some experts caution that CBD
is properly treated not as a health food, but as a drug. Moringa plant powder
To supercharge your smoothie
The miracle tree moringa
Native to India, where it grows on the foothills of the
Himalayas, Moringa plants have been used in traditional medicine for
centuries, earning it its nickname "the miracle tree." Every part of the
tree is edible, and its leaves, which are densely packed with vitamins
and minerals, have also been used in India and Africa as a treatment for
malnutrition. For good reason - just a few leaves "contain seven times
the Vitamin C of an orange, four times the calcium of milk and four
times the beta-carotene of carrots", says nutrition researcher C.
Gopalan quoted in Time magazine. Brazil nuts
A recent study carried out by researchers at San Diego University
found that, "Brazil nuts help people feel full and maintain a healthy
level of glucose, reducing the risk of obesity and diabetes," according
to the study's author, Mee Young Hong, PhD RD. If that is not incentive
enough, another study published in July found that men who consumed a
diet rich in nuts showed improved sperm count and motility. Camu camu
A little-known fruit native to the Amazon might soon be employed as a
weapon in the fight against obesity. Scientists in Quebec discovered
that Camu camu boasts 20-30 times more Vitamin C than kiwis and five
times more polyphenols than blackberries.
Camu camu can help combat obesity
Not only that, researchers at Laval University discovered that mice
fed an extract of Camu camu gained less weight when fed a diet rich in
sugar and fat, compared to controls. The cohort fed the Camu camu
demonstrated improved glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity as well
as lowered inflammation. https://www.independent.ie/life/health-wellbeing/which-new-superfoods-pack-a-real-punch-37673325.html
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