"Superfoods": The Marketing Check

"Superfood" sounds like science and is advertising: the term is defined neither in food law nor used in nutrition science — any package may call itself that. It becomes legally interesting only with concrete health statements, and there the usual rule applies: authorised is what stands in the EU register — and for açaí berries, goji or wheatgrass it says: nothing (botanical claims sit "on hold", as with ashwagandha and turmeric). Typical superfood marketing therefore lives on insinuation: "rich in antioxidants", "traditionally prized", "the power pack of the Andes".

The scientific background of the antioxidant story is itself sobering: high lab values for "antioxidant capacity" say little about effects in the body — the US authorities withdrew their former ORAC database precisely because the numbers were systematically misused.

The systematic review by van den Driessche and colleagues collected the human trials on the famous candidates — from açaí via chia, goji and pomegranate to spirulina and wheatgrass. The overall picture: small samples, short durations, some manufacturer involvement, mixed results on blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure. Some products showed some favourable signals — worth mentioning and far from "super". A 2025 GRADE meta-analysis puts a finer point on chia seeds specifically: they lower blood pressure moderately (≈−7/−6 mmHg) but show no effects on weight or blood sugar — one signal, not a superpower. For none of the stars does the kind of evidence exist that a strong health promise would require: large, independent, replicated intervention trials.

To be fair: these foods are (as foods, not as powder extracts) mostly perfectly fine — berries are berries, seeds are seeds. If you like chia, eat chia. The problem is never the food; it is the superlative and the surcharge.

• Açaí/goji → blueberries, blackcurrants, blackberries (frozen counts fully — often more nutrient-stable than long-travelled fresh goods).
• Chia → flaxseed (ground): more omega-3 (ALA) per gram, a fraction of the price, shortest transport route.
• Quinoa → oats, millet, buckwheat — solid nutrient profiles without the Andes surcharge; oats additionally bring beta-glucan (which even carries an authorised claim on the cholesterol topic — one of the few genuine ones in this arena).
• Wheatgrass/spirulina shots → kale, spinach, broccoli: more measurable nutrients per portion, as a vegetable instead of a ritual.
• Pomegranate elixir → the whole apple, the whole orange: fibre included, sugar in its slow packaging.

The pattern behind it: the nutrient benefit sits in food groups (berries, seeds, whole grains, brassicas) — not in a particular origin story. And those groups sit in the supermarket for pennies.

The superfood question dissolves with a single reformulation: instead of "which food has superpowers?" — "how do I get more vegetables, fruit, legumes and whole grains into my normal week?" That is unspectacular, evidence-based and cheap: the hand-portion logic from the deficit article (a fist of vegetables with every meal), frozen berries into the protein breakfast, lentils into the prep kit. If budget and appetite for açaí bowls remain afterwards: pleasure is an entirely legitimate reason to buy — it just needs no health costume.