Top 10 Super Foods List (Fruits)

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The term “super foods” hasn’t been officially recognized yet. It’s simply what we call foods that exceed the nutritional benefits of normal everyday food and can provide health benefits. They are typically fruits and vegetables that have concentrated amounts of vitamins, minerals and other beneficial plant nutrients.

The nutrients that they contain many of us don’t receive enough of in our daily diets, can help make up for nutrition deficiencies and help protect us against disease. Try to think of at least 3 different fruits that you think would be in the top 10 super foods list and see if they got included in the list below.

Top 10 Super Fruits List

10. Blueberries – The blueberry is by far the most popular berry but not the most beneficial super food. Other than it’s tastiness, blueberries have been shown to improve memory and slow disease associated with aging. They contain large amounts of vitamin K, manganese, vitamin C and fiber… much more than most other berries.

Like many of the other super fruits on the list they have a lot of beneficial plant nurients, 16 including resveratrol which help protect many functions of the body.

9. Cranberries – One of the most under rated super foods, cranberries, have high amounts of anthocyanins which are a type of polyphenol. They prevent bacterial infections and have been shown to be affective against many types of cancers. They contain high amounts of vitamin C, fiber, manganese and a decent amount of vitamin K which many of us don’t get enough of.

The nutrients help protect the cardiovascular system, support the immune system, protect against cancer and health of the digestive tract.

8. Red Grapes (wine) – Red wine has been made famous in the past decade due to it’s resveratrol and tannin contents. They protect the body from disease, cancer, promote a better metabolism, longevity and levels of good cholesterol. These beneficial plant molecules are found in the skin, seeds and pulp of the grape.

Vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium and especially manganese are found in red grapes. They also provide a wide range of phenolic acids, flavonols and carotenoids. While they don’t contain the most antioxidants, they are still very beneficial if eaten on a daily basis.

7. Avocados – (Yes, Avocados are a fruit, not a vegetable.) They are a nutrition powerhouse and very beneficial for heart health. They contain an extensive list of nutrients including potassium, vitamin C, Iron, Thiamin, Niacin, Folate, Zinc, Manganese, vitamin E, Riboflavin, vitamin B6, Copper, Magnesium and fiber. The good fats and beta carotene are also found in avocados.

6. Coconuts – Both the oil and water of this fruit (drupe) are very beneficial to health. It also has the most diverse uses out of any super fruit on the list. 50% of coconut oil is made up of lauric acid which is a rare fatty acid and is beneficial to metabolism. Natural coconut oil is also high in the good types of fat that reduce disease.

Coconut water is very high in potassium and electrolytes, something that we always needs replenished. It has calcium, manganese, magnesium, protein, pantothenic acid, folates, thiamin and vitamin C.

5. Acai Berry – One of the world’s most famous super fruits acai berry is responsible for introducing many of us to the world of super foods. It contains more types of fatty acids than other berries but only contains half the amount of antioxidants than maqui berry.

Still it has many diverse plant molecules that are healthy for the body and mind. Acai berry contains many different polyphenols. Quercetin, cyanidin and resveratrol are 3 of the more well known. Certain molecules in the berry have also shown anti-inflammatory properties.

4. Pomegranate – An ancient fruit that grows in the regions of Egypt to China, this super food contains calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C and potassium. Pomegranate’s most important health benefits are it’s polyphenols.Ellagic acid and anthocyanins are a type of tannin, all of which are polyphenols. Tannins are the molecules in wine and certain fruits that give it the rich color, flavor and health benefits which pomegranate is very rich in.

3. Goji Berry – The goji berry has been renowned in China for thousands of years for it’s health benefits. Also known as the wolf berry, it is full of vitamin C, 18 different amino acids, multiple B vitamins and high in carotenoids (natural plant pigments like beta-carotene that also have health benefits).

The combination of amino acids, vitamins and carotenoids make goji berry one of the true super foods. Its rare to find any fruit that has this broad of a nutrition list which is why its has been used by herbalists for so long.

2. Maqui Berry – The super fruit that has recently dethroned the acai berry as the number one antioxidant power house, still remains in the second position and sets new standards. The test results for measuring the antioxidant activity of the berry showed that maqui berry has nearly twice the antioxidant content.

Omega fatty acids, multiple amino acids, fiber and resveratrol are just a few of the nutrients this super food provides. Anthocyanins, polyphenols and other plant molecules are also in very high amounts. These are also the nutrients responsible for the color of these fruits. Maqui berries have such a high concentration of these plant molecules that the deep purple color almost appears to be black.

1. Calafate Berry – This is probably a berry very few people have even heard of. Calafate berries are another berry that comes from the Patagonia region of South America. Nutritional analysis shows that it contains almost identical levels of nutrients and antioxidants as maqui berries.

However, recent studies show that it may be flavonols, a type of flavonoid, that may have more beneficial effects than antioxidants alone. Flavonols are responsible for promotion of healthy vascular function and protection. Studies from Chile have also shown that calafate berry has higher concentrations of flavonols than maqui berry.

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