5 Real Story Behind Superfoods: What You Thought You Knew May Be Wrong
Foods rich in nutrients and boost immunity are called superfoods. Since the spread of COVID-19, people worldwide have been focusing on immunity, and consuming foods that boost immunity can help maintain health. Superfoods include beans, spinach, blueberries, and more. Among them, we will discuss superfoods with interesting stories: salmon, green tea, spinach, nuts, and garlic. We introduce five misconceptions about superfoods and exciting stories related to food.
Norway’s efforts to export salmon to Japan
While salmon sushi appears to be a Japanese dish, Norwegian innovators actually created it to export salmon to Japan. However, in Japan, they were pessimistic about eating raw salmon because of parasites, so they considered exporting steak-style salmon, and they wanted to break down Japan’s culture because the market for eating grilled salmon was small. Norwegian-farmed Atlantic salmon is not at risk of parasite infection. They worked hard to make this known, even from the embassy, including hosting a raw salmon sushi and salmon sashimi tasting event in Tokyo. They steadily informed about raw salmon for 10 years. As a result, Norway became the world’s largest country for salmon farming.
Green tea ice cream contains more caffeine than coffee
Caffeine reduces fatigue, but if you consume too much, it can cause insomnia. Green tea ice cream contains as much caffeine as coffee, raising the question: Why don’t people who can’t sleep after drinking coffee experience insomnia after eating green tea ice cream? Green tea includes the powerful antioxidant catechin. This catechin may have a detoxifying effect. Also, theanine, which helps calm nerves, is a big help. These ingredients in green tea reduce the side effects of caffeine. The recommended daily caffeine intake is 400mg for adults and 125mg for teenagers, so if a teenager eats a cup of green tea, ice cream, and a chocolate bar, they consume more than the daily recommended amount of caffeine.
Popeye gets strong by eating spinach, which was born out of a scientist’s mistake
The cartoonist E. C. Segar, who drew the character Popeye, decided that the food Popeye eats to get strong is spinach, and this setting was born out of a scientist’s mistake. Popeye was born in 1929 when scientists focused on how vital iron is to our bodies. Therefore, it was thought that spinach, known to be high in iron, would increase our body’s energy. E. C. Segar felt the same. This misconception arose because a scientist in the 1800s made an error recording the iron content of spinach, placing the decimal point one place behind. While spinach’s iron content is 2.2mg per 100g, this error inflated it to 22mg, a tenfold difference. Researchers corrected this mistake in the 1930s.
Peanuts and walnuts are not nuts
Nuts are widely known as good food for the body. Indeed, nuts contain many nutrients and have established themselves as foods regularly eaten in everyday life. It has even been selected as one of the top 10 health foods by the U.S. Weekly magazine. When you think of nuts, you usually think of almonds, peanuts, and walnuts. However, peanuts and walnuts are not nuts. Peanuts are not nuts but belong to the bean family, just like peas and common beans, and belong to the legume family that protects seeds with a leather-like shell. Also, walnuts belong to the drupe family. Nuts refer to fruits that consist of a single seed covered
Roasted garlic and raw garlic have no difference in efficacy
Garlic is known to lower blood pressure and stimulate insulin secretion, so it helps improve diabetes and contributes to the treatment of various diseases. However, because garlic has a strong taste and smell when eaten raw, it is roasted to destroy the enzymes and reduce the smell. So, eating roasted or raw garlic is better for the body? While most vegetables lose nutrients when cooked, garlic does not lose much of its main components, such as allicin, even when cooked. Therefore, whether you roast garlic or eat it raw, there is no significant difference in the effect of the nutrients.
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