Forget Avocado And Quinoa. Rujuta Diwekar Tells What Foods Are The Real Superfoods

"Superfoods" is indeed quite a common term used in the highly popular weight loss industry. Foods that are commonly termed as superfoods include avocado, quinoa, green tea, nuts, seeds, greek yogurt, oats, etc. While these foods may offer a variety of weight loss benefits, they might not be as superfood-ish for every individual. If they are being heavy on your pocket, or if you have travelled longer than usual to get them, then they might not be a superfood for you. In order to help people identify superfoods, celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar took to Instagram to share a few tips.

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How to identify superfoods

1. Ensure that they are time-tested: See if what you are calling as superfood is known to your grandmother. See if that particular food item has multiple uses in the kitchen. Rujuta tries to infer food versatility here. She is trying to imply that foods which have been a part of your culture and tradition, is locally available, and can be used in multiple ways (eg. lentils, sugarcane, jaggery, etc). Mango, the fruit which is soon going to be in season, can be eaten raw, turned into aam panna, aamras and used for making pickle, to name a few.

Also read: 7 Superfoods That Are Completely Overrated

2. See how the artist community responds to it: Before identifying a food as superfood, see how the artist community responds to it. If the food appears on border of sarees, on tribal paintings or have a folk song, proverb or cultural anecdote dedicated to it, it can be rightly called a superfood.

Foods that bring back happy memories can be called superfoods
Photo Credit: iStock

3. See if it brings people together: And why not? Isn't food the best way to connect and make bonds? What is the worth of a "superfood" if it makes you have you have your meal separately from the rest of your family members and friends! A superfood is rightly called superfood if it unites people despite class divide, gender, community and age divide. If a particular food item brings back happy memories, then it is a superfood. Then be it the navrata food (kuttu puri, pakods, aloo, etc) or dal rice, khichdi, etc. A food is superfood if it ignites empathy in you and inspires you to share or hoard.

Rujuta sums it up by saying, "Long story short, patronise food that gives you the three Es: energy to your body, economy to your farmer, ecology to your globe."

The next time you term avocado or quinoa as superfood, remember this!

Also read: Reduced Sex Drive? 6 Superfoods Which Can Boost Your Libido

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.