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Truths and myths about superfoods in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic

Hassoun, Abdo ; Harastani, Rania ; Jagtap, Sandeep LU orcid ; Trollman, Hana ; Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo ; Awad, Nour M H ; Zannou, Oscar ; Galanakis, Charis M ; Goksen, Gulden and Nayik, Gulzar Ahmad , et al. (2022) In Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition p.1-18
Abstract

Nowadays, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly seek foods that not only fulfill the basic need (i.e., satisfying hunger) but also enhance human health and well-being. As a result, more attention has been given to some kinds of foods, termed " superfoods," making big claims about their richness in valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds as well as their capability to prevent illness, reinforcing the human immune system, and improve overall health.This review is an attempt to uncover truths and myths about superfoods by giving examples of the most popular foods (e.g., berries, pomegranates, watermelon, olive, green tea, several seeds and nuts, honey, salmon, and camel milk, among many others) that are commonly... (More)

Nowadays, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly seek foods that not only fulfill the basic need (i.e., satisfying hunger) but also enhance human health and well-being. As a result, more attention has been given to some kinds of foods, termed " superfoods," making big claims about their richness in valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds as well as their capability to prevent illness, reinforcing the human immune system, and improve overall health.This review is an attempt to uncover truths and myths about superfoods by giving examples of the most popular foods (e.g., berries, pomegranates, watermelon, olive, green tea, several seeds and nuts, honey, salmon, and camel milk, among many others) that are commonly reported as having unique nutritional, nutraceutical, and functional characteristics.While superfoods have become a popular buzzword in blog articles and social media posts, scientific publications are still relatively marginal. The reviewed findings show that COVID-19 has become a significant driver for superfoods consumption. Food Industry 4.0 innovations have revolutionized many sectors of food technologies, including the manufacturing of functional foods, offering new opportunities to improve the sensory and nutritional quality of such foods. Although many food products have been considered superfoods and intensively sought by consumers, scientific evidence for their beneficial effectiveness and their "superpower" are yet to be provided. Therefore, more research and collaboration between researchers, industry, consumers, and policymakers are still needed to differentiate facts from marketing gimmicks and promote human health and nutrition.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition
pages
18 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:85135458508
  • pmid:35930325
ISSN
1040-8398
DOI
10.1080/10408398.2022.2106939
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
46210e58-88f2-4064-bdf4-2f6e5812ddf1
date added to LUP
2023-09-17 14:44:46
date last changed
2024-04-19 01:02:14
@article{46210e58-88f2-4064-bdf4-2f6e5812ddf1,
  abstract     = {{<p>Nowadays, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, consumers increasingly seek foods that not only fulfill the basic need (i.e., satisfying hunger) but also enhance human health and well-being. As a result, more attention has been given to some kinds of foods, termed " superfoods," making big claims about their richness in valuable nutrients and bioactive compounds as well as their capability to prevent illness, reinforcing the human immune system, and improve overall health.This review is an attempt to uncover truths and myths about superfoods by giving examples of the most popular foods (e.g., berries, pomegranates, watermelon, olive, green tea, several seeds and nuts, honey, salmon, and camel milk, among many others) that are commonly reported as having unique nutritional, nutraceutical, and functional characteristics.While superfoods have become a popular buzzword in blog articles and social media posts, scientific publications are still relatively marginal. The reviewed findings show that COVID-19 has become a significant driver for superfoods consumption. Food Industry 4.0 innovations have revolutionized many sectors of food technologies, including the manufacturing of functional foods, offering new opportunities to improve the sensory and nutritional quality of such foods. Although many food products have been considered superfoods and intensively sought by consumers, scientific evidence for their beneficial effectiveness and their "superpower" are yet to be provided. Therefore, more research and collaboration between researchers, industry, consumers, and policymakers are still needed to differentiate facts from marketing gimmicks and promote human health and nutrition. </p>}},
  author       = {{Hassoun, Abdo and Harastani, Rania and Jagtap, Sandeep and Trollman, Hana and Garcia-Garcia, Guillermo and Awad, Nour M H and Zannou, Oscar and Galanakis, Charis M and Goksen, Gulden and Nayik, Gulzar Ahmad and Riaz, Asad and Maqsood, Sajid}},
  issn         = {{1040-8398}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  pages        = {{1--18}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition}},
  title        = {{Truths and myths about superfoods in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2106939}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/10408398.2022.2106939}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}