"Superfoods" of the past versus present

Ask any educated and health-conscious consumer to rattle off a shortlist of "Superfoods" and you’ll likely hear a number of familiar responses: kale, honey, açaí and quinoa.

But if you asked this same question to an equally educated and health-conscious consumer of the past, you would have received some very different responses, including granola, bran muffins and even frozen yogurt.

Who has it right? The consumers of the past or present? Or does such a thing as a “Superfood” not even exist?

"I remember when I was younger, all the healthy and cool families had granola," recalls Dr. Nina Shapiro of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "It’s cookies, basically! Not terrible for you but really it’s a treat."

Certain foods, Dr. Shapiro acknowledges, are quite healthy for you, such as quinoa, blueberries and açaí. These foods are full of important fiber, vitamins and water that our bodies need. But it’s one thing to say something is good for you, and another to say something is a "Superfood," she cautions.

"I think people are always looking for that one thing that I can do for myself and my family that will give us long, good, healthy lives—good for our bodies, good for our brains, good for our hearts and lungs."

As with many things in life, the answer isn’t that straightforward.

“I think there is no one answer,” Dr. Shaprio says. “And the answer is different for different people and different times of their lives.”

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