Superfoods or super-hype?
7 products that claim to shrink your belly, fight cancer and help your heart
By Bridget Murray Law

Introduction
It’s not enough to fill your plate with fresh fruits and vegetables. Mere vitamins and minerals are old hat. These day you have to load up with antioxidant-packed, cancer-fighting curative superfoods.

Gulp green tea and it’ll help shrink your waist while fighting cancer. Same for the açai berry, one of the most heavily hyped foods of the last decade. Somehow chocolate has evolved from a tasty indulgence into a daily must-have for anyone looking to live longer.
Is there anything to these claims?

Maybe a little. But no one food can guarantee a long, disease-free life. It's more important for your diet to include a wide variety of basic foods, nutritionists say. In addition, superfoods tend to be pricey, which can cut into people's budget for less expensive but equally healthy foods.

"I don't want you blowing $37 on a bottle of designer fruit juice, then passing up the produce aisle," says Joan Salge Blake, R.D., and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

Açai berry
Claims: This small purple berry, harvested from the Açai Palm in Brazil, is said to fight heart disease due to a potent mix of antioxidants, minerals and amino and fatty acids. Some product makers also claim the berry helps people lose weight, prevents aging and stops cancer.

Reality check: Açai berries do contain beneficial fatty acids and high levels of phytochemicals, an anti-inflammatory, fibrous, antioxidant blend that research suggests may reduce chronic-disease risk.

However, there isn't enough scientific evidence to claim that açai berries are more beneficial than other phytochemical-rich berries such as blueberries, raspberries or cranberries, says Joshua Bomser, an Ohio State University nutrition professor.

“And these other berries are much less expensive and widely available to us." For example, compared with $2 to $3 for a 12-ounce container of fresh blueberries, you'll pay $8 or more for about 14 ounces of frozen imported açai pulp at your local health-food store.

Most Americans buy açai berry as a juice mixed with other juices, such as a brand known as MonaVie. A bottle of this blend goes for $40. As for the claims about weight loss, aging and curing disease, they are unsubstantiated, says Bomser.

Green tea
Claims: This relatively low-caffeine, less processed form of tea is said to contain high levels of antioxidants that help prevent cancer and heart disease. Some vendors also claim it helps people lose weight.

Reality check: Research confirms that green tea is rich in antioxidants. However, evidence that it benefits heart health or prevents cancer is not conclusive, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

What about the weight-loss claims? They're not completely unfounded, says Washington, D.C., nutritionist Katherine Tallmadge, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson. Green tea contains the fat-burning compounds catechins, but you'd have to drink at least three cups of it daily for the slightest drop in weight, she says.

Black tea actually packs a bigger weight-loss wallop, she says, because in addition to catechins, it contains more caffeine — also a weight-loss aid.

Another cautionary note: Most research on tea and weight loss was done on animals. Findings must still be confirmed in humans.

Mangosteen fruit
Claims: This purple fruit from Asia is said to contain powerful antioxidants called xanthones, which are found in a few tropical fruits. Xanthones are supposed to boost the immune system, improve intestinal health and ward off cancer.

Reality check: As with some açai berry manufacturers, a marketing network is selling mangosteen as a blended juice. In the U.S., a bottle of XanGo goes for $37. And as with the açai berry, no rigorous research on humans exists to back the immunity-boosting claims, notes nutritionist Salge Blake.

Also, when a fruit is juiced you concentrate the calories and lose the beneficial fiber. "It takes three whole oranges to equal the calories in one glass of orange juice," says Salge Blake.

Dark chocolate
Claims: The cocoa in dark chocolate contains phytochemicals known as flavonols, which marketers say help the heart by controlling bad cholesterol and ease blood pressure by expanding blood vessels.

Reality check: The flavonols in dark chocolate — not regular or milk chocolate — do appear to fight cholesterol and may even give your brain a boost, research indicates.

But it’s worth remembering that chocolate is higher in fat and calories than other flavanol-rich foods such as apples, cranberries and onions. To avoid weight gain, limit yourself to an ounce or less daily.

Red wine
Claims: It contains flavonoids and a substance from grapes called resveratrol. Both help the heart by reducing inflammation and aids in preventing artery damage caused by buildups of bad cholesterol in the blood vessels.

Reality check: Studies indicate that red wine does appear to boost heart health, says nutritionist Salge Blake. However, a large British study linked having just one alcoholic drink a day to an elevated risk of cancer of the breast, liver and rectum in women.

Those findings have yet to be confirmed in other studies. Meanwhile, conventional wisdom holds that no more than one glass of red wine a day for women, and two for men, is beneficial, notes Salge Blake.

"As with chocolate, higher amounts start working against you," she says. The extra calories can contribute to weight gain, and excessive alcohol intake puts you at risk for alcoholism, liver disease and heart problems.

Also sobering: By one glass of wine daily, Salge Blake means five ounces. "Take a hard look at five ounces of liquid to see how much you're really pouring," she advises. "If you're filling the glass, you might be drinking twice that."

Soy
Claims: The list of benefits from this rather blah-looking bean seems endless. The bean offers plenty of protein, and its isoflavones (a type of phytoestrogen) are said to aid heart and bone health, cancer prevention, and ease the symptoms of menopause.

Reality check: While soy's phytoestrogens may ease menopausal hot flashes, research has also linked those same compounds to breast cancer and other estrogen-related diseases such as uterine fibroid tumors and endometriosis.

Recent research reviews also cast doubt on the bean's supposed heart and bone benefits. Should you still eat it? "Absolutely," says Tallmadge. But don't take it as an isolated supplement. Rather, eat the whole food versions such as edamame, tofu or milk, says Tallmadge.

Spirulina (blue-green algae)
Claims: This form of blue-green algae from lakes and the ocean is touted as a great source of antioxidants and complete protein and B vitamins. Marketers say it helps prevent cancer and heart disease, boosts energy and immunity, and aids weight loss, among other benefits.

Reality check: There is no rigorous scientific research to support any claims linking spirulina to disease prevention, boosting immunity or helping with weight loss. There is, however, some preliminary animal research indicating that it could aid in healing wounds and ulcers.

The American Dietetic Association discounts spirulina as a valid B12 source. For those seeking protein, inexpensive kidney beans provide a potent source. "Plus they have all that wonderful soluble fiber to help lower cholesterol," says Salge Blake.