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Click the arrow to play audio file:There’s a lot of hype about superfoods that are said to have near-mystical properties to promote health. Should we be chowing down on blueberries, Swiss chard, pomegranates and pumpkin? Or do we need to concentrate on goji and acai berries and galangal? Get the straight and skinny on superfoods from one of the world's leading nutrition researchers. Guest: Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition and Chairman of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the author of Eat, Drink and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating, and Eat, Drink and Weigh Less (with Mollie Katzen). He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Click here to download our podcast.
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The benefits of whole grain were discussed. I've wondered whether just consuming the bran and the germ and excluding the endosperm entirely would be a beneficial change in the diet. The endosperm seems to have no redeeming qualities on its own--high calories, low levels of micronutrients, big impact to blood sugar. I eat this way in my diet, and my cholesterol and blood sugar are much improved.
Admittedly, whole grains seem to do better than brans alone. It's assumed there is some synergy between the three components of the grain. Maybe the germ is what makes the whole grain perform better than bran alone. I wonder how whole grains would perform when placed head-to-head with a bran/germ combination in a randomized controlled trial?
I see a lot of enthusiastic hype on subject of acai berries. Can you please comment on veracity of weight loss and other claims. Many thanks. John
PEOPLE'S PHARMACY RESPONSE: ACAI BERRIES ARE RICH IN ANTIOXIDANTS, BUT WE COULDN'T FIND ANY PLACEBO-CONTROLLED STUDIES ON WEIGHT LOSS WITH ACAI BERRIES IN THE MEDICAL LITERATURE.