Remember when pomegranates seemed really exotic?
Now, thanks to their purported health benefits, they are in everything from iced coffee to martinis. And there are scores of other fruits -- some familiar, some unpronounceable -- joining pomegranate on the shelves.
Acai is everywhere, as are goji berries, noni, mangosteen, blueberries, cranberries and other so-called "super fruits" that contain compounds called antioxidants that may help fight against heart disease, cancer, arthritis and other diseases.
Food manufacturers are adding super fruits to juice, granola, cereals, teas and scores of other products. Even Dunkin' Donuts has gotten in on the act, introducing a "Superfruit Coolatta" that is a blend of blueberries, pomegranate and acai berries.
"Americans want a magic pill, so the concept of a super fruit is one way to address that need," says Mary Ellen Camire, a professor in the department of food science and human nutrition at the University of Maine. "People don't want to follow a good diet. 'Let me eat a super fruit, and I'll be good.'"
Convenience and taste also play roles in this super-fruit mania. Some of the more exotic fruits have such strong or unusual flavors it's unlikely consumers would embrace them if they had to eat them "straight."
"Pomegranate is a pain to eat," Camire said. "It's messy. But pomegranate juice is easy. And things like acai juice and noni are things that you normally would not eat, either, but processing them into juice makes them more palatable and easier for consumers to get down." Mostly a Marketing TermLots of super fruits are credited with an amazing number of health benefits, with some being afforded almost mystical properties. Pomegranate was the symbol of eternal life in ancient Persia. The acai berry, which comes from a palm tree Brazilians call "the tree of life," is said to be good for everything from wrinkles to weight loss. "The lore of sea buckthorn is that it's such a potent antioxidant that supposedly Genghis Khan used it for energy with his troops," says Dr. Rodney Voisine, an anesthesiologist who is growing another super fruit, saskatoon berries, at his Cape Elizabeth home. Those back stories are a big part of what consumers are paying for when they throw down $4 for a 12-ounce bottle of acai juice. Voisine said the phrase "super fruit" is mostly a marketing term, because most of the products have not been studied to determine their actual nutrient content and the health benefits of those nutrients on humans.
"There are very few clinical studies documenting that the acai berry is going to do much for you, other than provide fiber," he said. Generally, a fruit is considered a super fruit if it is high in antioxidants and other nutrients, and is believed to have benefits that go beyond supporting basic health. Even though orange juice has lots of vitamin C and is good for you, for example, it's not yet considered a super fruit. The best-studied super fruits are those that have big industry groups that can afford to fund clinical research in humans in addition to the usual studies using lab animals. Pomegranates and Maine's own blueberries are among the best-studied super fruits on the market. As blueberries began gaining a reputation as a super fruit, Camire said, the pomegranate industry saw what was happening, "and they jumped right in and started funding studies -- and funding studies in humans so they could make the health claims -- whereas the wild blueberry industry has been a little reticent about that. It's easier to show effects with rats." Big BlueBlueberries are one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits available. At the University of Maine, Camire is studying the links between blueberries and blood sugar to see if the fruit could help control diabetes.
Another researcher is looking at the berries' antimicrobial properties to see if they could help prevent food-borne illnesses or ulcers. Dorothy Klimis-Zacas has shown that feeding blueberries to rats makes their blood vessels more flexible, meaning they may be more resistant to heart disease and high blood pressure. She's spending the summer at the University of Milan, where she is working with scientists studying the effects of blueberries on vision. There's lots of anecdotal evidence in Europe about the ability of blueberries to improve eyesight, Camire said. "I myself have noticed an improvement in my night vision when I'm eating a lot of blueberries," she said, "but it's been very hard to prove in a clinical trial." Although there are a lot of healthful compounds in blueberries, the ones that give them color are the ones that are the most potent. These substances are a family of compounds called anthocyanins, and they are found in the skin of the berry. A cup of wild blueberries contains more anthocyanins than a cup of cultivated ones, because wild berries are smaller. Wild blueberries also contain a greater variety of anthocyanins, according to Camire. While elderberries, for example, contain or or two different kinds of anthocyanin, wild blueberries have up to 27.
"Generally speaking, the darker the berry the better the antioxidants," Voisine said. Extending the SeasonVoisine started growing saskatoon berries from Canada three years ago at his home, Old Ocean House Farms, as a way to extend the local super-fruit season. He now has 72 saskatoon bushes on his property. Saskatoons were used by the Blackfoot peoples of the Canadian prairies for both food and medicine. The berries grow in clusters, and are easy to pick. The first known saskatoon bush in the United States was planted at George Washington's Mount Vernon, Voisine said. The saskatoons look like blueberries, but they ripen sooner, usually by the fourth week of June. They are not as sweet as blueberries, but they can be mixed with other fruits or rhubarb. Voisine's mother makes tasty muffins with them. Saskatoons, like raspberries, contain little seeds that are eaten along with the berry. These seeds provide extra protein, fiber and fat not found in blueberries. But Voisine says he is not looking to replace the blueberry. He simply wants to extend the blueberry season with saskatoons. "These are comparable to blueberries as far as their (antioxidant) activity," he said. "They complement the blueberry because they're ready about a month before the blueberries, so it's a nice addition to your home garden. But you could never replace the blueberry."
Other local fruits that could be considered potential super fruits are raspberries, cranberries, blackberries and strawberries. "The closer you can get to being wild, the better," Voisine said. A Cup a Day ... Give or TakeHow much should you eat? Blueberry researchers don't know enough yet about doses to give precise recommendations on how large a serving will bestow the coveted health benefits, Camire said. The current recommendation is a half-cup of berries per day, but that is based on rats. "Anything's going to help, but it looks like you may need a larger dose, more on the order of, say, maybe a cup," Camire said. But who could eat a whole cup of blueberries every day, day after day? Mix several super fruits into your diet, Camire suggests, so you'll be more likely to receive the gamut of health benefits. Make sure at least one of those fruits is purple or blue -- a sign that it is carrying those potent anthocyanin compounds. Manufacturers are making it easier all the time to fit super fruits into the American diet. Blueberries, for example, now come dried and in juice form. Camire incorporates super fruits into her own day by throwing blueberries into a blender along with some skim milk and fat-free yogurt for a super-fruit smoothie. She also tosses dried cranberries into her salads. Camire always reaches for wild Maine blueberries before the more exotic acai berries or goji berries. "We have one of the best foods in the world locally," she said.
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