what if 'superfoods' were just... foods that work?

Melissa
Jan 12
3 min read

With the new year upon us I'm starting to hear more marketing jargon on my social media feed (+ in daily conversations). I've already discussed "clean eating" here on the blog and listening to a podcast episode recently inspired me to write this extra blog post this month. It was the How to: Fitness podcast and their episode titled "Are Superfoods a Scam? And I just couldn't help but share my thoughts, do a little more research and expand upon their conversation. So... what ARE superfoods?

We’ve all heard the term “superfood.” It’s a shiny label slapped on açaí bowls, goji berries, turmeric lattes, kale, and avocado toast — usually with the implication that these foods are somehow magically better than others.

But here’s the truth: “superfood” is a marketing term — not a nutrition science term. Nutrition scientists generally don’t use it because it doesn’t have an official definition, and many health claims attached to it aren’t backed by strong evidence (source).

What does matter is how foods actually work in real human bodies — especially for dancers and performance athletes whose energy demands are high.

the beta-carotene story: when a "superfood" idea backfires

One of the earliest scientific links between so-called “superfoods” and health came from observational studies. Researchers noticed that people who ate lots of colorful vegetables (like carrots, rich in the nutrient β-carotene) seemed to have a lower risk of lung cancer. That made sense: fruits and vegetables contain a complex mix of nutrients that support the body in many ways.

But then researchers asked a tempting question:

If β-carotene is so good, what happens when you isolate it and give it in supplement form?

To test this, large clinical trials were launched — the most famous being the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study and a companion trial called CARET. These studies gave smokers daily supplements containing β-carotene or combinations of β-carotene and vitamin A, with the hope of reducing lung cancer risk.

Here’s what they actually found:

In the ATBC study (nearly 30,000 male smokers), those taking β-carotene supplements had an 18% increase in lung cancer incidence compared to those who did not take the supplement. (source)
Similarly, results from the CARET study showed about a 28% increase in lung cancer and a 17% increase in deaths among smokers taking a β-carotene + vitamin A supplement compared with placebo. (source)

These surprising findings led researchers to stop the trials early — not because carrots cause cancer — but because high-dose supplements in isolation can act very differently than nutrients that are consumed as part of whole foods (source).

More recent analyses have supported the idea that high-dose β-carotene supplements don’t protect against cancer and may even increase risk in certain populations, especially smokers (source).

so why the difference?

When you eat foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, or leafy greens, you’re consuming β-carotene as part of a whole food matrix: fiber, water, other antioxidants, and countless micronutrients that interact in complex ways. In contrast, isolated supplements deliver unnaturally high doses of one compound outside of its food context. The body doesn’t always respond the same way — especially under conditions like smoking, where oxidative stress is high.

but what about whole foods themselves?

Here’s the twist: eating β-carotene–rich foods hasn’t been shown to cause harm.

In fact, carotenoids from foods tend to correlate with lower risk of various chronic diseases in observational research — likely because they come as part of nutrient-rich, plant-based foods that support overall diet quality (source).

In other words:

✔️ Whole foods are good.

❌ Isolated nutrients marketed as “superfoods” or miracle cures aren’t magic — and sometimes supplements can mislead or even harm.