高中(學測,指考)◆英文題庫

        It is an appealing idea that some foods are unhealthy, some healthy, and some super-healthy. About 61% of British people reported buying foods because they were supposed superfoods, according to a 2014 survey. But what are superfoods? Are they really so good for our health? 

       Currently, kale is one of the coolest superfoods around. Kale, a very common vegetable, has grown in northern Europe, and plenty of other places, for thousands of years. Its nutrition is similar to that of cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. Is kale significantly better than other vegetables? Fans of superfoods like to list the things that kale contains a lot of, such as iron and vitamins, and point out what those things do (make red blood cells). But that doesn’t mean your body gets superpowers if you eat more than you need, especially if you’re already getting enough from other sources. It is like trying to make your car go faster by putting in more petrol. No good evidence shows that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables with kale is any better than eating plenty of them without. 

①Another example is chia seeds. ②One hundred grams of chia seeds contain about 17g of Omega-3s, about eight times as much as salmon. ③However, the Omega-3s in chia seeds are different from the ones in fish. ④Our body turns the chia kind into the fish kind very inefficiently, meaning that you will actually absorb less. ⑤Nor is it easy to eat a full 100g of chia seeds, which contain 486 Calories, almost as much as a Big Mac. ⑥So fish is definitely a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids for you, which help to protect against cardiovascular disease. ⑦But there is little evidence to suggest the health benefits from chia seeds. 

        Indeed, good nutrition helps the body fight against diseases. The truth, however, is that nutrition is fabulously complex, different for everybody and mostly mysterious. We know that if you eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables and do regular exercise, you don’t need any superfood. And if you don’t, no superfood will save you.