Superfoods Powders Are Kind of B.S. Here Are 3 You Can Actually Trust.

So here's a shocker: There's no such thing as a "superfood."

Or, at least, there's no such thing as a scientifically defined superfood.

You might be thinking: Oh yeah, well what about kale, huh? Doesn't Men's Health tell me all the time that kale is super and I should eat it for every meal and as a midnight snack?

Well, yes, kale is super. As a brassica, it contains sulforaphane, a compound that has been linked to cancer prevention. But just because a food contains a super nutrient doesn't make it a "superfood."

In fact, Harvard argues that dubbing any food a "superfood" isn't helpful. Same goes for The American Heart Association and he American Diabetes Association.

Current research shows that no one food will offer what you need to get and stay healthy. It is instead wide and varied diet of healthful foods that offers the best benefit. It's a diet of kale and lots of other healthy stuff: pears, almonds, spinach, tofu, beef, carrots, milk, salmon, eggs, and anything is one ingredient and only one ingredient.

Now, "superfood" powders will argue that their product offers a wide range of food sources—from greens, berries, nuts, and seeds, for example. So there.

While that may true, the processing and powder-izing of these foods does strip away some of the nutrients, namely kale.

As Chris Mohr, R.D., stated in this article, "Don’t be fooled to think a scoop of powder replaces the quality of a pile of greens on your dinner plate."

In short, drinking your so-called superfoods isn't the same as chewing them in food form.

That said, there's nothing inherently dangerous or evil about superfood powders other than that they can be slightly overpriced for what they are.

So when looking for a superfood powder, try to find one that offers something else—protein and/or fiber mainly.

Oh, and as Abbie Smith, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an associate professor of exercise physiology at UNC Chapel Hill stated: “I suggest looking for products that have been third party tested, to ensure what is listed on the label is actually in the product.”

Those third parties include the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) and Informed Choice for Sport. And their testing means that what's advertised on the label of the supplement is actually in the supplement.

Now with all that said, here are three superfood powders you may want to consider if you feel like you need one.