Cranberry juice is a big seller in Trinidad. Groceries stock it not just for those who enjoy the tart deliciousness that is a cranberry vodka cocktail, but for those who have an interest in eating healthily. Eating cranberries, the Cranberry Institute Web site tells us, brings "many important health benefits," ranging from protection against peptic ulcers, urinary tract infections, and breast cancer, to anti-aging and anti-cavity and anti-gum-disease benefits.
Whether or not all those claims have been substantiated, cranberry juice continues to sell well enough in this country that at least two local juice manufacturers have brought out their own brands of cranberry juice cocktails. Local manufacturers piggyback on the international marketing of this primarily North American fruit and its processed products such as Craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries marketed as a healthier alternative to raisins). They know that we read magazines and watch TV and, just as any American or Canadian might, succumb to the deluge of information about the health benefits of cranberries. There is also a newish trend to market cranberry as a "superfood"–citing its high levels of the antioxidant vitamin C, which has been linked to all kinds of health benefits. In a nutshell, antioxidants are compounds that are thought to counteract aging and cell death as well as cancer, heart disease and other illnesses. Superfoods might also contain large amounts of fibre, certain essential minerals or vitamins other than C, or the brain-enhancing omega-3 fatty acid.
Cranberries aren't the only superfoods being sold to us; pomegranate, blueberries, broccoli and salmon are also on the list of current must-haves for the health-conscious. While I have nothing against superfoods and in fact love to eat many of them, I can't help but notice that this research and marketing is being done in other coun- tries and consequently focuses on foods from those areas. Meanwhile, our own superfoods go unheralded, unmarketed and underappreciated. Take the humble guava, for instance. When last did you eat a fresh one? They are seldom sold in the grocery or market, probably because they are so delicate and highly perishable, but guavas are packed with good stuff: Vitamin C, which is wonderful for your immune system, gums and skin; dietary fibre, which is necessary for colon health and digestion; and the essential trace minerals copper and manganese, which play important roles in blood and bone health, respectively. It's certainly a superfood, if such a thing exists. Yet where are the bags of frozen guava to put into smoothies? Where are the guava muffins?Soursop is another good example of an underutilised superfood found on our shores but not often enough on our tables. There is a surfeit of soursop in the market now, and it is sometimes available in the grocery (albeit at extortionate prices), but I can't help but feel we haven't been exploiting this yummy asset enough.
We traditionally use soursop to flavour ice cream and punch, but it is also quite tasty raw, as it is naturally sweet. It's a fair source of vitamin C–there you go, an antioxidant!–and also rich in B vitamins that help our nervous systems, mood and energy. One of my favourite Caribbean superfoods is the mango. Mangoes aren't particularly high in vitamin C, probably the best known antioxidant in food, but in spite of this "it prevented or stopped cancer growth in certain breast and colon cell lines" in a US study published in 2010 by Texas A&M University. We in Trinidad enjoy fresh mango in season, and out of season in candied red mango, but it's pretty telling that the mango juice on our grocery shelves is actually imported. Because Trinis love to follow trends, we jump to buy whatever is in vogue abroad, be it cranberries, pomegranate juice, blueberries or wild salmon. We also buy multivitamin supplements, even though there is a growing body of evidence to suggest these don't work and buying them may be pouring money down the drain. I'd like to suggest that we put that money we spend on imported superfoods and supplements into the hands of local farmers. Eating whole, natural food is probably better for you in the long run than eating isolated vitamins and minerals; and eating local food is definitely better for the planet than eating imported, processed foods.