Mesonutrients: What You Need to Know about the Super Power Behind Your Superfoods

Mesonutrients – the latest nutritional buzzword– are being held up as the explanation for the powers of so-called superfoods . WH puts these mini heroes under the microscope. Much like weekends, the hippest word in wellness serves as proof that the good stuff resides in the middle. Meet the mesonutrient. Translated literally from the Greek for ‘inside’ or ‘middle’, it refers to apart of the nutrient you’ve likely never concerned yourself with before – the innards. Related Story ‘I Quit Alcohol – Here’s What It Was Really Like’ ‘They’re the active compounds found within so-called “superfoods”,’says clinical specialist dietitian Holly Dempsey. We suspect you’re already well-versed in the existence of some mesonutrients, and you’ve probably been tapped into this trend long before they got this buzzy new moniker – curcumin, for instance, found in turmeric , is the reason the humble latte had a wellness upgrade. But others (see: berberines, residing in dried goldenseal root) are a little more niche. [We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.] So, if we’ve known about the existence of mesonutrients for ages, why are they being talked about as if they’re the cutting edge of nutritional science? While you’ll find mesonutrients in the food and drink (tomatoes, pomegranates and berries, to name a few) you put away everyday, working these foods in to your diet may not be enough to reap the nutritional rewards. Back to the turmeric latte: the mesonutrient curcumin takes credit for turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties, but by some estimations you’d have to chug 11 a day in order to benefit from any anti-inflammatory effects. Related Story Should I Eat Protein After a Workout? That mesonutrients are often present in such small amounts has given rise to a trend called ‘meso-dosing ’– using supplements to […]

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