Healthy foods – do they live up to their name?

So you’re doing all the right things: working out, getting enough sleep, and eating healthily. In fact, your diet consists entirely of healthy foods. Or is that just what clever marketing has led you to believe? Put down that gluten-free muffin and read on…

So-called healthy foods that aren’t healthy after all

You’d be surprised to learn just how many apparently healthy foods aren’t actually healthy after all. And yes, that includes the orange juice you’re currently sipping. You might need to revise your grocery list after reading this.

Here’s a list of some of the most common culprits when it comes to not-so-healthy healthy foods:

1. ‘Low fat’ and ‘fat free’ foods. The low fat diet is a thing of the past. These products are simply loaded with extra sugar, which is even worse for you.
2. Breakfast cereals. Read the ingredients: most cereals contain sugar, refined grains, and artificial chemicals. Not the right way to start any kind of day.
3. Fruit juices. Yep, they’re basically just the liquid version of all the sugar contained in fruit, without the fibre. Fruit juices have the same sugar concentration as sodas.
4. Sports drinks. Sorry, but you only actually need water when you’re working out. Unless you are a professional athlete you don’t need the additional salts in these drinks – and you definitely don’t need the added sugar.
5. Vegetable oils. Throw out the sunflower seed oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, etc. If you really care about cholesterol and your heart opt for coconut oil, olive oil, or even butter. Which brings me to…
6. Margarine. Back in the day butter was regarded as the demon. So we were advised to eat margarine: a chemical pseudo food full of trans fats. The truth is that butter is better for your heart.
7. Salad dressings. Sure, it feels great to be munching on a fresh crunchy salad. But one that’s covered in a dressing that’s laden with chemicals, trans fats, sugar, and vegetable oils? Not so much. It’s always best to make your own from fresh ingredients.
8. Wholewheat products. Most of these don’t even use whole wheat. And modern whole wheat is not the healthy grain it used to be. Best to avoid this stuff and opt for healthier grains. (Read my previous post to find out more!)
9. Agave syrup. Seen by many as a healthy alternative to sugar, agave nectar is actually higher in fructose than regular sugar. And as I established in my previous post, fructose is the real enemy.
10. Brown rice syrup (rice malt syrup). Think of this as pure sugary calories with absolutely no nutrients. Enough said.
11. Low-carb junk food. It’s still junk food!!!
12. Vegan junk food. It’s still junk food!!!
13. Gluten-free junk food. It’s still junk food!!!
14. Processed organic foods. Don’t believe the labels: these items are usually highly processed and just as unhealthy as the non-organic version.
15. Phytosterols. Although these nutrients found in Plants can lower cholesterol, in todays modern diet they are not good for cardiovascular health and can even lead to heart disease. This is due to overconsumption of refined vegetable oils and fortified foods. (1)

Time to rethink your diet? Stock up on real healthy foods – such as natural whole foods for maximum nutrition to fuel your body.

What’s your reaction? Is your diet as healthy as you thought it was?

References 

(1) http://authoritynutrition.com/phytosterols-good-or-bad/