There are a few foods with sparkling reputations that can do no wrong. They’ll always find a home in shopper’s carts with consistency.
Not every health-haloed food is good for you – some are truly a devil in disguise. These are some ‘healthy’ foods diet experts dodge that you likely have in your home (or stomach) right now.
No-Sugar-Added Ice Cream
Zero-sugar ice creams compensate for the lack of sweet with up to 18 additional ingredients, including artificial sweeteners that can produce laxative effects. Diet experts actually opt for the real deal ice cream:
“Not only will you be more satisfied with less, you’ll be doing your health and digestive system a favor,” says Maggie Michalczyk, RD, a nutritionist in New York City.
Puffed Veggie Chips
Veggie chips sound safe by nature, but there’s more than meets the eye here. Yes, you’ll find veggies as advertised, as well as a lengthy list of additives such as potato starch, corn starch, white rice flour, and soy flour.
Not only that, a pack contains about 130 calories, which is only 20 less than a standard bag of potato chips. Cynthia Sass, RD, author of Slim Down Now suggests Terra chips if you need them in your diet.
Powdered Peanut Butter
Peanut butter isn’t the healthiest food, and neither is its broken down alternative. People assume it’s naturally better because of the lower calorie count and less fat.
The real deal peanut butter is actually healthier despite the nutrition stats, thanks to the healthy fats that it’s loaded with. Opt for the good stuff for your PB&J sandwiches.
Bottled Salad Dressings
To be blunt, bottled salad dressings are horrendous for your diet. They virtually have everything the body doesn’t need: highly processed oils or partially hydrogenated oils, added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and artificial colors.
Create your own homemade dressings to add flavour to your next salad. Megan Roosevelt, RD, founder and host of The Healthy Grocery has a homemade favourite that trumps the store stuff: My go-to homemade dressing is: 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/2 fresh lemon juiced, 1 tablespoon of real maple syrup, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, a pinch of salt and pepper.”
Whole-Wheat Bread
That’s right – whole-wheat bread is actually bad for you. Of all the items on this list, this is arguably the biggest con job.
The issue lies in its glycemic index, which is 69. That amount causes extreme blood sugar elevations, leading to a high insulin response. This causes inflammation and fat accumulation, obvious determents to one’s health.
Cold-Pressed Juices
Cold-pressed juices do contain a fair amount of fruits and/or vegetables, the sugar content is equally as high. Additionally, the juicing process squashes out any helpful fiber from the produce.
The body can only absorb a certain amount of vitamins and minerals at a time, meaning a great deal of the nutrients are not absorbed.
Photo credit: Stepanek Photography/Shutterstock
