Being healthy entails eating the right kind of foods and incorporating a bit of exercise into your daily routine. There is a long list of “healthy” foods available out there that claim to be loaded with health benefits and make for great snacking options. You may be eating these foods without second thought solely based on what is written on their packaging and what their manufacturers claim. But are these foods really healthy? In many cases, you tend to overestimate the healthfulness of certain food items. It helps to know the facts about what you are putting in your mouth so that you can make a conscious decision. You should not be fooled and lured into overindulging in foods that appear to be good but end up harming your body. The best people who can tell you what is actually beneficial and what is harmful are nutrition experts. Here are some foods that seem to be healthy, but nutrition experts refuse to put in their bodies.
1. Commercial Salad Dressings
You may be under the impression that all salad dressings are healthy. Why wouldn’t you? You are made to believe that everything that goes on a salad can’t be anything else but healthy, but that is not true. According to Megan Roosevelt, the founder and host of the YouTube channel The Healthy Grocery Girl Cooking Show, most commercial salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup, processed oils, partially hydrogenated oils, added colors, and artificial sweeteners. When choosing a salad dressing, you need to look for ingredients you know. If anything is too complex, put it back on the shelf. You can even make your own dressing using ingredients found in your kitchen, such as olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It will be much healthier than commercial ones any day.
2. Powdered Peanut Butter
Anything that has fewer calories is not always healthy. So when you compare powdered peanut butter to the regular one, the former appears to be much healthier as it contains less fats and has fewer calories. According to Christy Harrison, a certified intuitive eating counselor, regular peanut butter is loaded with healthy fats, which are actually good and necessary for your body, and they make eating the butter satisfying. So sticking to the real deal will actually benefit you more.
3. Cold-Pressed Juices
Although juices are made out of fruits and vegetables, they are not quite the same. Natalie Rizzo, a nutritionist in New York City, says that the amount of sugar in juices is extremely high and juicing removes most of the fiber, which is beneficial for your digestive health. There is also a limit to how much nutrients your body can absorb at a time so the excess nutrients present in the juices go to waste.
4. Whole-Wheat Bread
You may be very cautious about the kind of bread you eat and may spend hours reading labels. If you opt for whole-wheat bread because it is so healthy, then you may be deceived. According to Mark Sherwood and Michele Sherwood, founders of the Functional Medical Institute In Tulsa, wheat bread has a glycemic index of 69. This is pretty high and causes a spike in your blood sugar levels thereby inducing a high insulin response. This will lead to inflammation and fat accumulation. So cutting down on bread altogether is the healthier option.
5. Flavored Yogurt
Greek yogurt is considered very healthy as it is high in protein and low in fat, but not all such yogurt is actually good for you. Isadora Baum, a health coach and founder of Live for You Now Coaching, says that flavored yogurt is actually loaded with sugar, almost equal to that of a candy bar. It is better to purchase plain yogurt and add fresh fruits to flavor it the natural way.
6. Puffed Veggie Chips
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Just because a certain type of chips is made out of vegetables, it does not mean it is completely healthy. In the end, it is just another packet of chips that adds to your waistline. Cynthia Sass, the author of Slim Down Now, tells us that when you read the list of ingredients that goes into making a bag of puffed veggie chips, you will find a lot more than just vegetables. Often a lot of ingredients are added such as corn starch, potato starch, soy flour, and white rice flour. And these chips are quite heavy on the calories, only slightly less than the potato ones.
If you are in the habit of snacking, you can opt for fresh fruits and vegetables that can be eaten raw. They contain more nutrients and fiber and are much healthier than processed foods that are commercially available.
