Unfortunately, thanks to marketing and a multitude of mixed messages about food, it can get a bit confusing as to what’s actually healthy for us. To make things easier, we’ve summarized the foods that are easily considered “healthy” but aren’t. Just because it appears healthy doesn’t mean it actually is healthy! These are some foods that people think are healthy but are not. Remember, the most powerful tool in your diet is knowing what you are eating.
“Healthy” Foods That Are Actually Unhealthy
Granola Bar
The granola bar inventors are marketing geniuses who found a way to sell these unhealthy foods, which contain more sugar and calories than certain candy bars, as “healthy.” So, if you’re going to eat these surprisingly unhealthy foods, choose those with 100 to 200 calories, 4 grams or more of protein, 3 grams or more of fiber, and less than 10 grams of sugar. The best bars have minimal ingredients, and those with more fiber and protein and less sugar are more satisfying.
Granola Bar
Wheat Bread
You can literally add wheat to any carb and label it a wheat product. You can get good luck charms for whole-grain wheat these days – do you really think this makes them healthy? Unless it’s 100% whole wheat, bread can contain fortified flour, giving you a sugar spike and crashing with no nutritional value. Basically, fortified flour means that nutrients are removed.
Wheat Bread
Spinach Pasta
Spinach pasta is the same old story. Because it contains a lot of additives that destroy something that should actually be good. While it may be bright green, there aren’t many antioxidants here! Spinach noodles should just be called noodles because the noodles contain so little spinach. There certainly isn’t enough spinach to reap the benefits in one serving. This is definitely good to know!
Spinach Pasta
Diet Soda
While the word “diet” is often found on the bottles of sugar-free soda, it’s really just a marketing tactic. Don’t be fooled into thinking that swapping out a whole-sugar soda for a sugar-free diet variety is a step in a healthier direction. In doing so, it does more harm than good- As with many other foods, when you peel it off you must replace the primary source of flavor with alternative ingredients that require many additives to restore flavor. Diet sodas are unhealthy artificial sweeteners.
Diet Soda
Salat Dressing
Vegetables are incredibly healthy. The problem is that they often don’t taste very good on their own. For this reason, many people use dressings to add flavor to their salads and turn those bland meals into delicious treats. But many salad dressings are actually loaded with unhealthy ingredients like sugar, vegetable oils and trans fats, and various artificial chemicals. Check the ingredients list before using any salad dressing, or create your own with healthy ingredients like lemon.
Salat Dressing
Mais
You may have thought to yourself, “Hmm, those corn on the cob won’t do any harm.” Well, keep thinking. Chances are, that grilled corn you ate had LOTS of butter and oil in it. We also eat corn in a variety of forms, including popcorn, processed syrup, and breakfast cereal, all of which are packed with chemicals. Just a quick reminder: corn is fed to cows to fatten them up. So we can only imagine the negative impact this would have on our bodies.
Mais
Onion
Onions are super flavorful and add so much flavor to any dish we cook. But we tend to eat onions in other meals as well, like in our sandwiches, pasta sauces, and of course, the famous onion rings. Onions are mostly made up of water, carbohydrates and fiber. So they’re not as unhealthy, but they still lack the benefits of superfoods. Also, did you know that onions contain fiber that feeds the friendly bacteria in our gut, which can cause digestive problems for some people?
Onion
Couscous
If you’re on a high-protein, low-carb diet and eat couscous instead of the pasta you’re craving, take our advice and just indulge in pasta because technically it’s the same thing. You might think that these steamed balls are a better alternative to white rice, but they actually aren’t. In fact, it has the same nutritional value as white pasta! We recommend trying quinoa instead if you fancy couscous.
Couscous
Frozen Joghurt
If you think you’re consuming a probiotic-rich dessert, you’re wrong because the freezing process used to make your fro-yo may have already killed most of the healthy gut bacteria found in regular yogurt. However, unlike most regular yogurts, frozen yogurt usually contains a lot of added sugar. In fact, sugar is one of the most important ingredients in the frozen yogurt manufacturing process. We therefore recommend that you eat regular Greek yogurt for maximum health benefits.
Frozen Joghurt
Gluten free
According to a 2013 survey, about a third of people in the US are actively trying to avoid gluten. However, many experts believe that this is unnecessary. The truth is that gluten, especially from wheat, can be problematic for many people. The problem with these foods is that they usually have the same negative effects on your body as their gluten-containing counterparts, if not worse. Try to choose foods that are naturally gluten-free, like plants and animals, and not gluten-free processed foods.
Gluten free
Fruit Juices
Many people believe that fruit juices are healthy. But most of the fruit juices you find in the supermarket aren’t actually fruit juices. Sometimes they don’t actually have fruit, just fruit-tasting chemicals. What you’re drinking is basically fruit-flavored sugar water. Even if you drink 100% quality fruit juice, it’s still not the best choice. Fruit juice is like fruit, except all the good stuff (like the fiber) is taken out. The main thing that is left of the actual fruit is the sugar.
Fruit Juices
Margarine
Butter has historically been classified as an unhealthy food choice because of its high saturated fat content. So various health professionals started promoting margarine. Margarine used to be high in trans fats. These days, it’s lower in trans fats than before, but still loaded with refined vegetable oils. Not surprisingly, the Framingham Heart Study showed that people who substitute margarine for butter were actually more likely to die from heart disease.
Margarine
Vegan Junk-Food
Vegan diets are very popular these days, often for ethical and environmental reasons. However, many people advocate a vegan diet because they think it is healthier. There are many processed vegan foods on the market that are often sold as convenient substitutes for non-vegan foods. Vegan bacon is an example. However, it’s important to remember that these tend to be highly processed, factory-made products that are bad for almost everyone, including people who are vegan.
Vegan Junk-Food
Muesli
Most processed breakfast cereals are unhealthy. The way some cereals are marketed can be deceiving. Many of them, including those marketed to children, have various health claims on the packaging. This includes claims such as “whole grain” or “low fat” which can be misleading. It’s important to always check product packaging to confirm what you’re actually putting into your body and if it’s healthy for you.
Muesli
Vegetable Oils
It’s often recommended to use seed and vegetable oils, including soybean oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and numerous others. This recommendation is based on the fact that these oils have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels, at least in the short term. However, it is important to remember that blood cholesterol is a risk factor. In fact, several controlled studies have shown that despite lowering cholesterol levels, these oils may increase the risk of heart disease and memory problems.
Vegetable Oils
Rice Cakes
In reality, rice cakes are considered a low-calorie substitute for bread, and many people swear by them. However, the main problem with them is that you don’t get any significant nutritional value from them. Eating them alone can also raise your blood sugar levels and make you crave junk food. So be sure to pair these with a good source of protein or fiber if you don’t want to literally eat air.
Rice Cakes
Avocado
Avocados are incredibly popular around the world: social media feeds are filled with photos of delicious emerald dishes. A trendy new restaurant in Amsterdam even serves avocado fries, avocado tacos – and even avocado ice cream. There is a general rule here. Fat shouldn’t make up more than 1 percent of a meal. Avocado isn’t a food, it’s fat, and even someone who is very healthy shouldn’t eat more than a quarter of a large avocado in one meal. Besides cancer patients, who should avoid avocado? According to nutrition experts, avocado is forbidden for people with acne, sinusitis or other suppurating symptoms.
Avocado
Acai Bowl
Smoothie bowls or acai bowls can be healthy as long as they have a balance of whole fruits and vegetables and have reasonable portion sizes. The problem: Many of these smoothie bowls — particularly at juice shops and fast-casual chain restaurants — are calorie and sugar bombs, packing fruit juices, purees, honey, and sweetened yogurt. When you factor in all of these ingredients, you end up with a snack that packs in several hundred calories and far more than your daily recommended sugar intake.
Acai Bowl
Vegetable chips
Don’t rely on veggie chips to increase your fiber and antioxidant intake for the day. While many veggie chip labels claim to actually contain veggies, they often include veggie powders that lack the same nutritional value to give the chips a vibrant color. They’re also high in sodium (and maybe even sugar) to replicate the same flavor of potato chips. For a healthier alternative, grab some crunchy carrots or celery sticks!
Vegetable chips
Spinach wraps
Spinach is packed with antioxidants, fiber and essential nutrients, but these tortilla wraps masquerading as green vegetables are so low in vitamin-rich material that it won’t do your body any good. These wraps are usually made with the same nifty ingredients found in other tortillas—like fortified white flour and corn—and green food coloring to add a “healthy” hue. Sneaky! did you know that?
Spinach wraps
Canned soup
Like popcorn, soup can be an incredibly healthy meal, but buying it in a can isn’t always a healthy meal. Canned soups can contain high levels of sodium and bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor. Then there are the added fats and sugars, which can increase calories significantly. So choose wisely and opt for low-sodium varieties so you don’t experience that dreaded post-meal bloating.
Canned soup
Energy Drinks
Brown rice syrup, also known as rice malt syrup, is a sweetener that is mistakenly believed to be healthy. Brown Rice Syrup does not contain refined fructose, only glucose. The lack of fructose is good, but rice syrup has a glycemic index of 98, meaning the glucose it contains causes blood sugar to spike extremely quickly. Rice syrup is also very fine and contains almost no essential nutrients. In other words, it’s considered “empty” calories.
Energy Drinks
Brown Rice Syrup
Brown rice syrup, also known as rice malt syrup, is a sweetener that is mistakenly believed to be healthy. Brown Rice Syrup does not contain refined fructose, only glucose. The lack of fructose is good, but rice syrup has a glycemic index of 98, meaning the glucose it contains causes blood sugar to spike extremely quickly. Rice syrup is also very fine and contains almost no essential nutrients. In other words, it’s considered “empty” calories.
Brown Rice Syrup
Processed organic foods
Unfortunately, the word “organic” has become a typical marketing buzzword in many cases. Food manufacturers have found all sorts of ways to make the same products, except with ingredients that just happen to be organic. This includes ingredients like organic raw cane sugar, which is basically 100% identical to regular sugar. It’s still just glucose and fructose with little to no nutrients. In many cases, the difference between an ingredient and its organic counterpart is next to none.
Processed organic foods
Fried or grilled food
Roasting and grilling are among the most unhealthy cooking methods. Food cooked in this way is often very tasty and high in calories. Various types of unhealthy chemical compounds are also formed when food is cooked under high heat. Many of the chemicals produced by high-heat cooking are linked to an increased risk of cancer and heart disease. In addition, a high level of oil is normally used in frying.
Fried or grilled food
Low-fat yogurt
Yogurt can be incredibly healthy. Still, most yogurts found at the grocery store are bad for you. They are often low in fat but loaded with sugar to balance out the flavor of the fat. Simply put, most of the healthy fats in most yogurt have been replaced with an unhealthy ingredient. Additionally, many yogurts do not provide probiotic bacteria, as is commonly believed. They are often pasteurized, which kills most of their bacteria.
Low-fat yogurt
Processed Cheese
Cheese is healthy in moderation. It’s loaded with nutrients, and a single slice packs all the nutrients of a glass of milk. Nevertheless, processed cheese products are nothing more than normal cheese. They consist primarily of filler ingredients engineered to have a cheese-like appearance and texture. Be sure to read the ingredients to confirm your cheese contains dairy and few artificial ingredients.
Processed Cheese
Coffee
Poor quality coffee can contain many contaminants that can cause illness, headaches, or a general bad feeling. This can happen when your coffee is made from beans that have been over-cracked or otherwise ruined. Even a ruined bean can make your mug toxic. If you invest and buy quality specialty coffee, you don’t have to worry about that. Of course, coffee can also have benefits, such as improved performance and a lower chance of developing diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Coffee
Nuts
Eating nuts as part of a healthy diet can be good for your heart. Nuts contain unsaturated fatty acids and other nutrients. And they’re a great snack—inexpensive, easy to store, and easy to pack for when you’re on the go. A disadvantage of nuts is that they are very high in calories. Therefore, it is important to limit portions. However, choosing nuts over a less healthy snack can help you stick to a heart-healthy diet.
Nüsse
Oatmeal
It’s a whole grain, healthy grab-and-go breakfast, and easily topped with other healthy side dishes like berries, bananas, and nuts. So what could be bad about oatmeal? Flavored packets contain more sugar and sodium than regular rolled or steel-cut oats. Plain instant oatmeal packets are great. Make a packet, then stir in natural peanut butter. You can also try adding cinnamon, vanilla extract, cacao nibs, or unsweetened coconut flakes for a sugar-free flavor.
Oatmeal
Dried Fruits
Even if most people would not expext it, because it looks healthy at first glance, packaged food is like a sugar bomb. So make sure the dried fruit you buy doesn’t have any added sugar. It’s also important to be aware of portion size, since dried fruit, whether store-bought or not, contains high levels of natural sugars.
Dried Fruits
Sushi
When done right, salad can be a perfectly healthy and filling meal. But ready-to-eat salads are often high in sodium and fat, along with a slew of preservatives to keep them from spoiling. This makes homemade salads your best and healthiest choice. Of course, remember not to overdo it with the dressing. We can recommend a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing.
Sushi
Packaged Salads
When done right, salad can be a perfectly healthy and filling meal. But ready-to-eat salads are often high in sodium and fat, along with a slew of preservatives to keep them from spoiling. This makes homemade salads your best and healthiest choice. Of course, remember not to overdo it with the dressing. We can recommend a fresh lemon and olive oil dressing.
Packaged Salads
Jogurt
Many flavored yogurt options can contain more sugar than a piece of cake. Similarly, other flavored health foods like milk, oatmeal, coconut water, and smoothies are loaded with sugar. It’s important to turn the container over and see how much sugar was added and what type of sweetener was used. Experts therefore recommend buying unsweetened yogurt or opting for Greek, Nordic and Australian yogurt, which are low in sugar and high in protein.
Jogurt