Why You Should Avoid These Healthy Foods
By Stepy Kamei
Choosing a diet which consists of nutritious, wholesome foods is one of the key aspects of living a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to determine which foods truly are good for you, and which are not. This is partly because many foods may have labels with phrases that sound healthy, but nutritionists have found are not entirely truthful. Keep on reading to find out some of the more common "healthy" foods you may have in your pantry that aren't as good for you as you think.
Low-fat and No-fat foods
If one of your goals in eating healthier is to lose weight, it seems to make sense that you'd want to avoid foods which contain high amounts of fat. Therefore, foods which are marked as having low or no fat certainly sound like a healthy alternative. Unfortunately, low-fat and no-fat foods don't provide as many health benefits as you may think. When it comes down to it, when the fat is removed from a food, that food has lost much of what makes it taste good. Food manufacturers make up for this lack of taste by pumping tons of sugar and artificial sweeteners into the food. You probably know that consuming excess amounts of sugar is bad for your health, given the fact that it can increase inflammation in the body while disrupting blood sugar levels in an unhealthy manner. In this way, foods with low or no fat tend to be surprisingly unhealthy.
Fruit Juice
Many people like to start their mornings by drinking a glass of their favorite type of fruit juice. However, it's important to take a look at the ingredients list and nutrition label of the juice you choose, as some brands are less nutritious than others. This is because some brands actually add refined sugar to their product, in addition to other artificial sweeteners and preservatives. Make sure you're consuming actual fruit juice, as opposed to juice that's "flavored" with fruit, or from concentrate, to make sure you're getting the real deal.
Energy Bars
Energy and breakfast bars have been marketed as a convenient and healthy snack (or even a meal substitute) for years. While some brands of energy bar are fine as a small snack, many brands are filled with fake ingredients such as preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Be sure to check the ingredients list carefully, and only choose bars which contain (at least for the most part) real food ingredients.
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