When you’re noshing on chips or ice cream all night, you know you’re indulging in a guilty pleasure — and you’ve probably accounted for the splurge in your diet, or, at the least, are aware that it is a splurge in your diet. You know chips and ice cream are fattening and unhealthy because who doesn’t? But what about when you’re eating something supposedly healthy? Some seemingly healthy foods are actually high in sugar, calories, fat, or have other less-than-desirable qualities. That’s why HC’s here to let you know the 10 “healthy” foods you should skip…because let’s face it, if you’re eating something bad for you, you’d rather it be chips and ice cream.
Soy Milk: Vegans and lactose intolerant girls, beware: “Soy milk is one of the unhealthiest beverages,” said nutritionist Catharine Arnston. While soy milk won’t pack on the calories, the phytic acid in soy milk blocks your absorptions of calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc—meaning if you’re drinking the stuff, you’re going to need to amp up your intake of all these by A LOT. Plus, soy milk contains aluminum and estrogen. If you still want a dairy-free milk, Arnston recommends rice, hemp, or almond milk.
Reduced-fat peanut butter: High-protein, carb-free peanut butter seems like it would be a delicious and healthy food, if only you could get ride of all that fat. Right? Wrong. Reduced-fat peanut butter is actually worse for you than regular peanut butter! To make the reduced-fat version taste as good as the original, tons of sugar is added. And this isn’t one of the healthier sugars—it’s the same stuff they make frosting from! So skip the reduced-fat, and just use less of the regular version if you’re concerned about your fat or calorie intake.
Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt: Real fruit and yogurt sounds like a match made in health heaven. But it’s not. Anyone who’s had fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt knows the fruit is sticky. Why? High-fructose corn syrup, which despite a slew of recent commercials to the contrary, is unhealthy. “It doesn’t trigger the body when it has had enough,” said Arnston. Because it makes it difficult to tell when you’re full, it causes overeating. So if you like your yogurt with real fruit, just buy plain yogurt, fresh fruit, and mix them together. The result will be tastier and healthier!
Feta cheese: If you’re a fan of the Mediterranean diet, you’ve probably come across plenty of feta. But be warned: just because it’s part of what’s typically considered a healthy diet doesn’t make this food healthy. One cup of feta cheese packs 400 calories, 40-percent of your recommended daily value of cholesterol, 70-percent of your recommended daily value of sodium, and 112-percent of your recommended daily value of fat! Gross! There are, however, a few redeeming qualities to feta (there’s a reason why you thought it was healthy!), like that it’s high in calcium and vitamin B12. So if you can’t cut it out of your diet completely, it’s ok to add a teaspoon or so to your salad.
Granola Bars: There’s something about these that just seems healthy, but don’t be fooled: they’re not. Granola bars, almost no matter the brand, are high in sweeteners. The worst ones have large amounts of high-fructose corn syrup (it’s the second ingredient on Nature Valley’s chewy bars!), chocolate pieces, or a “yogurt” coating (which is high in fat and never contains the probiotic bacteria that makes yogurt so healthy in the first place). If you absolutely cannot give up your granola bars (aren’t they so convenient?), look for ones that avoid those three ingredients, while trying to cut down on how many you eat.
Grapes, cherries, and other high-sugar fruits: Just because it’s produce doesn’t automatically make it healthy! “People need to realize that fruit contains a lot of sugar,” said Arnston. A cup of cherries, for example, has 18 grams of sugar and a cup of cherries has 23. For comparison, four Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies only have 23! (Of course, that doesn’t mean Chips Ahoy is better for you, on the whole.) Some other high-sugar fruits are mangoes, bananas, tangerines, and pomegranates. So when you’re in the produce aisle, skip over those and instead grab strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, apples, and melons.
Rice Cakes: These are devoid of fat and cholesterol, but they’re devoid of just about anything good for you too. These are practically tasteless because there’s just nothing in them, except calories! Of course, there aren’t a lot of calories in these (typically 40-50 per cake), but why waste those on something that isn’t nutritiously beneficial, or even tasty? And flavored versions don’t get their taste from added nutrients; they get it from added fat and sugar. So skip rice cakes altogether, or use them as a substitute for crackers and top them with hummus and veggies to add some nutrients to your snack.
Smoothies: Smoothies vary a lot by recipe (and for some good, healthy ones, check out this article. If they’re made with whole milk, yogurt that isn’t low-fat, sugary juices, or peanut butter, it’s obvious why these can pack on the pounds. But even if you’re drinking one with the right type of ingredients (whole fruit and low-fat milk or yogurt), it’s easier than you’d think to gain weight while sipping a smoothie. Beverages don’t keep you as full as eating solid food, so it’s likely you won’t realize how many calories you’re consuming. But if you love your smoothies, it’s ok: just keep it small and pair it with a solid snack to keep your tummy from grumbling for more when you don’t need it.
Wraps: Wraps have often been seen as the anti-carb community’s response to sandwiches. Yet just because these look less carb-packed doesn’t mean they are. A typical tortilla actually has approximately the same number of calories and carbohydrates as two slices of white bread! So if you’re truly looking for a carb-free lunch, turn your sandwich into a salad instead of a wrap, or eat a sandwich open-faced.
Fruit Juice: For those of you with a sweet tooth when it comes to beverages, fruit juice might seem like a healthy alternative to soda. But get this: most fruit juice has just as much sugar as soda. And unlike eating actual fruit, there’s no little to no fiber in fruit juice, so the calories aren’t going to fill you up. There are, however, vitamins and minerals in fruit juice. So occasionally treating yourself to a glass is ok, especially if you’re low on actual fruit for the day, but it shouldn’t be part of your regular diet.
Sources:
Catharine Arnston, Founder of The Naughty Nutritionist
http://www.projectswole.com/healthy-lifestyle/20-unhealthy-foods-that-you-think-are-healthy-but-are-actually-killing-you-slowly/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22027686
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/6-diet-busters-healthy-sounding-foods-that-really-aren-t-171837/
http://www.brighthub.com/health/diet-nutrition/articles/70145.aspx
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm