How infuriating is it to find out that the food you were reluctantly binging on because you thought it to be healthy actually wasn’t? We’re more often than not so influenced by social media and advertisements that mislead us into all the false beliefs about “healthy” food. I hate bursting your bubble but there is definitely some bad news about your favorite not so healthy snacks. I’m listing below the list of 10 food items for you to look out; they are not as healthy as they look.
- Flavored Yogurt:
It feels really bad to break your heart but your most desired flavored Yogurts actually contain a lot of sugar and many of them don’t really contain any fruit but artificially added flavors.
- “Sugar-free” foods:
Sugar-free foods mostly contain aspartame that indirectly result in weight gain rather than helping you lose. They also might contain carcinogenic substances as they undergo various types of chemical process. They are the chief reason for your upset stomach.
- Diet drinks:
The artificial sweeteners are added to diet soda, fooling your body into thinking that you’re eating real food, which causes a spike in insulin level in your blood that can turn into stored fat, completely ruining your idea of “diet” after all.
- Granola: You now must be thinking –not this, please! Granola may sound like a really healthy breakfast option but sadly it is not. It is very high in calories containing a lot of sugar.
- Dried Fruit: Another item to be struck out of your list is dried fruit. They definitely seem like healthier alternative to sweets, but trust me when I say that’s too good to be true. They are loaded with sulfur dioxide and definitely loaded with sugar.
- Popcorn: Excluding its cinema reputation Popcorn has definitely taken off as a healthy snack in recent years. And it is –but if you go on savoring a whole bag of it in just one sitting, you’re at a risk of exceeding your daily recommended calorie allowance; at a verge of inviting high blood pressure with this high in sodium diet.
- Cereal: Okay! No need to be so shocked I’m here only talking of sugar-laded cereals that can cause a surge in blood sugar level in your body. Therefore whole grain cereals are highly recommended.
- Fruit Juice: If you’re sipping onto a packaged fruit juice right now, put it down immediately as it is loaded with sugar. It definitely sounds as an easy way to get in some of our five-a-day but they don’t really contain the valuable fiber found in eating a whole fruit.
- Gluten-Free Products: They contain a variety of starches, rice flours, and also additional sugar that are definitely of no benefit to you nutritionally. These actually contain more sugar and calories than normal gluten-filled food items.
- Meal Replacement Bars: Don’t get me wrong here, but there is a high chance that your protein bar is as nutritious as the candy bars you’ve been avoiding. Before indulging into your next cookies and cream meal replacement bar, make sure you look at the nutritional information.
Now that you have the list of all the not-so-healthy snacks, be careful before you blindly start devouring into these food items. When it comes to your health, be extra conscious about what you eat and what you don’t!
By: Dr Sushma Tiwary at Ayushmaanbhavah.com , Ahemdabad