6 Healthy Foods That Aren’t Actually Healthy
When it comes to choosing healthy foods, most are likely to
get overwhelmed by the abundance of options available. People often get tempted
by labels that read - ‘Probiotics, Multi-grain, protein recommendation, low-fat
and fiber-rich that they don’t even give a thought whether the food they are
buying is really good for their health or not.
It’s about time that you look beyond the labels, become a
conscientious consumer and do some research on nutritional facts. For eg, fat
in its unprocessed form doesn’t make anyone fat. Here are a few foods that are
touted as healthy but aren’t actually, have a look:
1. Skimmed or low-fat milk
Though skimmed milk or low-fat milk have fewer calories,
whole milk contains more amount of saturated and mono-saturated fats. These
types of fats support your metabolism, make you feel full and enhance your body
composition. Low-fat milk contains less amount of Vitamin A, D, E and K than
whole milk. So which is the better option? Low-fat or whole milk?
2. Protein bars
Most protein bars sold at the grocery store are packed with
sugar, artificial sweeteners, trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup. Then
there are some bars which contain only four to five ingredients like - almonds,
cashews, whey protein, peanuts etc while few others are filled with 40
different ingredients! Yes, you need to check the ingredients first. If you see
unfamiliar ingredients on the label, put it back on the shelf.
3. Cereal
A research says that 31% of people start their morning with
a bowl of cereal and milk. In fact, cornflakes don’t contain any natural
vitamins and minerals as they get destroyed during the manufacturing process.
To compensate for the lost minerals, manufacturers add synthetic ingredients to
enhance the nutritional value of cereals.
4. Sports Drinks
Sports drinks have long been known to enhance recovery and
quench the thirst more effectively than water. A recent study by the University
of Oxford claimed that there’s no evidence of claims that these companies boast
of. In fact, most sports drinks were found to have a lot of sugar and
electrolyte content.
5.
Wheat bread
When buying a whole bread log, make sure that the first
ingredient it contains is either ‘whole grains’ or ‘whole wheat’. Most wheat
bread don’t contain whole wheat at all and still have refined flour. Even
worse, some wheat bread includes artificial sweeteners or partially
hydrogenated oils, corn syrup and preservatives to enhance shelf-life.
6. Packaged foods (calorie controlled)
Controlling intake of carbohydrates and proteins can be a
key to balance calorie count. However, these mini-sized snacks often leave you
unsatisfied and under-nourished. If you are looking for a fix, go for fruits or
celery with peanut butter, cherries, and raisins.
A lot of foods that you think are healthy might not be the
best things to have. You need to watch out the labels first so you can make
better food choices on a daily basis. To find more tips on health and fitness,
check out http://www.fitness-world.in/fitness-blog/.
