Eating healthy has never been so confused. Low-fat, sugar-free, all natural — what's the problem?
Fancy packaging and convincing advertising makes it difficult for the hungry customers when it comes to eating well (and who doesn't want to be healthy?). In fact, 64% of customers are affected from healthy food products, according to the Institute of food technologists. And eight out of 10 adults have made some effort to eat healthier in the last year. But with so many options, so little time, it's hard to say what is really good for you and what is just a fad illness.
Take for example; bar type the FDA sent on Hazelnut snack company flack, accusing him of erroneous its products as "healthy" — but the Government agency believes that the bars are too fat to be considered as well, according to NPR.
But don't stress the next trip spending just yet. We spoke with three nutritionists to get the scoop on which foods are actually not so healthy as they appear and to replace them with. Get ready for some major trust issues.
1. granola
You might want to rethink those bits of crunchy goodness that make for more interesting your yogurt.
Think of Granola as healthy because they think the whole wheat, but the problem with granola is that it tends to have a lot of sugar and its often cooked with butter or oil and some kind of fat.
Among the fat and sugar, granola is a calorie-dense food. For example, a normal portion of Nature Valley oats 'n honey granola is a half cup and will run 210 calories. And, most of us don't stop at just half a cup — no judgment here, is hard to do.
Energy is a fast type of false energy from sugar. The best way to get real sustained energy is to eat minimally processed, natural food that does not have added sugars.
2. Smoothies or juice
One of the largest health fads going on right now is in liquid form. You know, those expensive and kale refreshing juices and smoothies.
When the juice, you strip out the fiber, causing a more rapid spike in blood sugar and insulin levels, Juicing more fruits at once is definitely too much sugar from fructose. To be more excited, we insist people eat a salad or a Pear or Apple with its skin still on and to spread out the intake of fruit and vegetables throughout the day.
Our motto is 'don't drink your calories.'
3. Skinny Cow ice cream
Coming in a variety of styles, this ice cream ice cream alternative low-calorie and fat-sounds too good to be true. We do not recommend them to customers because of how many chemicals are used in ice cream. On top of the ingredients hard to pronounce (propylene glycol monostearate?!), artificial sweeteners may lead consumers to crave more sweet things, which basically cancels the entire point of a low-cal desserts.
4. Flavored yogurt
One of the first products that steers customers away from flavored yogurt is a popular snack for adults and children. So what is the problem with some strawberry? The amount of added sugar. Greek organic fat free individual Cup of yogurt has 17 grams of sugar. For comparison, a single serving of Strawberry ice cream Haagen-Dazs has 20 grams. It's basically glorified ice cream eating has a few beneficial bacteria in there.
Instead, buy plain yogurt and sweeten with honey or maple syrup up — Let's never add much sugar as the flavored options — and throw in fresh fruit.
5. chicken cooked in restaurants
When we think of healthy protein, chicken is often on his mind. However, when you eat out at restaurants that those chicken plates could possibly be loaded with calories from being cooked in lots of butter and oil and equipped with plenty of salt and cream. The Cheesecake Factory, is a major culprit of this. Its lemon roasted chicken-healthy-sounding grass is about 1,250 calories.
We'd rather client cook at home for their chicken, that maintains the health level under control and therefore makes a great chicken protein source.
6. energy/snack bar
When you're in a hurry, you're probably tempted to take one of the many varieties of energy bars — Cliff, moon, a fiber — to keep you full.
We compare many energy bars to chocolate bars. They often have a coating of chocolate or yogurt (think Special K) and contain a lot of chemicals and artificial sweeteners, a granola bar, for example, contain about 20 ingredients, some including corn syrup, food coloring, sugar and palm oil. And they can't even do to it with enough minerals and vitamins. Instead, the best options of snacks are fresh fruit, nuts and nut butters, raw natural.
7. vitamin water
Something with the word "vitamin" in their name sounds like a good bet, right? We say otherwise — and compare it with soda.
Most of the vitamin water flavors have upwards of 31 grams of sugar, which is almost eight teaspoons of sugar. If normal water good ole is a bit tedious, we recommend the seltzer water or adding a lemon or lime to increase the flavor.
8. Reduced-fat peanut butter
Peanut butter is known to be high in proteins and calories, so some might be tempted with the fat reduction. Well, don't be.
Natural peanut butter filled with fats is the best solution, since reduced fat actually added sugar to make up for the taste.
9. agave syrup
We all know that too much sugar is a big no-no. However, replacing the sugar with a product like agave nectar might satisfy your sweet tooth but not health. These natural sweeteners are still sugars with the same amount of calories matters as normal sugar and honey (60 calories per tablespoon). If you are monitoring your blood sugars and/or weight, it is recommended to reduce all sources of sugar, natural options.
10. multi-grain
If seven is healthy grain, wheat 12 should be even better, right? Not quite!
Multi-grain just means that there are two or more grains in bread or pasta. It has nothing to do with the degree of refining of flour used is basic, and if it is white, it means that it has been stripped of most of its nutrients.
Instead, look for whole grain 100%, which means that the whole wheat kernel was used so you're getting more fiber and nutrients possible.