4 Foods That Aren’t As Healthy As You’d Think

Food manufacturers realized a long time ago that making their products look and sound healthy is a great way to sell them and there has never been a time when this was more pronounced than today. Today’s consumer will fork over huge amounts of money if they think they are eating something that is healthy and that will help them stay fit. Of course, many of these “healthy” options are not healthy at all and today, we will be looking at a few of them.

The gluten-free craze is taking over the world and more and more people are deciding to ditch products containing gluten because they think it will improve their health. In reality, unless you have been diagnosed with gluten sensitivity or celiac disease (by a doctor and only a doctor), removing gluten from your diet will only have negative effects on your health.

Namely, in order to substitute gluten, these foods often contain added sugars, sodium and fat, all which can lead to weight gain. In addition to this, people on a gluten-free diet often have to deal with a deficiency in magnesium, iron, zinc, B-vitamins and other nutrients. On top of all that, gluten-free foods are expensive.

Another food often considered super healthy is dark chocolate and it has been our ally for some time now, after some studies showed cocoa flavanols found in it improve mental processes and also help keep the cardiovascular system running like clockwork. The only problem with this is that an extremely miniscule number of dark chocolates actually contain enough of these cocoa flavonols to produce any beneficial effects. And while you think you are making your brain and heart all-powerful, you are actually stuffing yourself on unnecessary fat and calories.

Moving on.. We are not saying that all energy bars are bad for you, but many of them are. The first reason why they are not the best choice for a health-savvy consumer is they are packed with saturated fats, as well as added sugars. In addition to this, many energy bars pack a brutal 300 calories, too much by any standards. A much better choice is making your own healthy pick-me-up mix.

You would think that fat-free and low-fat foods are your way to a thinner waist and better overall health, but in reality, very often, these versions are actually worse for you than the “fatty” ones. The main reason for this is the amount of sugar they add to such products to make up for the fat that was removed. In many cases, these “healthier”, “diet” versions actually contain more calories than the original ones. Furthermore, many people choose to eat more of such products since they think they are a better choice.