7 “Healthy” Foods That Actually Aren’t
Nutrition can be a tricky topic to navigate. After all, a quick internet search on how to lose weight will yield hundreds of contradictory opinions representing equally-many dietary philosophies. Some health experts claim a protein-loaded diet is best; others sanction lean greens. So where do you begin?
What’s more, even food items you once considered nutritious could be riddled with excessive fat, carbs, and sodium — not unlike those you’ve relegated to the back of the pantry or left out of your basket at the store. While all foods have their dietary perks and drawbacks, don’t be duped into buying choices that could add pounds to your frame, compromise your heart health, or leave you famished one hour later. We’ve compiled a list of seven “healthy” foods that could create unexpected hurdles for your diet regime — and your general well-being — if you don’t keep close watch.
Frozen Yogurt
You’re faced with the choice of either ice cream or frozen yogurt — which do you pick? At first, the choice seems obvious. Frozen yogurt might as well be the best of both worlds: creamy and sweet, but healthy enough to debut on your weekly meal planner completely guilt-free. Before you make up your mind, though, keep in mind that fro-yo is more closely related to your favorite frosty treat than advertised — and for all the wrong reasons. While a cup of soft-serve vanilla ice cream is loaded with 34 grams sugar and 102 calories, frozen yogurt trails closely behind at 36 grams sugar and 94 calories. And considering the American Heart Association recommends 100 to 150 grams of sugar per day at most, a few scoops of frozen yogurt can add up (1).
The promise of gut-healthy bacteria isn’t completely reliable, either. Although probiotics-packed frozen desserts have generated plenty of hype, the truth is, you may be downing fewer colonies than you think. For one thing, yogurt-dwelling bacteria don’t fare well under common freezer conditions — including icy temperatures (2) and oxygen toxicity (3). So while fro-yo manufacturers take pains to keep freezer-dwelling bacterial colonies alive, their efforts may not always reap maximal results. To ensure you’re getting your money’s worth in probiotics, check the frozen yogurt tub for a “Live & Active Culture” label. Created by the National Yogurt Association, this stamp guarantees your frozen product contains at least 10 million bacterial cultures per gram of yogurt.
Fruit Juice
Many glorify fruit juice as a tasty alternative to water, or a clever way to sneak vitamins into a child’s diet. Others consider fruit juice the next-best substitute for actual fruits and vegetables. For all these reasons, fruit juice’s popularity is far-reaching — research suggests fruit juice and other sugar-sweetened beverages comprise over 10% of the average Joe’s daily caloric intake (4). But let fruit juice be a lesson that not everything plastered with a “fruit” label is wholesome — in reality, many fruit juices are essentially sugar water in disguise. Compared to apples, which contain 30 calories and 5.5 grams sugar per half cup, the same volume of apple juice contains at least twice that amount of calories and sugar (5). Looking at it another way, a half cup of Coca-Cola contains 50 calories and 13 grams sugar— not much of an improvement by most people’s standards.
The result? When stacked against real fruits, sugar-laden fruit juice hikes up the risk for both diabetes and weight gain (6,7).
Besides sugar concentration, the problem with fruit juice traces back to another surprising source: fiber. Research suggests that fibrous foods foster fullness more effectively than liquids with a similar number of calories, causing you to make fewer trips to the fridge after your last meal (8). What’s more, fibrous fruits can lower your body’s insulin level peak compared to fruit juice, which is stripped of naturally-occurring fiber (9). If there’s any takeaway from all this, it’s to wipe fruit juice from your diet or keep it as an occasional treat — not a replacement fruit source.
Nutrition Bars
Nutrition bars are widely hailed as quick, on-the-go staples for long hikes or workouts. But unfortunately, their wholesome appearance doesn’t always pan out — in fact, some nutrition bars have a remarkably similar nutritional content to candy bars. Take a crunchy peanut butter Clif bar for example. The Clif bar contains 7 grams fat, 20 grams sugar, and a total of 260 calories. By comparison, Reese’s peanut butter cups together contain 13 grams fat, 22 grams sugar, and a total of 220 calories.
The Clif bar is also packed with 11 grams protein and 4 grams fiber, versus about half as much in the candy bar. But looking a little closer, you’ll notice the first ingredient in the Clif bar is brown rice sugar. Research shows that brown rice sugar not only creates an even greater blood sugar surge than glucose, but causes new food cravings to set in sooner as a result. Indeed, a 2014 study on several sweeteners found that brown rice syrup produced a higher spike in blood insulin levels than either maple syrup or dextrose, second only to high-fructose corn syrup (10). Unlike Clif bars, other nutrition bars also contain loads of high-fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to weight gain and higher daily food intake (11,12).
Clif bars aren’t the only offenders when it comes to misleading nutrition labels. Athletic-Minded Traveler compared the nutritional content of nineteen NAKED and chocolate-covered energy bars to that of a Snickers bar (which harbors 14 grams fat, 30 grams sugar, and 280 calories). They found that three NAKED and one chocolate-covered bar contained over 10 grams fat; three NAKED bars and one covered-bar contained over 20 grams sugar; and six NAKED bars and one chocolate-covered bar contained over 230 calories a pop!
Some nutrition bar manufacturers have been called out for confusing consumers. In 2015, the FDA cracked down on Kind — a snack food company — for falsely branding several of its nutrition bars as “healthy.” In a warning letter addressed to the CEO of Kind, the FDA dinged the company for cutting corners on total and saturated fat, antioxidant, fiber, and protein labels (13). Proof that not everyone is nuts about nutty nutrition bars — and rightfully so.
It’s true: nutrition bars could pack a favorable, energy-dense punch — if you’re planning to hit the gym afterwards. But if you’re chewing one while flipping through TV channels on your couch, you might be filling up on useless calories. Instead, make sure you’re putting the extra energy to good use through some form of exercise. And to minimize the hefty caloric impact, scope out energy bars packed with fiber and protein — all the while harboring fewer than 8 grams sugar — instead of choosing the first tasty-looking brand in sight.
Vegetable Oil
Surprise! Like many other foods on this list, vegetable oil is deceitfully non-nutritious, despite containing the word “vegetable” in its name. It turns out vegetable oil harbors steep amounts of omega-6 fatty acid, a molecule that can cause unseemly effects on the body when guzzled in excess. Omega-6 and omega-3 are two essential fatty acids critical for bodily upkeep — aiding in processes like neurogenesis and immune function — and can only be obtained through food ingestion (14,15). Yet the body requires a delicate balance between omega-3 and omega-6, and even a slight divergence from the recommended ratio of each chemical — which scientists peg at 2.3:1 parts omega-6 to omega-3 — could lead to deadly health effects such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and inflammatory diseases (16,17,18,19). Besides downing much less fat than modern Americans in general, our Paleolithic ancestors maintained a modest 1:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Meanwhile, the current ratio has shot up to 8–12 to 1 (20).
If you think your omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is askew, the key to normalizing it may involve eating more omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, some scientists speculate that a four-fold increase in fish consumption across the board would return the average omega-6 to omega-3 ratio to normal (16)! Although omega-6 contributes to internal inflammation and the formation of thrombus blood clots (which have been linked to heart disease), omega-3 wields the opposite effects — and replaces omega-6 fatty acids in cell membranes throughout the body (21,22). Aside from vegetable oil, you can find omega-6 fatty acids in carbohydrate-packed foodstuff like cereal grains. On the other hand, foods like leafy greens, fish oil, soybeans, and chia seeds are rich in omega-3 fatty acid.
Sports Drinks
Sports drinks offer a satisfying way to quench thirst and fill up on energy before a trip to the treadmill — that is, for athletes embarking on a strenuous fitness routine. Studies have found that a combination of carbohydrates and protein (common components of sports drinks) reduces training stress and enhances performance during exercise, and that sports drinks may boost athletes’ physical endurance (23,24).
But wait a second before diving into a bulk-sized box of energy drinks. While sports drinks may help out hard-core athletes, they aren’t a perfect solution for everyone. People who eat balanced, healthy meals on a regular basis normally take in enough electrolytes and protein for moderate exercise — without need for sports drink supplements (25,26).
And that’s not the only promise sports drinks don’t deliver on. The idea that sodium-packed beverages boost fluid retention is lukewarm at best (27). Moreover, research has debunked claims that sports drinks are an end-all remedy for muscle recovery after an intense run at the gym (28,29). Sugary beverages also erode teeth to a similar extent as soda (30).
Forget ads showing famous athletes guzzle Gatorade. Most sports drinks — which contain between 10 and 18 grams of sugar — actually increase risk of weight gain in the general population (31). Think of it this way: many people down sports drinks without any intention of working out, meaning all those extra calories have nowhere to go but their bellies (same goes for nutrition bars). Indeed, a 2013 study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition revealed that athletic adolescents consume roughly the same number of sports drinks as their non-sportive peers (32). In short, unless they’re being used fuel intense exercise, sports drinks may be a recipe for disaster.
Whole Grain Bread
You’ve probably heard by now that ditching white bread for whole grain is the healthiest dietary route to take. This claim is partially true: whole grains boast a slew of wondrous effects on health, lowering risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes while helping you maintain a tiny waist circumference (33,34,35).
So what’s the difference between white and whole wheat bread? According to the FDA, whole grains contain all the nutrient-rich parts of a plant seed: the bran, which harbors fiber and vitamins, the germ, which harbors protein and some healthy fats, and the endosperm, which harbors starchy carbohydrates (36). By contrast, both the bran and germ are missing from white bread. Due to its additional roughage, whole wheat lowers blood sugar peaks and keeps you satiated for longer than white bread (37).
But many breads advertised as “whole wheat” aren’t actually made with bran, germ, and endosperm intact. Instead, they’re baked with enriched wheat flour, which is made by milling away nutritious bran and germ from the grain (sound familiar?). Then, whole grains may be added to the loaf as an after-thought. That means actual whole grains can comprise as little as 1% to 49% of a bread loaf for it to be labeled “whole wheat!”
So what does that say about the nutritional quality of your sandwich or toast? For starters, whole grains have higher nutrient and antioxidant content than enriched wheat flour (38). Enriched flour also causes blood insulin levels to spike higher than they do after a whole grain-stocked meal, putting you at greater risk for diabetes (39). According to a 2009 study published in Nutrition Journal, for instance, rye bread made without the endosperm or germ found in whole grains causes similar insulin spikes to white bread alone (40).
If you’re tired of being conned out of the most nutritious bread possible, make sure the loaf in question lists “100% whole wheat” as the first ingredient. While you’re at it, avoid first-ingredient labels like “wheat flour,” “unbleached wheat flour,” “enriched wheat flour,” or “multigrain,” which are essentially white bread flours in disguise. Rest assured, anything with “whole grain” is the real deal. You can also swap out whole wheat bread for sprouted-grain bread and still be safe.
Breakfast Cereal
Contrary to popular belief, cereal isn’t always the key ingredient for a wholesome breakfast.
For starters, many cereals live up to their “nutritious” label in one area, but fall flat in another. A 2008 study comparing the nutritional quality of 161 cereal brands, for instance, found that many “healthy” cereals often contained less sugar than others, but didn’t differ in terms of fat, sodium, or number of calories (41).
What’s more, brightly-colored children’s cereals boasting high fiber content tend to harbor more sugar and fat than others, including contentious saturated fat. And the sweetest of the bunch are often the worst offenders. Although Apple Jacks claims to be a “good source of fiber,” it’s packed with 10 grams of sugar (which happens to be the first ingredient listed). Yikes! Kellog’s Low Fat Granola cereal is also loaded with 31.1 grams of sugar, while Frosted Flakes “Energy Clusters” cereal contains a whopping 17 grams of sugar.
Luckily, several so-called “adult” cereals slash sugar and fat content, replacing them with nutritionally-superior oat bran instead. Research suggests eating fiber-enriched oat bran may lower your blood’s meal-induced glucose spike, and that whole grain wheat cereal can diversify gut bacteria for the better (42,43). However, even the healthful elements of many cereals have diminishing returns. For instance, according to several studies, bran flakes do little to increase satiety compared to sugary corn flakes (44,45). As always, look out for high sugar content on the nutrition label and don’t be fooled by glowing health reviews on the front of the box.
With a thousand different diet plans on the market, sometimes making healthy dietary choices can feel like rocket science. In fact, your favorite guilt-free snacks might actually be causing your scale to tip. Now, you’ll be able to pinpoint a few sneaky sources of excess sugar, calories, and fat — and take a closer look at other potential culprits next time you peruse the snack aisle at the grocery store.
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