As a majority of the population gets “health conscious,” chances are high that we may pick up wrong kind of foods that are popularly marketed as “healthy,” but the facts and the ingredients list of these products prove otherwise. Also, picking up these kind of “healthy” food and consuming them on a daily basis would prove counterproductive. In this post, we list out 12 food items that are disguised as healthy, but aren’t healthy at all. Let’s find out why:

1. Brown Bread: Don’t fall for the “100% whole wheat bread” tag printed on most of the breads these days. For a lot of people out there, bread is a staple breakfast, but far from being hungry, white bread and even most brown breads have refined flour along with sugar, salt and other preservatives. Keep breads as a cheat meal once a week, and for healthy breakfast ideas, do check out Rati Beauty diet program recipes

2. Granola: For the longest time we have thought granola is healthy, but this popular breakfast item has a good amount of sugar and other sweeteners with high calorie content. It’s better to switch to traditional Indian breakfast dishes that are full of nutrients, low in calories, and are filling at the same time. For example, idli, dosa, dhokla, poha, etc.

3. Packaged Cereals: It’s easy to pour out cereal from a box that also claims to have fruits and fortified minerals, but these cereals also have added color (to add vibrant color to the fruits in them), preservatives, and lots of sugar. Our breakfast should ideally be rich in protein and fiber to keep us full and energetic through the day, which these packaged cereals absolutely lack.

4. Soya: We have always believed that soya is rich in protein and therefore a good replacement for meat for vegetarians, but apparently, soya has a rich phytic acid content which prevents absorption of essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, and iron. Avoid soya or keep its consumption to minimal. Soy products have also shown to cause growth problems in kids.

5. Vegetable oil: Seeds oils, refined oil, and vegetable oil can raise inflammation in the body. Inflammation is one of the major reasons why people develop cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Here’s a list of healthy cooking oils if you want to get healthy.
6. Flavored Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt is rich in probiotics and help strengthen the gut, but make sure you are picking the “unflavored” ones because the other variants have loads of added sugar in them.
7. Protein bars: These bars which claim to be rich in protein are a favorite post-workout snack among gym goers, but chewing on these bars will put all your effort in the gym down the drain. Make your own protein bars at home with peanuts, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, and jaggery for sweetness.
8. Low-fat milk: Just like eggs, “milk” too is considered to be a wholesome food source because it packs so many nutrients together. Switching to fancy versions like “low fat,” do no good to your heart, it’s better to consume whole fat milk with all of its nutrients intact. In this post, we have researched about “Which Milk Type is Best for Weight Loss?” Do go through it.
9. Sugar-free packaged goods: Artificial sweeteners are not better than refined sugar. In fact, certain forms of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, saccharin have been linked cancer in animals. Be careful while picking “sugar free” packaged goods, instead opt for these healthy alternatives for sugar.
10. Salad Dressing: Let’s admit it, the thought of eating salads every day because you want to lose weight, is a nightmare, especially when there’s no salad dressing. But salad dressings that you get from the supermarket have loaded with sodium, sugar, and preservatives. All these would raise your calorie count and prevent you from losing weight.
11. Peanut butter with salt and sugar: Sure peanut butter is a rich source of protein, but only when it’s homemade and not bought from the store because if you read the ingredients list, certain brands do add sugar, salt, and oil and market it as “healthy.”
12. Sports drinks: Absolute no-no if you want to lose weight and get healthy in general. Sports drink do contain electrolytes like sodium, potassium, but they are also high on sugar, so there you go!

Tips for Picking Healthy Food:

1. Try to pick local produce rather than “imported” varieties because local produce is high on nutrition compared to imported varieties.
2. Always read the “ingredients list,” – keep back everything that has transfat, added sugar, preservatives, added color in them.
3. Don’t pick any packaged stuff that has not the complete ingredient list printed on its back.
4. Avoid genetically-modified food.
5. Pick unpolished varieties of lentils, dals.
6. Say no to artificial sweeteners.
7. Avoid sugar-free products.
8. Avoid low-fat products.

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