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/.
