Table of contents:
- 1. Cereal with added sugar
- 2. Whole wheat bread
- 3. Frozen yogurt
- 4. Skimmed milk and low fat
- 5. Energy drinks, smoothies, and packaged juices
- 6. Dried fruits
Healthy and lifestyle trends clean eating which is loved by many people in recent years you can easily find it in various supermarkets and big malls. The proof, healthy food products that are equipped with the jargon "organic", "low fat", "no added sugar", to "no preservatives and artificial sweeteners" are listed in many products.
But be careful, many of the foods labeled "healthy" that we consume on a daily basis are actually not as healthy as what you believe so far. If you dig deeper into the nutritional information that appears on product labels or investigate what is actually contained in the food behind all the "healthy" labels, you will find out that some of these foods are actually very unhealthy.
1. Cereal with added sugar
Cereal is a practical breakfast menu that is a favorite of many people. Moreover, cereals are also claimed to be healthy foods. This is not entirely wrong, but most instant cereals sold in supermarkets actually contain very high sugar.
Likewise with snacks granola bar who generally don't get fiber from real wheat or nuts, as most take fiber from chicory root extract, a bland plant that is high in fiber content. The fortified fiber contained in energy bars is insoluble fiber.
Solution: If you want to eat instant food or snacks but have health benefits, try choosing a snack product with the basic ingredients of nuts or fruits. Choose made from soybeans which are high in fiber and protein, so that they are digested slowly in the body to provide a longer full effect.
2. Whole wheat bread
Not all whole grain breads contain whole grain (whole wheat), even products labeled “multi-grain” or “seven-grain” can still contain refined wheat flour.
Multi-grain bread only shows that the bread is made from a lot of grain, not how many stages of the processing process it goes through. Processed wheat has gone through a lot of manufacturing, and the good bacteria, fiber, vitamins and minerals are also removed, leaving behind only simple carbohydrates that can raise your blood sugar levels and gain weight.
Furthermore, many whole wheat bread products contain hydrogenated oil, artificial sweeteners, fructose (corn sugar), preservatives, and dyes.
Solution: Look at the nutrition table on the product packaging and make sure that the first ingredient listed is "whole grain" (whole wheat) or "whole seed" (whole grains). Generally, the ingredients of the composition that are listed first have the largest portion in the product.
3. Frozen yogurt
Frozen yogurt seems like it never dies from year to year. Moreover, now many fro-yo products claim to contain antioxidants and detoxification from various natural active ingredients, such as bamboo charcoal. In fact, even if you choose the taste plain, the sugar content in ½ cup of frozen yogurt can reach 25 grams, even before you add your favorite toppings.
Solution: mix your own version of fro-yo at home with plain greek yogurt (low fat or lean) topped with fresh fruit slices, granola, chia seeds, and / or honey.
4. Skimmed milk and low fat
Skim milk and low-fat ones contain fewer calories, but fresh cow's milk contains more saturated and monounsaturated fats which help keep you full longer and support metabolism. Skim milk and low-fat milk also contain less vitamins A, D, E, and K when compared to whole, unprocessed cow's milk.
Skim milk producers have also added milk powder to match the texture of skim milk with freshly milked cow's milk. The process of adding this milk powder involves oxidized cholesterol, which is much more damaging to your arteries than normal cholesterol.
Reporting from Muscle and Fitness, a number of studies have proven that low-fat and non-fat milk has a higher risk of childhood obesity than regular cow's milk.
5. Energy drinks, smoothies, and packaged juices
Even though energy drinks, juices, and smoothies are packed with healthy nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, still "healthy" thirst-quenching drinks sold in packs are usually high in sugar.
The juice process extracts all the fiber in both fruits and vegetables that can help you feel full, and contains high amounts of sugar in one small package, up to 50 grams per serving, and most of this sugar comes from fruit. Even though this is natural sugar, still consuming that much sugar in one consumption is not good for your body.
Solution: If you do want to drink bottled juice, check the composition label and nutrition table. Make sure your packaged drinks contain no more than 15 grams of carbohydrates per one serving. Ideally, a good juice or smoothies should be about 1 serving of fruit and the rest is vegetables.
6. Dried fruits
Fresh fruit is proven to be good for health. How about dried fruit?
Dried fruit producers use sulfur dioxide to preserve the freshness of the fruit and add sugar to enhance its taste. Indeed, dried fruit still contains vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are good for you, but the artificial sweetness of this dried fruit will trick you into snacking more and more often, which is not good for health.
So, dried fruit, like raisins or sultana, is actually the same as a packet of candy.
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