Consider avoiding some 'healthy' foods

7/3/2011

Lots of foods are presented as healthy eating choices when they're anything but. Such as ...

● Whole-grain bagels

It's still a high-calorie bagel, even if it's made with whole-grain ingredients. Plus, some bagels advertise "whole grain," but are only made with a small fraction of whole-grain flour, so they're lacking the healthy nutrients whole grains are known for.

● High-fiber yogurt

Yogurt doesn't naturally contain fiber, no matter what the clever commercials say. Companies add synthetic versions that up the fiber count and these impostors don't have the same health benefits as the real stuff.

● Drinks with "servings of fruits and vegetables"

While slurping your produce may sound like a good idea, you'll be missing out on important nutrients like fiber and numerous vitamins. To make matter worse, these beverages are often loaded with added sugars.

● Frozen diet entrees

While you are promised a wholesome meal in a microwave-ready tray (doesn't that just seem sketchy already?), you're usually getting vastly processed ingredients and an excessive amount of sodium.

● Breakfast cereals labeled "whole-grain"

Even sugary cereals for kids come plastered with seals of approval and check marks proclaiming they are made with whole grains. Most of them average less than one gram of fiber and 3 teaspoons of added sugar per cup -- and who eats just a cup?

● Fat-free cheese

Fat-free versions of cheeses such as American, cheddar and mozzarella contain more chemicals and stabilizers than cheese. They also contain double the sodium to make up for the lack of flavor.

● Snack mixes

Many of the premade mixes are full of high-calorie ingredients like yogurt-covered this, chocolate-dipped that, and fried bits of who-knows-what?

● Baked and fat-free chips

Baked chips certainly sound better for you. While they are lower in fat, they have more sodium and sugar and almost as many calories as the regular version. The fat-free types may be even worse thanks to the indigestible additive Olestra.

● Chicken sausage

Chicken seems like the obvious choice over pork and beef sausages, but the lower fat content of chicken means that sausages need lots of extras like sodium and sugar to compete in the flavor department.