The Top 10 Most Deceptive Non Healthy Foods

There are lots of foods out there that claim to he healthy when in fact they are far from it, but unfortunately, most of us can’t tell the difference and end up eating the non healthy foods instead. However, just because they happen to mention the word “vegetable” in the list of ingredients, it does not mean that they are good for you!

Some food products make all kinds of dubious claims about their ingredients, or lack thereof. Prawn crackers are a good example—you would be surprised at how few “prawns” are in the average prawn cracker. Yes, you guessed it, no prawns whatsoever most of the time. So how can you spot the foods that are not what they claim to be, or more importantly, which foods commonly available at your local grocery store are deceptively non healthy, even though they are claiming to be very healthy?

The top 10 deceptively non healthy foods

#1 Muffins – muffins are often touted as a healthy snack for breakfast, lunch and any other time of the day. You probably visit your local coffee shop and rather than go for a slice of calorific chocolate cake, you opt for a healthy bran muffin instead because you mistakenly believe that a bran muffin is good for you. Well it isn’t. Muffins of any variety are loaded with fat, sugar, and hundreds of calories, so you may as well eat the chocolate cake, too.

#2 Vegetable chips – marketed as a healthy alternative to regular potato chips, crispy vegetable chips are very tasty and come in all kinds of delicious varieties, including parsnip and carrot chips, but like potato chips, vegetable chips are loaded with fat and full of calories. They also do not count as your “one a day” helping of fruit and vegetables!

#3 Canned soups – we often assume that a can of soup is a healthy lunch, particularly if it contains vegetables, but before you reach for the can opener, read the list of ingredients very closely. Many big brand name soups are packed full of salt and fat, and some varieties can easily provide half of your daily salt allowance in one can. And if you opt for a can of chicken soup, you can add high levels of saturated fat to the list of ingredients. So instead of buying ready made cans of soup, make your own! Soups are easy to make, so have fun and try making your own home made soups—they will be much more nutritious and probably tastier.

#4 Breakfast cereals – many breakfast cereals are full of sugar, particularly kid’s cereals. Some of the worst offenders are muesli and instant oatmeal cereals, both of which contain massive amounts of sugar. Muesli might seem like the healthy option, but choose a sugar free version if you really want to be healthy. Better still, opt for plain oatmeal or a sugar free bran cereal and serve it with fat-free milk.

#5 Fruit juice is supposed to be a healthy drink, but beware of fruit juice blends that contain sugar and additives. Many apparently healthy fruit juices are little more than sugared water with a small percentage of pure fruit juice, so always choose a 100% pure fruit juice that contains no added sugar or artificial colors or flavorings.

#6 Trail mix – lots of people think trail mix is a really healthy snack because it is full of nuts and dried fruit, but think again because although nuts are good for you and contain healthy fats, many trail mixes contain lots of calorific dried fruits and chocolate chips. For a healthier alternative, buy plain nuts to snack on—walnuts, brazil nuts, and hazelnuts are all full of nutrition and are good for you, but avoid salted or roasted nuts as these are not good for you.

#7 Dried banana chips – everyone loves dried banana chips, after all they are just pieces of banana, right? Well yes, they are, but unfortunately banana chips are fried in horrifically unhealthy oils which are seriously bad for you. Banana chips are normally fried in palm oil or coconut oil, which is not healthy at all, so if you want to eat banana, you should try eating an actual banana instead—it will taste better and because it contains no fat, it is much healthier for you.

#8 Fish sticks – fish is good for you, but fish sticks are definitely not the healthy option. Frozen fish sticks are full of artificial additives and fat, so avoid them at all costs if you want a healthy fish dish. Stick to fresh fish instead and grill or steam it rather than frying it.

#9 Couscous is considered to be a grain and therefore healthy, but it is in fact a processed grain and contains far less nutrition than healthier alternatives such as brown rice or brown pasta. You can still enjoy couscous, but buy a whole wheat variety of couscous instead.

#10 Apple sauce – it tastes great with roast pork, but although apple sauce has seen an apple or two at some point in the manufacturing process, it is mostly full of sugar and calories and not much else. If you really want to mix apple and pork, try making your own apple sauce minus the sugar, or buy an unsweetened version instead. Even better, eat a raw apple and enjoy the extra fiber and nutrients.

It is possible to eat healthily, but you should always take the manufacturer’s claims that their product is healthy with a pinch of salt. Read the list of ingredients and judge for yourself whether a supposedly “healthy” food is actually healthy—in many cases it contains more sugar, salt and fat than half of the dishes on the menu down at the local fast food joint. If in doubt about which foods are healthy or not so healthy, try and stick to fresh, non processed foods as these are less likely to contain extra salt and sugar and more likely to have some nutritional value.