10 foods that sound healthy but really arent

10 foods that sound healthy but really arent10 foods that sound healthy but really arentWhen grabbing snacks with words like fruit, veggie, or vitamin in the name, its natural to assume these foods will offer us some level of nutrition. (Like, maybe at least some vitamin C please?) The reality, though, is that a number of foods promoted to the public as healthy are really far from it. To make thebest dietary choices, its helpful to get savvy about whats actually doing your body good and whats just marketing BS. We dug into food labels and chatted with Phoenix-based registered dietitian nutritionistYaffi Lvova to get the lowdown on 10 supposedly healthy foods to view with a healthy dose of skepticism.1. Light ProductsIn an effort to cut back on calories and fat, you might instinctively reach for foods calling themselves light. But these products can pose dietary problems far worse than their full-fat counterparts. When fat is reduced or removed from a food, it must be replaced with an other ingredient to make up the texture and flavor, explains Lvova. Oftentimes this is done with sugar or artificial fillers. When comparing full-fat sour cream to low-fat or fat-free, youll notice that the list of ingredients gets longer and longer. These are ingredients that are not found in nature, which your body doesnt recognize. When it comes to foods like foods like salad dressings, mayo, and sour cream, stick with portion-controlled amounts of the regular or original variety.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and mora2. Flavored YogurtIts true that yogurt offers a wealth of the friendly ntzlich bacteria known asprobiotics, which can help digestion and promote overall health. So plain (or lightly sweetened) yogurt does make an excellent choice for health-conscious snacking. But inside many flavored varieties lurk massive doses of added sugar. One container ofYoplaits Original Frenc h Vanilla yogurt, for example, packs more sugar (19 grams) than a serving ofBreyers Natural Vanilla ice cream(14 grams). Always read labels to check for sugar content.3. Veggie Chips or StrawsEver noshed on some veggie straws and called it a day for your healthy eating? (We confess, we have too.) Despite the veggie in their name - and the vibrant pictures of spinach or tomatoes on their packaging - the main ingredient in most veggie straws is potato starch. So while they may containless fat than some potato chips, their ingredients really arent much different.4. Meatless MeatsNot all meatless Mondays are created equal. To nail the texture of real meat, some vegetarian meat substitutes use questionable additives like TBHQ, a substance the food watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interestencourages consumers to avoid. TBHQhas been associated withvision disturbances in humans and tumor growth in rats. Lvova also warns that highly processed soy is often the grund of fake m eats. While soy in its pure form - such as tofu, soy sauce, soy milk, or tamari - does not contribute to cancer risk, the highly processed soy eiwei isolate has been shown to increase the risk of certain types of cancer. For a better vegetarian eiwei source, try nuts, tofu, and legumes.5. Granola BarsThe word granola has come to symbolize all things hippy-dippy, natural, and healthy - so many people assume the food itself would be nothing but nourishing. That all depends, however, on what granola product you choose.According to a reportbyThe New York Times, though 71 percent of the public believe granola bars to be healthy, only 28 percent of nutritionists agree. Its pretty easy to tell that a chocolate-dipped bar is going to be more like a candy than a health food, but even less obviously Snickers-esque versions can be packed with sugar and fillers. Case in point WalMarts Great Value Sweet Salty Almond Chewy Granola Bars, which contain hydrogenated oil (a known harbinger of dan gerous trans fat) and high fructose corn syrup.6. Fruit LeatherAh, fruit leather, that beloved snack you can give to your kids and pretend you served them fruit. Until food manufacturers switch over to the FDAsupcoming nutrition facts update, which requires a line element for added sugars, its hard to know how much sugar in fruit leather comes from actual fruit and how much has been added via processing. To ensure better nutrition from a fruity snack, try your hand at aDIY variety, or just, um, eat real fruit.7. Vitamin WaterVitamin Water has enjoyed a health halo since its introduction in 2000. But, as of 2016, the coke company, which owns Vitamin Water, wasordered to remove health claims(such as vitamins + water = all you need) from the beverages labeling. With a 20-ounce bottle supplying32 grams of sugar- more than youd get in the same amount of a fountain drink - its not hard to see why. Its true that one serving provides 100 percent of your vitamin C for the day, but so do ma ny fruits and vegetables, says Lvova. The other vitamins provided are poor quality, and only 10 to 15 percent at that. You can cover these nutrient needs with real food throughout the day, which is a much more efficient way to take in your nutrients.8. Dairy-Free CheeseIf you avoid dairy due to allergy, intolerance, or religious or ethical restrictions, dairy-free cheese can be a godsend for getting your fix of stretchy, melty goodness. For the rest of us, though, theres no health-related reason to choose dairy-free cheese, since most of these products are highly processed and often contain refined oils, preservatives, and color additives. Besides,recent research revealsthat eating real cheese daily could actually protect against cardiovascular disease.9. Diet SodaIts diet, so its better than regular soda, right? Not necessarily.Studies have shownthat drinking diet soda is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a complex of health issues that includes obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. This may be due to the artificial sweeteners used in diet soda, such as sucralose, aspartame, and saccharine. Though technicallyconsidered geldschrank by the FDA, these sweeteners remain controversial for the way theyaffect the bodys metabolic processes.10. High-Protein SnacksHigh protein seems to be the latest marketing code for healthy, based on the concept that protein builds muscle. But does more of this macro actually make a food better for you? The Daily Value of protein for healthy adults isjust 50 grams. And since, according to many experts, the average American getsmore than enough proteinin their daily diet, adding extra in the form of a high-protein cookie or bar isnt necessarily helpful.This article was originally published on Brit + Co.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Fran klins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people10 foods that sound healthy but really arentWhen grabbing snacks with words like fruit, veggie, or vitamin in the name, its natural to assume these foods will offer us some level of nutrition. (Like, maybe at least some vitamin C please?) The reality, though, is that a number of foods promoted to the public as healthy are really far from it. To make thebest dietary choices, its helpful to get savvy about whats actually doing your body good and whats just marketing BS. We dug into food labels and chatted with Phoenix-based registered dietitian nutritionistYaffi Lvovato get the lowdown on 10 supposedly healthy foods to view with a healthy dose of skepticism.1. Light ProductsIn an effort to cut back on calories and fat, you might instinctively reach for foods calling themselves light. But these products can pose dietary problems far worse than their full-fat counterparts. When fat is reduced or removed from a food, it must be replaced with another ingredient to make up the texture and flavor, explains Lvova. Oftentimes this is done with sugar or artificial fillers. When comparing full-fat sour cream to low-fat or fat-free, youll notice that the list of ingredients gets longer and longer. These are ingredients that are not found in nature, which your body doesnt recognize. When it comes to foods like foods like salad dressings, mayo, and sour cream, stick with portion-controlled amounts of the regular or original variety.2. Flavored YogurtIts true that yogurt offers a wealth of the friendly gut bacteria known asprobiotics, which can help digestion and promote overall health. So plain (or lightly sweetened) yogurt does make an excellent choice for health-conscious snacking. But inside many flavored varieties lurk massive doses of added sugar. One container ofYoplaits Original French Vanilla yogurt, for exampl e, packs more sugar (19 grams) than a serving ofBreyers Natural Vanilla ice cream(14 grams). Always read labels to check for sugar content.3. Veggie Chips or StrawsEver noshed on some veggie straws and called it a day for your healthy eating? (We confess, we have too.) Despite the veggie in their name - and the vibrant pictures of spinach or tomatoes on their packaging - the main ingredient in most veggie straws is potato starch. So while they may containless fat than some potato chips, their ingredients really arent much different.4. Meatless MeatsNot all meatless Mondays are created equal. To nail the texture of real meat, some vegetarian meat substitutes use questionable additives like TBHQ, a substance the food watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interestencourages consumers to avoid. TBHQhas been associated withvision disturbances in humans and tumor growth in rats. Lvova also warns that highly processed soy is often the basis of fake meats. While soy in its pure form - such as tofu, soy sauce, soy milk, or tamari - does not contribute to cancer risk, the highly processed soy protein isolate has been shown to increase the risk of certain types of cancer. For a better vegetarian protein source, try nuts, tofu, and legumes.5. Granola BarsThe word granola has come to symbolize all things hippy-dippy, natural, and healthy - so many people assume the food itself would be nothing but nourishing. That all depends, however, on what granola product you choose.According to a reportbyThe New York Times, though 71 percent of the public believe granola bars to be healthy, only 28 percent of nutritionists agree. Its pretty easy to tell that a chocolate-dipped bar is going to be more like a candy than a health food, but even less obviously Snickers-esque versions can be packed with sugar and fillers. Case in point WalMarts Great Value Sweet Salty Almond Chewy Granola Bars, which contain hydrogenated oil (a known harbinger of dangerous trans fat) and hi gh fructose corn syrup.6. Fruit LeatherAh, fruit leather, that beloved snack you can give to your kids and pretend you served them fruit. Until food manufacturers switch over to the FDAsupcoming nutrition facts update, which requires a line item for added sugars, its hard to know how much sugar in fruit leather comes from actual fruit and how much has been added via processing. To ensure better nutrition from a fruity snack, try your hand at aDIY variety, or just, um, eat real fruit.7. Vitamin WaterVitamin Water has enjoyed a health halo since its introduction in 2000. But, as of 2016, the Coca-Cola company, which owns Vitamin Water, wasordered to remove health claims(such as vitamins + water = all you need) from the beverages labeling. With a 20-ounce bottle supplying32 grams of sugar- more than youd get in the same amount of a fountain drink - its not hard to see why. Its true that one serving provides 100 percent of your vitamin C for the day, but so do many fruits and vegetabl es, says Lvova. The other vitamins provided are poor quality, and only 10 to 15 percent at that. You can cover these nutrient needs with real food throughout the day, which is a much more efficient way to take in your nutrients.8. Dairy-Free CheeseIf you avoid dairy due to allergy, intolerance, or religious or ethical restrictions, dairy-free cheese can be a godsend for getting your fix of stretchy, melty goodness. For the rest of us, though, theres no health-related reason to choose dairy-free cheese, since most of these products are highly processed and often contain refined oils, preservatives, and color additives. Besides,recent research revealsthat eating real cheese daily could actually protect against cardiovascular disease.9. Diet SodaIts diet, so its better than regular soda, right? Not necessarily.Studies have shownthat drinking diet soda is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a complex of health issues that includes obesity, high blood pr essure, and high blood sugar. This may be due to the artificial sweeteners used in diet soda, such as sucralose, aspartame, and saccharine. Though technicallyconsidered safe by the FDA, these sweeteners remain controversial for the way theyaffect the bodys metabolic processes.10. High-Protein SnacksHigh protein seems to be the latest marketing code for healthy, based on the concept that protein builds muscle. But does more of this macro actually make a food better for you? The Daily Value of protein for healthy adults isjust 50 grams. And since, according to many experts, the average American getsmore than enough proteinin their daily diet, adding extra in the form of a high-protein cookie or bar isnt necessarily helpful.This article was originally published on Brit + Co.