Eating a balanced diet is highly recommended by your nutritionist, and having a balanced diet isn’t the same thing as a healthy diet, if you care to know. Food commercials are only good at making you crave for more, and it seems their marketing strategies are too good at making you believe that whatever you’re buying is not just balanced, but also healthy, too. Dear friends, here are ten well-known healthy foods that actually turned out to be unhealthy, after all.
Related media: 10 “Healthy” Foods That Turned Out To Be Unhealthy!
#1. Coconut Oil
First thing first, beware of any food that marketers claim to be healthy. Especially when its oil, its highly saturated. Coconut oil indeed sounds organic, and yes it is. But little did you know that the tropical fruit that has been useful in the tropics holds an unhealthy secret. For instance, its fiber is used for fishing ropes, its kernel for feeding animals, its oil as fuel in lantern, and well…, its that occasional snack. And that’s where the oil is from, too.
It also has antibacterial properties, but that doesn’t stop it from being highly saturated. It contains 115 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Fats and oils are of two kinds: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). The latter is the good kind. In comparison, coconut oil is 82 percent saturated, whereas butter is 63 percent, beef fat is 50 percent, and pork fat is 39 percent. So judge for yourself.
How often do you consume coconut oil?
#2. Couscous
If your reason for eating couscous is all because you’re vegan, then listen up. Here’s the thing: couscous is so healthy looking all because its just dressed up like one of those whole grain meals, right? Spoiler alert: its just pasta and some clever marketing. As a matter of fact, couscous is just little balls of semolina you’d normally find in spaghetti, which is also used as filler in meat stews in several so-called vegan restaurants. Gotcha!
Of course, it does resemble the same vegan foods made with whole grains and cereals, but a cup of plain couscous actually contains 177 calories and 36 grams of carbohydrates. That’s equivalent to your regular pasta or macaroni. And never be fooled by the looks of it being a healthy diet. As it turned out, couscous is just a pretty good commercialized impersonation of semolina at its best. And you better be aware of this.
How often do you consume couscous?
#3. Diet Soda
Hey there! Before you order your double cheeseburger and a diet coke. Spoiler alert: both of ‘em aren’t healthy. Sorry! As a matter of fact, a diet soda might actually be worse than a regular soda. Of course, diet sodas have zero calories and no sugar, all thanks to artificial sweeteners, thus making them a good choice for people with diabetes. But truth is, there’s nothing really nutritional about these sweet-tasting fizzy drinks.
They are made with carcinogenic food coloring, additives, and the infamous sweetener aspartame. These ingredients only creates the risk of several heart related diseases, strokes, and of course, type 2 diabetes. In addition, diet sodas alter the bacteria in your stomach that creates glucose intolerance, which also leads to massive weight gains and obesity. As it turned out, diet soda couldn’t live up to its reputation of being a healthy soda.
How often do you consume diet soda?
#4. Energy Bars
These were once available at every gym, and it seems every athlete was frequently munching on these bars. Perhaps convinced that they would instantly get abs, or transform them into Schwarzenegger. Whatever. So they just supplemented their routine with these power bars, hoping that they provide the fuel to sustain their workouts. And sure it did, but for the average consumer who didn’t hit the gym that often, it meant adding on a few extra kilos.
Blame it on commercials, as these bars were marketed as being healthy. But the average bar contains as much sugar as the regular candy bar. So you better get a lollipop instead. However, there are a few other alternatives that are thought of as sugar-free, low in carbs and protein, or with artificial sweeteners. But these are pretty much damaging to your body as they tend to cause sugar cravings, and we’re not advising that, either.
How often do you consume energy bars?
#5. Fruit Juice
Don’t be fooled if you think of everything that comes off the tree is good for you. Of course, fruit juices are packed with lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, but do you realize you’re just drinking a glass of sugar. Organic fruit juice you squeeze from an orange is a lot more healthier than a supermarket variety. You’re just buying a box pumped full of sugar, preservatives, and inorganic chemicals that are only meant to taste just like fruit.
In fact, juice is just the liquid of the fruit without the fiber, which is much more healthier. So drinking a box of fruit juice is just like consuming five oranges without any fibers. And not forgetting about the fact that liquid calories from booze and soda are bad, even if its from fruit juices. And the real essential part of the fruit is missing from the box you just bought. So all that sugar will eventually flood your blood stream. Do you need a crash course?
How often do you consume fruit juice?
#6. Granola
This was once upon a time thought of as the healthiest thing to eat. And who would have thought that a bowl or dried bar of crunchy fruits, seeds and nuts was a bad thing for you? As it turns out, you’ll be consuming a ridiculous amount of calories. The healthy granola you’re used to seeing in commercials isn’t a healthy choice if you think it is. This is typically made with butter, shortenings, and sugar additives.
It was once an alternative to consuming foods such as cramming chocolate chips, sugary fruits, yoghurt covering, and whatever that was deemed caloric and unhealthy. But as it turned out, a single bar of granola could hold as much as 400 calories per serving. That’s way too much over the recommended daily average. However, there are healthier alternatives of granola, and you can try the organic and original cast members.
How often do you consume granola?
#7. Margarine
This was introduced as a substitute to butter — the pure unadulterated source of saturated fat was deem as health risk by cardiologists as well as fitness fanatics in the 1950s. Enter margarine. A laboratory innovation where hydrogen was added to vegetable oils, making a solid known as partially hydrogenous oil. This was supposed to be a much more healthier alternative to butter, and spoiler: it wasn’t.
Although there was a reduction in heart-related diseases thanks to margarine. Several studies over the decades showed that industrial trans-fats were associated with roughly 34 percent increase in death among consumers. From heart attacks to strokes to diabetes among others. The catch? Technically speaking, margarine isn’t a food, but its found in almost all food stuffs that you buy at the grocery shop.
How often do you consume margarine?
#8. Sushi
Sushi is as a healthy diet all thanks to the Japanese longevity — there are blue in Japan where people attribute their longevity to eating fresh fish and steamed rice. And of course, that is true. But sushi in Japan isn’t like the Western style made sushi that’s partly either grilled or baked for a tasty effect. Many of the fish found in traditional Japanese sushi contain lean protein, anti-inflammatory omega-3s, and well seasoned sauces.
But Western style made spicy tuna rolls might be loaded with ketchup, mayonnaise, sauce — particularly soy — that’s ubiquitously packed into one roll. Sushi meals are grossly over cooked well beyond typical Japanese standards to a point that you can’t even get the taste of the fish itself. Pop in a Japanese sushi and a sushi made at your local fast food joint and you’d telltales about how awful that is, in comparison.
How often do you consume sushi?
#9. Turkey Bacon
Bacon is so dang delicious that there’s actually the “Church of Bacon” in honor of bacon. Yes, Google it later. Pork bacon is as unhealthy as it is delicious, its highly fat in sodium which increases your risks of high blood pressure and stroke. So poultry producers came up with an alternative. Enter turkey bacon. And did we all fall for it? Yeah! Although turkey doesn’t sound like a good option to pork, its all because of clever marketing once again.
Just because we’ve been convinced that its a healthy alternative through commercials, we surely go for it. Truth is, turkey bacon is just like any other processed meat that’s also treated with sodium nitrates and artificial coloring, so its technically full of saturated fats. However, turkey bacon is actually healthier than pork bacon, nonetheless. But if you’re thinking of consuming it as a healthy meat. You better think twice about it.
How often do you consume turkey bacon?
#10. Veggie Burger
Just like turkey bacon, veggie burgers are a good example of clever marketing, too. In theory, veggie burgers are supposed to be the healthy alternative to a double cheeseburger, but only if you ignore the additives, preservatives, and saturated fatty ingredients. Here’s the catch: these burger-looking cousins are being made to just mimic the texture of your regular burger, so there must be something doing the trick.
As it turns out, veggie burgers are often made of yeast extracts, corn starch, and of course, veggies. But little did you know that these are packed together with preservatives that makes them stand up just to convince you well enough to have a bite. A typical vegan meal is generally healthier than grilled meat, but it becomes carcinogenic when its heated up, and that’s exactly what happens to veggie burgers. So if you want a veggie burger, grab one made entirely with vegetables.
How often do you consume veggie burger?
Let us know which foods should we include in this list.
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Written by: Nana Kwadwo, Mon, Jan 18, 2021.
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