Are these "healthy" foods doing you more harm than good? Photo / 123rf
We all know the common "naughty" foods that are bad for us.
But did you know that hiding on your supermarket shelves disguised as "health foods" are some of the worst offenders.
Nutrition experts have revealed the surprising foods that they will never eat, according to the New York Post.
"Most [store-bought] smoothies contain big portions of fruit, processed protein powders and sweeteners like honey and agave, which albeit natural, are very high in fructose and thus, sugar," said Nikita Kapur, practice manager and senior clinical dietitian at Compass Nutrition.
Your body digests these far too easily, so Kapur suggests eating the whole contents of the smoothie instead of blending them together in order for your system to take longer and break down the contents.
"This not only makes you more satisfied, slowing down the process of eating, but also improves your metabolic rate!"
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While they frequent Instagram, they probably shouldn't be frequenting your table.
These bowls and all of their toppings are packed full of fat and carbs and are "essentially extra thick smoothies with toppings," says Tanya Zuckerbrot, an NYC private practice dietitian and the founder of the F-Factor Diet.
One peanut butter acai bowl weighs in at a massive 840 calories, which is nearly half of your average daily calorie allowance.
To add to the guilt, they also contain 32 grams of fat and 127 grams of carbs.
Kelly LeVeque, health coach, nutritionist and author of Body Love, calls them "sugar bombs." And, she says, the typically large amount of fructose, found in the myriad fruits often included in an açai bowl "turns to fat faster than other forms of carbohydrates."
Studies suggest that eating low-fat dairy may actually do more harm than good to your waistline.
"You're cutting out [fat] for potentially no reason," says Diana K. Rice, a registered dietitian in Jersey City who has a website called the Baby Steps Dietitian.
"On top of that, those products tend to have a lot of additives such as sugar or artificial sweeteners to compensate for lack of taste."
However a full-fat yogurt will keep you feeling fuller for longer and much more satisfied.
In terms of nutritional value, almond and rice milk simply don't compare to dairy, say these nutritionists.
And the hefty price tag doesn't help their case either.
"There's been criticism about how you're basically just buying expensive filtered water with a couple of ground-up almonds," says Rice.
Rice explained to New York Post that we shouldn't be pushing these alternatives on to our kids due to the lack of protein they contain and suggests soy milk as a better high protein alternative.
Protein or fibre bars may look and taste good, but could be simply "glorified candy bars with whey and/or soy protein isolates thrown in ... paired with a lot of the bad things you can find in candy bars, like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and agave nectar," says Kimberly Snyder, nutritionist and author of the Beauty Detox book series and Radical Beauty.
Kapur also mentions that there are plenty of portable snacks in the form of "whole food sources ... such as legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts [and] seeds," that are much better for you."
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