13 Food Items You Think Are Healthy But Are Actually Hurting Your Health
A balanced diet won&rsquot just protect you from illnesses but will also keep your skin glowing and your hair healthy. A list of foods which we think are healthy but actually are not. Be sure you make the right choices.
Our outward appearance, they say, is very strongly linked to what we feed our bodies with. And that isn¡¯t far from true given that a balanced diet won¡¯t just protect you from illnesses but will also keep your skin glowing and your hair healthy. Hence, when we¡¯re on the path to getting healthy, the main aim to include all the foods we¡¯ve been told will benefit us. However, very few of us question the validity of such foods. Turns out, there¡¯s enough evidence of some of the ¡®healthiest¡¯ foods turning out to be one of the most harmful to our bodies.
Hence, we brought you a list of foods which we think are healthy but actually are not. Be sure you make the right choices:
1. Fruit juice.
When we say fruit juice, we mean the bottled one you so diligently have with your breakfast for the instant energy as well as good taste. However, if read up on the ingredients, you will discover that there's a heavy amount of sugar and artificial flavoring that goes into it. These take away from the 'healthy' part of the bottled fruit juice and hence, if you're fond of it, we advise you invest in a good device in order to extract juice yourself.
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2. Instant oatmeal.
Another thing we bank upon when it comes to a quick but healthy breakfast is actually pretty unhealthy. Oats in themselves make for one of the most healthiest foods to add to your diet but instant oatmeal comes with a heavy amount of preservatives, making it unfit for regular use.
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3. Coconut oil.
At the end of the day, coconut oil is extremely rich in fat. Hence, moderate use can benefit you but if you're someone who adds coconut oil to every meal, you need to find an alternative so that you can cut out the unhealthy amount of fat from your diet.
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4. Flavored yogurt.
While plain old yogurt has some amazing health benefits, the added sugar that comes with the flavored version of it almost cuts all those benefits. Hence, it's better to add some actual fruit to yogurt instead of purchasing flavored yogurt.
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5. Smoothies.
If made at home, smoothies can add a punch of healthy nutrients to your diet. But the smoothies we purchase from the markets come with a whole lot of unwanted sugar as well as artificial flavors.
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6. Protein bars.
We've all depended on protein bars when we're hungry but have nothing else around but the soy, sodium and the artificial sweeteners don't make it healthy choice at all. In fact, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine observes a link between artificial sweeteners used and an increased risk for weight gain as well as sugar cravings.
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7. Soy milk.
This one is the latest fad with many health conscious individuals shifting to soy milk entirely for their dairy needs but the sweeteners added to it take away from the health benefits of it. More than that, soy milk has a bad reputation as a hormonal disruptor and can wreak havoc if you're someone with hormonal issues.
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8. Whole wheat bread.
A lot of people have been shifting to whole wheat bread but most of the ones available come with a high fructose corn syrup. More and more people are only now complaining about how it disrupts digestion.
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9. Cereal.
While boxed cereal has been a go-to when it comes to breakfast for many, it is time that we start checking the ingredients given that there's a lot of sugar in there and less of fibre as well as proteins. This can spike up your blood sugar level and harm your health in the long run.
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10. Peanut butter.
Peanut butter can actually be great for your heart but unfortunately, what we get in the markets is almost always rich in preservatives as well as trans fats which makes it actually harmful to the heart's health. Peanut butter is actually not that tough to make at home and dedicating about thirty minutes of your day to make it will sort you out for the week.
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11. Sugar-free products.
Anything that is sugar-free will contain some sort of sweeteners for flavor. Not only do they have no nutritious value, they also affect your health is a bad way, quite opposite to what you're aiming for when you go for something 'sugar-free.'
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12. Diet soda.
While there's zero sugar in diet carbonated drinks, there's also a heavy amount of artificial sweeteners which may actually promote weight gain instead of helping you get into shape.
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13. Dried fruits.
Dried fruits are a favourite, especially during the festive season because the assumption is that they're healthier than all the mithai but most dried fruits come with a lot of preservatives and if they're flavoured, then with artificial sweeteners as well.
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