20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating, THAT SUSHI ROLL MIGHT NOT BE THE HEALTH FOOD YOU THINK IT IS.
Slimming down can be a complicated business — it’s the reason weight loss is a multi-billion dollar industry with plenty of repeat customers.
While, for many individuals, a lack of nutritional education is to blame, for others, the gimmicks employed by the food industry have left them unsure of which foods are actually good for them and which are just junk masquerading as something healthier.
Even if you think you have an eagle eye for spotting less-than-healthy foods, chances are there are still some making their way into your meal plan on a semi-regular basis. Before you get frustrated and give up, find out if you’ve been snacking on the 20 Junk Foods You Didn’t Know You Were Eating!
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
PEANUT BUTTER
Peanut butter can be a highly satisfying snack full of healthy fat, fiber, and protein, but you have to be pretty discriminating when you’re choosing from the stuff on your local supermarket’s shelves to avoid getting something that’s seriously bad for you. Many mass producers of peanut butter load their recipes with salt, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and trans fats, so make sure you’re taking a good look at the label before you put that jar in your cart.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
YOGURT
Dairy presents a whole host of digestive problems for plenty of consumers, but commercially-produced yogurt’s issues don’t end there. Yogurt is often loaded with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners, as well as dyes like Red 40, which is considered likely to be a human carcinogen, according to a recent report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
SOY MEAT
Think you’re eating healthier by opting for soy substitutes instead of meat? Think again. Soy is packed with potential endocrine disruptors and can have unpleasant effects ranging from bloating to skin irritation.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
VEGGIE CHIPS
Just because something has “veggie” on the label doesn’t mean it’s a health food. Most veggie chips are nutritionally similar to their more forthright potato-based counterparts, packing tons of sodium, trans fat, and other ingredients that are generally considered deleterious to human health. Even if you think you’re adding vegetables to your diet by eating veggie chips, you may be overestimating your intake; vegetable chips are made from such small portions of veggies that you’d have to eat huge amounts to get much of a nutritional benefit.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
Whole wheat bread may sound healthier than its white counterpart, but don’t be fooled: nutritionally, there’s little difference. Whole wheat bread is often no different in fiber content than white bread, and many varieties you’ll find in your local grocery store are loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
DRIED FRUIT
Fruit can be a healthy and satisfying addition to your diet, but dried fruit is a different animal altogether. Many companies add sugar to make their fruit more palatable, and certain fruits are preserved with sulfites, which have an allergenic effect that can cause labored breathing, hives, and stomach pain.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
ELECTROLYTE DRINKS
If you’re looking to refuel after a grueling workout, turn to water, not electrolyte drinks. Most sports drinks are loaded with artificial colors and caloric sweeteners, and those that aren’t are packed with belly-bloating sugar substitutes that can actually increase your cravings for the sweet stuff.
Instead of sugary drinks, turn to the 40 Drinks That Fight Fat!
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
GLUTEN-FREE SNACKS
While there are countless celiac sufferers and gluten-intolerant individuals around the globe, many people have jumped on the gluten-free bandwagon as a way of losing weight, too. Unfortunately for the latter parties, gluten-free snacks are often no healthier than their glutinous counterparts; many actually have more calories, sugar, and total carbohydrates, making them less than weight loss-friendly.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
DELI MEAT
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
EGG SUBSTITUTES
You may save some calories by switching to egg substitutes, but you’re paying more and missing out on some of the amazing nutrients contained in a whole egg. Egg substitutes are often little more than egg whites, preservatives, and dye, while eggs containing yolks are antioxidant-rich, great sources of choline, which can increase your metabolic rate, full of energizing B vitamins, and are good sources of vitamin D, which promotes protects against demineralization of bones, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
TRICOLOR PASTA
Eating the rainbow doesn’t mean adding tricolor pasta to your diet. While this colorful carbohydrate-rich dish may claim to have vegetables in it, those veggies are often added only in trace amounts, and the pasta itself boasts few nutrients and little additional fiber when compared to its white counterpart.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
LOW-FAT SALAD DRESSINGS
Low-fat dressings are no bargain when it comes to your health. What you save in calories and fat, these dressings more than make up for in sugar, preservatives, artificial colors, and sodium, making them no more friendly to your waistline than full-fat versions.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
FRUIT COCKTAIL
If you think that digging into a fruit cocktail is a healthy way to add fruit to your diet, you’re woefully mistaken. Many fruit cocktails lining your supermarket’s shelves are packed in corn syrup or sugary juice, and the fruit contained within has been chemically preserved and dyed to keep its colors bright. Even worse, the BPA used to line some cans has been linked to childhood obesity by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
MARGARINE
Margarine may have once been touted as a healthier alternative to butter, but it’s often even less friendly to your diet than its dairy counterpart. While formulas for the butter alternative continue to evolve, many companies are still making margarine from little more than trans fats and artificial coloring, both of which have shown to have potentially carcinogenic and obesogenic effects.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
SPINACH TORTILLAS
That spinach tortilla isn’t the veggie-loaded health food you think it is. Many so-called “veggie” wraps use little more than the juice of the vegetable they claim in their name, and that’s mostly just for color. The rest of the ingredients are strikingly similar to that of a white tortilla, from fiber to carbs.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
COUSCOUS
Couscous may seem like a healthy grain, but in reality, it differs little from traditional pasta. This North African staple is actually a combination of semolina and water, and not a naturally-grown grain at all, so while it’s delicious, it’s not a health food. |
| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
HONEY ROASTED NUTS
Two things are undeniably true about honey-roasted nuts: they smell better than they taste, and they’re no friend to your weight loss efforts. Despite the “honey” in their name, most of these nuts are simply coated in sugar and butter before serving, making them a high-calorie, high-sugar way to enjoy what would otherwise be a healthy food.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
WHITE RICE SUSHI
That specialty roll you ordered for dinner could be causing you to pack on the pounds. While many traditional rolls that contain only vegetables and fish are not terrible for you, huge portions of white rice, creamy sauces, fried toppings, cream cheese, and other ingredients can mean that one specialty roll has as many calories as your average burger. For a healthier option, choose brown rice rolls with raw fish and veggies and avoid anything doused in sauce or packed with tempura.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
FROZEN DIET MEALS
Those meals in your supermarket’s freezer aisle may help you lose weight in the short-term, but they’re far from healthy choices, Many frozen dinners, even those of the diet variety, are loaded with salt, sugar, and preservatives, while shockingly lacking in protein, fiber, and essential vitamins and minerals.
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| 20 Junk Foods You Didn't Know You Were Eating |
GRANOLA BARS
That granola bar you’ve been eating as a snack is unlikely the key to a slimmer or healthier body. While their oat base is relatively healthy on its own, most granola bars are loaded with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, and many have trans fats and unhealthy preservatives in them that can derail your weight loss.
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