'Healthy' foods that arent

Pebble321

- dried fruit
- nuts
- meat

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would encourage me to eat bread and cheese, yeah it's good for you. Ummm what?!?!? Ever since I have eliminated MOST of the cheese/bread from my diet, I have felt better and lost weight. Gah! I also used to think meat was good for you ... HAH ... now I don't eat any meat at all!

This is a great example of the fact that everyone has a different perpective on what is healthy.
Most people will argue that nuts are very good for (excluding allergies of course), you just have to pay attention to portion size as they are high in calories for a fairly small quantify. That doesn't make them bad though,.
And meat has lots of protein and iron which are very good for you, so again, most people would consider it healthy in reasonable portions. I guess that one depends on whether you fall into the "saturated fat is bad" camp or not.
Dried fruits - yes, I think that is an easy trap, so many of them have added sugar and preservatives and while they aren't bad in small amounts its very easy to eat much more than you would of fresh fruit. I don't think they are actually bad for you though, they are a great source of fibre which some people find hard to get.

Frankly, I think it is practically impossible to know what is truly healthy these days - for every point of view you can find the opposing arguement. I think we just each have to find out own personal eating philosophy and accept that other people may not agree.
As an example, my interpretation of healthy eating means "lots of fruit and veggies, whole grain carbs, lean meat, fish and chicken; treats in moderation, not too much processed stuff (which for me means: made in a factory, added fillers, sugars, preservatives etc), alcohol in moderation".
Other people will argue until the day they die that carbs of any kind are death on a plate, that fruit sugar makes you fat, red meat will kill you etc. Not wrong, necessarily, just different!

SuperVegan8

Also, I feel kind of odd reading through this thread, as my diet includes many foods that everyone is saying is awful for you. However, I had two recent doctor's appts, and my blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI went down significantly ever since I started dieting.

Example: Bacon.

i wasnt implying that peoples diets were good or bad. just wanted to provide some examples of hidden bad foods. I think by now most people would agree you can eat just about anything in moderation. I just know alot of people have perceptions that because something is from subway its good for you (for example).

jg627

What about freeze dried squid? I dunno if it's healthy or not, but it'll slap the taste out your mouth and fade your nose hair.

waldo56

The healthiness or lack thereof in food is a myth perpetuated by people confused on what sort of details are important when it comes to food.

All foods contain macro and micronutriets. Eat a wide variety of foods and micronutrients are irrelevant, unless you are pregnant.

How filling a particular food's macronutrients are is irrelevant when you can control portion size and have control of your eating patterns; when you can do that it is impossible to set some food on pedestals relative to others. If you've met your micronutrient and protein goals for the day and have 500 calories of space, whether you fill it with chocolate, cookies, potatoes, beef, turkey, oranges or carrots is irrelevant if hunger is not going to cause psychological issues with you later on.

Overly fat people see high calorie density foods as unhealthy. Shouldn't overly skinny people see low calorie density foods like veggies as unhealthy?

And away from the fattening power of food or its largely irrelevant micronutrient profile, everything else is basically a form of orthorexia, irrationally believing in the healthfulness of purity.

And science agrees with me.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-to-a-fast-food-meal-compared-with-nutritionally-comparable-meals-of-different-composition-research-review.html

Tzippy7

honestly these foods themselves are not unhealthy. Obviously you can make anything bad for you by adding ingredients that are unhealthy. The fewer ingredients something has the healthier it is; basic rule of thumb. (not always, especially if you are mixing things together to make some super food). peanut butter that you grind yourself from peanuts at whole foods or health food stores is not even the same food as skippy peanut butter. A salad with organic veggies and red wine vinegar dressing is not the same food as a mcdonalds chicken ceasar salad.

megleo818

Most granola has a bunch of fat and is waaaaaaaay high in sugar!

tsh0ck

Bacon

you take that back right now!

Cottage Cheese (or any cheese in general - especially little laughing cow wedges) -- I had no idea how much sodium was in these until I started watching sodium... holy cow!

unless you are one of the 10 percent in America that has a predisposition to sodium issues, you're just fine eating plenty of either.

Tzippy7

Most granola has a bunch of fat and is waaaaaaaay high in sugar!

there are lots of really healthy granolas out there. just saying. also, i make my own sometimes and its fantastic. the almonds make it higher cal but that doesnt mean its unhealthy.

ninerbuff

Bacon

Blasphemy. Bacon is a FOOD GROUP by itself!

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff

Everything can be healthy in moderation. A huge plate of nothing but bacon and lard isn't going to be healthy, but one slice of bacon along with a balanced meal certainly can be.

THIS. People think that eating processed foods are "unhealthy" but in reality everything you consume is broken down to it's simplest components.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

chavalynn

Watch out for non-fat and low-fat, they trade fat for carbs. Your carb intake goes way up and causes sugar imbalance. Read everything on the labels! Just a tip!

ninerbuff

Advacado.....I knew it was high in natural fats but 250 calories blew up my day!

Avocados are healthy. High calories doesn't mean unhealthy unless those calories exceed your daily caloric output.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

tsh0ck

it shouldn't be needed, but guess it is:

the only unhealthy food is one eaten in excess.

Tristis

Skim milk scares me as much as diet soda.

Karalopolous

Splenda. 3.8 cals/packet.....It's 25% of the calories of a sugar packet- a significant reduction, but not calorie free! :explode:

Had NO idea! Just looked it up, and you are totally right! Sure 3 calories here and there isn't alot, but if you do that all the time everyday, it can add up. wow wow wow

clarkeje1

Even though its pretty commonly known, every time I'm walking down the freezer aisle, it KILLS me the sodium in those little Lean Cuisine type meals!

I'm not watching my sodium, but damn!

Shocked how low-cal it was: Air popped popcorn! Yay for a new favourite snack!

I really don't think lean cuisines have that much sodium. 500-600 mg. If you only eat 1 a day its not too terrible. Hungry man dinners on the other hand are out of control!

andreacord

Oh man Subway is a big one for me! It drives me insane when people say they are eating healthy and get a huge sloppy sandwich.

Subway it depends on how you go about it like anything else. I do whole wheat with turkey or just a veggie, skip the cheese and often skip the sauces except for yellow mustard, I mean it's still not the best because the sodium can be through the roof but it's better than a lot of fast food.

badkitty12486

I still don't know how Jared did it

tsh0ck

Skim milk scares me as much as diet soda.

not sure why either of those is or should be scary??

Anayalata

I still don't know how Jared did it

He didn't eat the 1200 calorie footlongs. He ate the veggie/chicken/turkey 6" subs.

Same recycled info. Everything in moderation. Nothing wrong with Subway. Sodium isn't going to kill you unless you already have a predisposition to be affected by it.

Also... There's nothing wrong with either Skim Milk or Diet Soda. You people are crazy.

sophie_wr

As a chef, I refuse to eat "fake" or diet food. Things that are labelled low this and lite that are generally fluffed out with chemicals and who knows what to make them taste acceptable - that's not to say that they even taste good! One real chocolate chip cookie leaves a better aftertaste and feeling than 5 diet cookies any day!
I'm not one of those extremist "5 ingredients or less" people, but I try to make sure that at least 90% of what I'm using is real - no margarine, no lite/low/reduced/etc, nothing with added this or that, only olive oil or butter, etc. I'd rather use 1T of butter than 5T of margarine!
I hadn't had any kind of Helper (Hamburger, Tuna, etc) in over a year, and then one day it was on sale for $0.50/box, so I bought it, cuz my man loves it. I ate my share and the next day it was, well, let's just say I'll never do that again! So much sodium, preservatives, etc etc etc.

The Healthiest Food is REAL Food.

thanks for this post !! I'm from France & love baking. and I am always surprised with all the pre-mix stuff here in the US.... Like baking pre-mix. Ok, cakes are not great for diet but it's so easy to do a simple cake with real ingredients like chocolate & butter & egg & sugar & that's it !!!

Carissamr

everyone's opinion on healthy and unhealthy food will be different due to different dietary needs...I am sticking to 1500 calories a day and am losing weight just fine...I cut my sugar intake by 80% or more and still go over my MFP sugar allotment every day...I go over my sodium constantly too and I rarely add salt to my food...I cut out most cheeses in my diet because I find them to be to high in calories...I also switched to alot of diet, fat free and reduced fat items...I'm sure as I lose weight I will modify my diet so it is even more healthy...as for now this is working for me and is much healthier for me

EvaHayden

OMG those Atkins bar things! soo many calories!!

led6777

An italian sandwhich (amato's rings in at almost 700 calories and it's veggies/ham/cheese) (not that it's overly healthy just calorie shock I guess)

dried fruit

many protein bars

Nuts! I know some are still good for you nutrient wise but I can't get over the calories in just 1/4 cup!

while nuts are very calorie dense they are definitely healthy in moderation

mfp_1

Another trick they use is bogus serving sizes e.g. "per 1/2 sandwich". Or variable serving sizes - one pack screams it's only x calories per serving so you think it's lower than the rest. But it just uses a smaller serving size than competitors.

That's why I like labels that quote "per 100 g".

juicyfruitkk

An italian sandwhich (amato's rings in at almost 700 calories and it's veggies/ham/cheese) (not that it's overly healthy just calorie shock I guess)

dried fruit

many protein bars

Nuts! I know some are still good for you nutrient wise but I can't get over the calories in just 1/4 cup!

while nuts are very calorie dense they are definitely healthy in moderation

Oh, I eat them (mostly almonds and walnuts) because they are full of nutrients. As I said, it's just shocking how many calories are packed into a small serving

missprincessjenny

My kids hate my oil and vinegar dressing. I tried to find a dressing they'd like. Even in the natural food section they all contained soybean oil. I did end up buying one just for them. And organic croutons to make a salad for them.

After reading labels I've found a lot of things I thought were healthy (quaker harvest crunch) isn't. I plan on making my own granola.

FitBunnyEm

Salads. Especially from restuarants/fast food places. They can have as much fat and calories as a cheeseburger. I've heard coworkers say they are eating "healthy" by eating salads fromt fast food places. Wrong. If you aren't dieting and enjoys salads, then by all means eat one, but don't fool yourself into thinking they are healthy.

yep, this ^

81Katz

It's all in the choices you make. If you go to subway and get some salt laden ham sandwich, slathered in sauces, cheese or mayo, then yeah not too healthy.

Some protein bars, yes. I personally avoid one like South Beach or Special K. Lot's of sugar. Not to say the Atkins that I sometimes eat are uber healthy, but they (my opinion) at least have better levels of protein or fiber.

I agree, store bought trail mix. NO WAY. I make my own.

I agree about the salads indeed. Restaurants have a way of making them sound so healthy but if you look them up, holy cow! Usually lots of sugar or salt.

Really, you just have to watch what you eat and how much. It would be like buying a low fat sugar free ice cream treat (say a sandwich bar or Popsicle) and saying "wow, how healthy is this" but then eating 5 of them. Not healthy after all.

I sometimes might not always make the best choices and I am still learning about ingredients (good, bad, better, worst, what to avoid, etc) so sometimes the choice I make that might appear healthy, might not be and other times it might be. Still learning, like I said.

*edit, I tend to go to the low fat or fat free but I think I will go back to regular. Just keep tabs on the portions. Most low fat or fat free just doesn't taste the same and I too noticed the amount of salt in such foods. Nuts!

StarvingDiva

The bread aisle is the most eye opening experience. I once spent a significant amount of time in the bread aisle looking for some bread that was healthier.

Now i bake my own bread if I want a sandwich.