'Healthy' foods that arent

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  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    - 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
    SuperVegan8 Posts: 78 Member
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    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
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    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
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
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    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
    Tzippy7 Posts: 344 Member
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    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
    megleo818 Posts: 595 Member
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    Most granola has a bunch of fat and is waaaaaaaay high in sugar!
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    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
    Tzippy7 Posts: 344 Member
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    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
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,682 Member
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    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
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,682 Member
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    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
    chavalynn Posts: 1
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    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
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,682 Member
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    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
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    it shouldn't be needed, but guess it is:

    the only unhealthy food is one eaten in excess.
  • Tristis
    Tristis Posts: 288 Member
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    Skim milk scares me as much as diet soda.
  • Karalopolous
    Karalopolous Posts: 574
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    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
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,637 Member
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    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
    andreacord Posts: 928
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    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
    badkitty12486 Posts: 9 Member
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    I still don't know how Jared did it
  • tsh0ck
    tsh0ck Posts: 1,970 Member
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    Skim milk scares me as much as diet soda.

    not sure why either of those is or should be scary??
  • Anayalata
    Anayalata Posts: 391 Member
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    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.

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