Are These Health Foods Really Healthy 9-09

The Assistant Director Of Marketing

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Are These “Health Foods” Really “Healthy”? The marketing geniuses in the food industry occasionally make it confusing to choose a truly nutritious product. Read on to see if the following foods are sabotaging your efforts to select a healthy diet. Granola Bars: Whole oats, nuts, and a bit of dried fruit – what could be wrong with that? What do you think holds granola bars together? Many are dipped in sugary syrups (often containing high fructose corn syrup) and/or contain added oils – often coconut oil which is high in artery clogging saturated fat. Some are loaded w/sugar and other “candy” like chocolate chips – making these healthy-sounding snacks glorified “candy bars” Gotta have it? • A small amount of low fat granola cereal mixed into yogurt is a fine way to add some “crunch” to your snack. • All granola bars are not created equal - Kashi granola bars are made with whole grains, are lower in sugar, low in saturated fat and offer a decent 6 g of protein and 4 g of fiber per serving. • Reduced fat cheese and whole wheat crackers like Triscuits make a satisfying substitute snack! Muffins: Many Americans use the “muffin” as an excuse to eat cake for breakfast. The sheer size of American muffins makes them a healthy eater’s nightmare. Even fat free or sugar free muffins can have near 500 calories. Many contain 20+ grams of fat! Although the bran and fruit varieties evoke a notion of “healthy” most muffins don’t contain enough of ...

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• Publié par: Ucte
• Nombre de lectures: 38
• Langue: English

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Are These “Health Foods” Really “Healthy”?  The marketing geniuses in the food industry occasionally make it confusing to choose a truly nutritious product.Read on to see if the following foods are sabotaging your efforts to select a healthy diet.  Granola Bars: Whole oats, nuts, and a bit of dried fruit – what could be wrong with that?What do you think holds granola bars together?Many are dipped in sugary syrups (often containing high fructose corn syrup) and/or contain added oils – often coconut oil which is high in artery clogging saturated fat.Some are loaded w/sugar and other “candy” like chocolate chips – making these healthy-soundingsnacks glorified “candy bars” Gotta have it? • Asmall amount of low fat granola cereal mixed into yogurt is a fine way to add some “crunch” to your snack. •granola bars are not created equal - Kashi granola bars are made with whole All grains, are lower in sugar, low in saturated fat and offer a decent 6 g of protein and 4 g of fiber per serving. •fat cheese and whole wheat crackers like Triscuits make a satisfying Reduced substitute snack!  Muffins: Many Americans use the “muffin” as an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.The sheer size of American muffins makes them a healthy eaters nightmare.Even fat free or sugar free muffins can have near 500 calories.Many contain 20+ grams of fat! Althoughthe bran and fruit varieties evoke a notion of “healthy” most muffins dont contain enough of these ingredients to add any real nutritional “punch”.Most are made with enriched wheat flour which is lower in fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, and health-promoting phytonutrients. Gotta have it? •a different kind of muffin  a whole-grain English muffin. Add a bit of peanut Try butter and top it with fruit.Hummus works too. Thatll set you back only about 150 calories, plus youll have some healthy nutrients to show for it. • If you must have the baked variety, pick a small muffin or split one of the “Big Bertha” ones with your mates. Bran muffins or those made with whole grain and/or those with real fruit make for a better choice.   Tea Drinks: Tea has been touted for its powerful antioxidants and phytochemicals that help prevent heart disease and stroke and perhaps slow the growth of cancer cells.But beware – tea “drinks” are not the same as brewed tea leaves.Studies have shown that much of the powerful antioxidant power is lost during the processing of bottled teas. Furthermore,many of the bottled varieties have very little brewed tea leavesthey are made from “essences” or “concentrates” and lack any real

nutritional value.One of the biggest problems with tea drinks is all the added sugar! Gotta have it? •your own beverage by tossing some tea leaves in a large jar of water – Brew leave in sun. Chill and flavor it with lemon and a small amount of sugar or no- calorie sweetener. • Ifyou pick a bottled tea, choose one that lists brewed tea as the first ingredient and no more than 4 grams of added sugars per serving.  Yogurt with fruit on the bottom: Although yogurt sounds like a “good for your diet” food, you should beware of the sugar content in the “fruit on the bottom yogurts”.Most of that “fruit” is pure sugar (and quite often high fructose corn syrup).You might as well drink a can of Coke! Gotta have it? •Sweeten it with real berries and a dash of vanillalow fat natural yogurt. Choose extract. Adda bit of crunch w/a few sprinkles of low fat granola.  Turkey Burger: Many unsuspecting healthy eaters tend to translate “turkey” as “healthy”.Did you know a turkey burger can set you back 800 calories and 50 grams of fat?The type of turkey (dark vs light) that is used to make the patty as well as the condiments used and the size and prep of the bun are what will determine if your turkey burger is a better bet than the beef version. Gotta have it? • Askyour server if the turkey patty is made from white meatif its not, choose something else.Request your bun to be toasted without butter and ask for condiments on the side, skipping the fat-laden mayo. •a lean beef alternative – a 4 oz grilled sirloin steak has only 200 Consider calories and about 11 grams of fat. • Make patties at home using 90% lean ground beef or ground turkey breast.   Rice cakes: Theyre light, airy, and taste like cardboardthey must be good for you, right?Not reallytheres not much to a rice cakea few calories and some sodium and thats about it.Theyre low fat, no-cholesterol and all that healthy sounding stuff, but they dont really give you anything your body needs. Gotta have it? •Seriouslydoes anyone really Really?GOTTA HAVEa rice cake? •youre the odd bird that really does enjoy rice cakes, spread some hummus or If peanut butter on top to add some nutritional value – protein, healthy fat, etc. •yet, enjoy some flavorful whole wheat crackers or wasa bread instead– Better perhaps a handful of nuts.They taste better and have more vitamins, minerals, fiber and disease-fighting phytochemicals.The fiber and protein will be keep you feeling satisfied longer.

 Gummy fruit snacks and fruit roll ups: The pretty boxes riddled w/images of wholesome fruit, popular kid-friendly icons, and claims of vitamin C proves that fruit snack marketing folks know what they are doing. Althoughthe vitamin C added to these products is indeed a nutritional “plus”, these snacks are nothing like the real thing.Even when the first ingredient is fruit, it is often a fruit concentrate made from boiled down juices that are high in sugar and have lost most of the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.Added sugars, oils, additives and preservatives dont make these things any better. Gotta have it? •it comes to fruit, nothing beats the real deal. When •dried fruit bites – apples, apricots, peaches, and pears are sweet, yummy Try treats. Kidsoften like these too. • Fruitleather may be an option – it is often made from pure fruit purees w/fewer hard-to-pronounce ingredients.  