For the last several days, I have been studying Chapter Four from “ACE’s Essentials of Exercise Science for Fitness Professionals.” Chapter Four focuses on nutrition and how eating certain foods affects us as physiological beings. In reading the chapter, I have found myself growing increasingly curious about which foods are healthy and which are not. Unfortunately, I am now realizing that some foods that are being advertised to us as healthy really aren’t. Here are three:
1. Non-Fried Crackers And Chips.
It’s good to know that the word “fried” puts up a red flag in the minds of health conscious people who only want to eat foods that contribute to their wellness. Unfortunately, it seems that hearing the word “non-fried” makes some people believe that the foods they’re consuming are healthy. This is not necessarily the case. In discussing why foods like non-fried chips and crackers can be unhealthy, the Washington Post notes that most of these foods are made with starch or refined grain. Both of these items are calorically dense yet nutritiously vacuous. In discussing how non-friend crackers and chips can be unhealthy, the Post notes that Popchips is marketed as a healthful product but is actually made with salt, oil, starch, highly refined potato flakes, and 14 additional things. Finally, the Post notes research findings indicating that consuming too many refined starches and grains increases our risk for diabetes, cancers, heart disease, and weight gain.
2. Breakfast Cereals.
In discussing why breakfast cereals are not healthy, Melanie Warner notes that the packages advertise the food as great sources of things like vitamin D, fiber, and antioxidants. Yet if the cereal is really healthy, why have minerals and synthetic vitamins been added in? According to Warner, the cereal couldn’t be considered healthy without the nutrients added in. Moreover, cereal processing is damaging to the fiber and vitamins in cereal, meaning that the things being done to the grains you eventually eat render them nutritionally comprised.
3. Light Yogurt.
Light yogurt is supposed to give us the nutritional benefit of cutting out the excessive sugar we often find in regular yogurt. Yet the problem is that artificial sweeteners are often added in to replace the sugars. These artificial sweeteners can oftentimes be worse than the original sugar. Aspartame, for example, has been linked to depression and strokes. Moreover, Melanie Warner argues that fake sweeteners “can boost our cravings for the real thing.”
Conclusion
If you are in pursuit of optimizing wellness, it is important that you understand the profound role that eating plays in contributing to or detracting from this process. With that thought in mind, you should recognize that every food product being marketed as healthy really isn’t. If you find that you are a frequent consumer of the food items I’ve listed above, you may find it advantageous to eliminate them from your diet. Good luck! :)
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Three Supposedly Healthy Foods That Really Aren’t