Four so-called ‘healthy’ food to avoid

Struggling to lose those last few kilos? Not sure why you’re feeling lethargic and heavy, despite your seemingly perfect diet? You may well have been fooled by five of these so-called ‘healthy’ foods!

We uncover the top five foods masquerading as healthy and how you can avoid their influence.

Food #1: Got milk?

The food industry would love for us to believe that a glass of milk a day is essential for healthy and strong bones. But the truth is that store-bought milk and dairy products offer little to no nutritional value. In fact, some of them can even harm your health!

According to Mark Hyman, MD and advisor to the Huffington Post, we have no biological need for cow milk. It’s great for calves to drink, but humans? Not so much. Some even believe that drinking milk can increase your risk of developing cancer and gaining weight.

Food #2: OJ

The next food on our list has long been a cast member at breakfast for families across the world. But unfortunately, while store-bought and manufactured orange juice tastes delicious, it isn’t adding any value to your body.

Fruit juices such as orange juice are loaded with sugar, normally fructose, which results in a huge surge in your body’s insulin levels. Some fruit juices are also made with sub-par ingredients, which can lead to mold toxins being present in the juice.

For a healthier solution, juice your own fruits and vegetables (leaning more on the side of veggies, than fruits) and eat your fruits whole.

Food #3: Low-fat anything

This is a general, blanket statement to tell you: don’t buy low-fat products. It may feel right at the time (and assuage your guilt at indulging in a sweet), but truth be told the only thing you should think of when you see ‘low-fat’ on a product is ‘chemical poop storm’.

By removing fat from a product, scientists (yep – that’s right, there are scientists messing with your food!) have to recreate a pleasant, satisfying taste by adding in sugar, chemicals and a whole stack of stuff that we have little to no real knowledge and.

And, fat doesn’t make you fat, people! Sugar makes you fat. So if you’re searching your diet for a suspect, glance in the direction of your sugar intake not your fat intake. Sure, keep your saturated fat (animal products) levels to a controllable level and avoid trans fat (sweets, baked treats, fast food) wherever possible, but polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat is awesome for you!

Food #4: Gluten-free food

Over the past few years, gluten has copped a pretty hard whack. And while some of it is deserved, the truth is that we don’t all need to be on gluten-free diets. Those of us who are gluten intolerant do. But those of us that aren’t? Well, it simply doesn’t offer us any benefits or value.

So instead of choosing gluten-free, start thinking about the individual ingredients contained within a product.  Are they healthful? Nutritious? Whole? Or are there a lot of chemicals and additives?

Take a vested interest in your health, read the ingredients in what you eat and before long you’ll find that your energy perks back up and your weight drops back down!