October 6, 2019: Unhealthy Health Foods

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The FDA is getting better about regulating the marketing and packaging on diet and supposedly healthy foods, but many products still make it to the market place claiming their health benefits. This week, we’re going to talk about “health” foods that are actually unhealthy.

I may break your heart on some of these! I remember how surprised I was about many of these brands and foods. Without further ado, here are a few “healthy” foods that are anything but.

Odwalla Original Superfood Drink. Just the name of the product can make your mouth water and the fact that it has the healthy buzzword “superfood” in the name of the product makes it sound like it is good for you, right? Wrong. With 37g of sugar, this little piece of false advertising is worse for you than a Snickers bar with its own 27g. Yes, you read that right.

Eat this instead: Raw trail mix with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. You’ll get a nutritional boost, sweetness, and enough to fill you up.

Smoothies from Jamba Juice, Smoothie King, etc. It’s made from fruit – what can be so bad about it? Well, smoothies can be tricky because they often blend in sugar and sugary ingredients to make it sweeter. So, you get the sugars from the fruit in addition to any of the additives. With 60g of sugar in your average small smoothie, you’d be better off just making one at home, on your own.

Eat this instead: Make your own smoothie at home and be sure not to add sweetener. If you do, go for stevia or sweet fruit like mango.

Many brands of protein bars. Okay, with this one, I highly suggest you read the label. Pay special attention to the sugar content, because your favorite brands like Clif are loaded with sugar. Most protein bars are anything but healthy with added sugars, sodium and artificial colors.

Eat this instead: Look for bars that are low in sugar, ideally 5g or less. I like Quest and Think Thin bars.

Flavored oatmeal. This is unfortunate because oatmeal makes a healthy and easy breakfast option. It’s the sugar content you need to watch out for with flavored options such as Quaker Instant Brown Sugar and Maple with its hidden 12g of sugar per serving. Eek.

Eat this instead: If you like instant oats, get packets of unflavored oatmeal and sweeten your oats up with blueberries and a little stevia.

Many health food options will actually have the opposite of your desired effect in terms of busting your diet instead of helping you stick to it. It is beneficial to take a few extra minutes to read the labels on products you are purchasing before you end up eating or drinking something that is so far off your nutrition plan that you make yourself sorry.

Next Sunday, we’ll talk about how making excuses only hurts you and keeps your from seeing results.

Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.

Do you have a friend who could stand to G(her)ST? Feel free to forward this!

I hope you have a wonderful week,

Kelly

Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.

Tsirona - www.tsirona.com

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