Are You Really Eating Nutritious Food?
Looking to improve your diet? Be careful: That whole-grain bread and granola –so-called health foods – really aren’t healthy at all. Lifescript’s Diet Detective uncovers 10 of the most misleading “nutritious food” and reveals what to eat instead...
That mouthwatering smoothie, brimming with nonfat yogurt, bananas and fresh berries, sounds like a guilt-free meal for women on the go.
But you may be getting more calories than a burger and more sugar than a candy bar, dietitians warn.
“Marketing companies discovered that if consumers see ‘low-fat,’ ‘natural’ or ‘high-fiber’ on food packages, they think they’re healthy foods and buy them,” says registered dietitian and Lifescript nutrition expert Katherine Tallmadge, R.D. “But they may be pure junk.”
A smoothie from a franchise juice bar, for example, could be packed with 560 calories, including 115 grams of sugar – about three times the recommended daily limit of 40 g for adults – and 131 g of carbohydrates, which is a whole day’s worth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
And then there are the extras.
“Add protein powders and peanut butter to smoothies and you have a 600-calorie dessert,” says San Francisco dietitian Manuel Villacorta, R.D., a spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It has some nutrients, but also a load of sugar and fat you don’t want.”
Some sleuthing is required to avoid calorie bombs and to make sure a seemingly nutritious food is actually healthy, experts say.Lifescript’s Diet Detective bites in to the top 10 foods that sound healthful but often aren’t – and reveals how to look past buzzwords and really eat right.
“Nutritious” food #1: Yogurt
Why it’s not healthy: This excellent source of vitamin D and “good” bacteria is often low in calories and fat-free. The problem is, a typical 6-ounce container of 99% fat-free yogurt with fruit has enough sugar – 26 grams – to count as dessert.
Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts contain jam, not fresh fruit, adding to the sugar count, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, R.D., wellness manager at the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
How to eat right:
That mouthwatering smoothie, brimming with nonfat yogurt, bananas and fresh berries, sounds like a guilt-free meal for women on the go.
But you may be getting more calories than a burger and more sugar than a candy bar, dietitians warn.
“Marketing companies discovered that if consumers see ‘low-fat,’ ‘natural’ or ‘high-fiber’ on food packages, they think they’re healthy foods and buy them,” says registered dietitian and Lifescript nutrition expert Katherine Tallmadge, R.D. “But they may be pure junk.”
A smoothie from a franchise juice bar, for example, could be packed with 560 calories, including 115 grams of sugar – about three times the recommended daily limit of 40 g for adults – and 131 g of carbohydrates, which is a whole day’s worth, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
And then there are the extras.
“Add protein powders and peanut butter to smoothies and you have a 600-calorie dessert,” says San Francisco dietitian Manuel Villacorta, R.D., a spokesman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “It has some nutrients, but also a load of sugar and fat you don’t want.”
Some sleuthing is required to avoid calorie bombs and to make sure a seemingly nutritious food is actually healthy, experts say.Lifescript’s Diet Detective bites in to the top 10 foods that sound healthful but often aren’t – and reveals how to look past buzzwords and really eat right.
“Nutritious” food #1: Yogurt
Why it’s not healthy: This excellent source of vitamin D and “good” bacteria is often low in calories and fat-free. The problem is, a typical 6-ounce container of 99% fat-free yogurt with fruit has enough sugar – 26 grams – to count as dessert.
Fruit-on-the-bottom yogurts contain jam, not fresh fruit, adding to the sugar count, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, R.D., wellness manager at the Center for Lifestyle Medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
How to eat right:
- Buy plain yogurt and add your own fresh fruit or a handful of dried apples, chopped figs, peaches or apricots, Villacorta suggests. Dried fruit is loaded with antioxidants and other nutrients, and in limited quantities, it doesn’t tip the calorie scale.
- Read the nutrition label. Yogurt contains about 12 grams of sugar from lactose, which occurs naturally in milk. But anything beyond that is added sweetener you don’t need, he says.
Why it’s not healthy: Whole grains have more fiber and nutrients than refined grains, which is why nutritionists recommend eating whole-grain bread.
The problem is that terms like “multi-grain,” “wheat flour” and “contains whole wheat” don’t necessarily mean you’re getting 100%, or even a majority, of whole grains.
“Breads can have 1 tablespoon of oats [added to refined flour], and the company calls it ‘multi-grain,’” Tallmadge says. “It also may have food coloring or molasses to make it look healthier, but that only adds sugar.”
The fact that bread has seeds on it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better either, Kirkpatrick adds.
How to eat right:
- Make sure the first ingredient on the list has the word “whole” in front of it – such as whole wheat, whole rye or whole oats, Tallmadge says.
- Look for “100% whole wheat” (or other whole grain) on the label, which is an FDA-regulated phrase.
Why it’s not healthy: This refreshing drink may be packed with vitamins, but the supersized servings you get in juice shops often translate into sugar and calorie overload.
“You wouldn’t have 3 cups of blueberries as a snack, but that’s how much is pulverized and pushed into smoothies,” Kirkpatrick says. (The recommended total daily amount of fruits for an adult consuming 2,000 calories is 2 cups.)
Smoothies also may have added sugars or extra-sweet juices such as white grape or apple, which only increase the calorie count.
How to eat right:
- Make sure the base isn’t ice cream, whole milk, sweetened frozen yogurt, or fruit juice blends with added sugars, dietitians say.
- Avoid large sizes, and keep the calorie count below 400.
- The best ingredients are veggies and fruit, along with soy milk or yogurt, Tallmadge says. To be sure, “make it yourself.”
Why it’s not healthy: Bran, the hard outer covering of a grain, is an excellent source of fiber. But in a typical bran muffin, the addition of eggs, milk, sugar and fats can morph this nutritious breakfast staple into junk food.
“Assume in most cases that bran muffins are [basically] cupcakes with bran added,” Tallmadge says.
Starbucks’ recipe for a dozen bran muffins calls for more than 2 cups of white (not whole-grain) flour, 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of honey. A single muffin weighs in at 350 calories and has 9 g of fat (the daily recommended limit is 65 g) and just 7 g of dietary fiber (of the 25 g you need per day).
That’s before it’s slathered with butter or jam. Add chocolate chips or “blueberry bits” (which are sometimes just dyed sugar and oil), and you’ve stepped off the health-food grid entirely, dietitians say.
How to eat right:
- Make sure the first ingredient is a whole grain, Tallmadge says. If you buy a muffin from a chain restaurant or coffeehouse, look for posted nutrition facts.
- Check to see that it’s made with fresh fruit. “Sugar should be way down on the list of ingredients,” she says.
- A single-serving muffin is about the size of the top of a light bulb. If it’s bigger than that, eat half.
- Better yet, make it yourself and substitute yogurt for sugar.
- Instead of a bran muffin, try a whole-grain English muffin, topped with peanut butter and sliced fruit.
Why it’s not healthy: Stripping oil from salad dressing is like removing whole grains from wheat bread. You miss the benefits of healthy oil – it’s an energy source that helps control inflammation, and it even lets your body absorb more nutrients from salad vegetables.
Instead, you get empty calories, dietitians say.
When fats are removed from salad dressings, they’re usually replaced with sugars. One serving (2 tablespoons) of Wish-Bone Fat Free Red Wine Vinaigrette dressing, for example, has 6 g of sugar. The third ingredient on the label is sugar and the fourth is corn syrup (another form of sugar).
How to eat right:
- Choose low-fat dressings instead of nonfat, but make sure they contain unsaturated fats – listed as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated – which you’ll find in most liquid vegetable oils (except coconut, palm or palm kernel oils).
- Even fat-free or low-fat dressings can be loaded with calories. Read the nutrition label.
- Make your own simple dressing with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a splash of balsamic vinegar or lemon, Villacorta suggests.
“Nutritious” food #6: Vitamin-supplemented water
Why it’s not healthy: “There’s no evidence that it’s good for you, and could be harmful,” Tallmadge says.
Vitamin-supplemented water can be loaded with added sugar. One 8-ounce serving of Glaceau Vitamin Water has 13 g of sugar, and a 20-ounce bottle contains 2.5 servings. So you’re actually gulping down 32.5 g of sugar, almost as much as what’s in a can of soda.
How to eat right:
- Drink the unsweetened or artificially sweetened (zero-calorie) variety.
- Better yet, “Take a vitamin [tablet] and drink a glass of water,” Tallmadge says.
Why it’s not healthy: “It’s like eating Cap’n Crunch cereal,” Tallmadge says.
One serving of this morning meal can have 16 g of sugar. And with a typical suggested serving at just half a cup, you’re likely to eat more than that.
What’s more, “organic” isn’t synonymous with “healthy.” It simply means the food is grown without synthetic pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and hormones, not that it’s lower in calories or sweeteners. If the first listed ingredients in granola are whole grains, seeds and nuts, go for it, Tallmadge says. But “if sugar is the second ingredient, skip it.”
How to eat right:
- Watch portion size, Kirkpatrick says. Stick to 1/2 cup (about 200 calories, not including milk).
- “Use it as a yogurt topping” instead of morning cereal, Kirkpatrick suggests.
“Nutritious” food #8: Dried fruit and nut mix
Why it’s not healthy: It can be in moderation, but who eats just a handful? That’s the amount you should consume daily to avoid a calorie calamity, dietitians say.
But this snack has vitamin C, fiber and healthy fats going for it. You get 4 g of protein (of the 50 g or so an adult needs per day).
The downside: About 1/4 cup of the snack contains 8 g of fat (1 g of which is saturated) and 11 g of sugar, with 140 calories. Mixes that add chocolate or coconut can top 300 calories per serving.
How to eat right:
- Buy single-serving products, or divide portions of the snack into individual plastic bags or containers, Kirkpatrick suggests.
- “After you eat that one portion, talk yourself out of grabbing another,” she says. “Put the calorie amount on the bag to remind yourself of what you’re eating.”
Why it’s not healthy: Let’s just call these candy bars. Unless you’re an athlete in need of a quick energy boost, there’s no good reason to eat them. These 350-calorie snacks are infused with sugar, sometimes saturated fats and treats like cookie bits and chocolate.
One PowerBar Fruit Smoothie Energy Bar, for example, has 27 g of sugar. It’s meant for training, not snacking.
“People who are trying to lose weight find them desirable as a meal replacement,” Tallmadge says. “But these dieters end up gaining weight. The first ingredient almost always is sugar.”
How to eat right:
- Choose bars that are mostly whole grains, fruits and nuts,
with high-quality carbs and protein.
- Eat energy bars only if you actually need energy; for example, before a long hike or workout.
- Avoid bars with sugar in the first five ingredients, Kirkpatrick says. Also, stay away from overly processed bars “with 64 ingredients.”
- Make your own mix with whole-grain cereals (such as Wheat Chex or shredded wheat), seeds, whole nuts and bits of dried fruit. Hold the chocolate chips.
Why it’s not healthy: Like energy bars, these are loaded with sugar and electrolytes (minerals such as sodium and potassium to replace what you lose in sweat). They’re meant for athletes engaging in high-octane exercise for at least an hour, not someone just looking for a thirst-quencher.
“Sports drinks replenish electrolytes and carbs if you’re running a marathon,” Villacorta says. “[But] if you drink two bottles of Gatorade after walking on a treadmill for 10 minutes, the benefits of your effort have now vanished.”
A 12-ounce serving of Gatorade G-2 has 80 calories, 21 g of sugar and 160 mg of sodium (your recommended daily maximum intake is 2,300 mg, or 1,500 if you’re over 50, according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans).
How to eat right:
- Choose drinks with no sodium, unless you’re exercising for more than one hour or in the heat.
- Drink a calorie-free beverage, or fruit juice diluted with water, to maintain hydration.
- When exercising, drink plain water and eat a banana to replenish your potassium, Villacorta recommends.
For more on healthy eating, visit our Diet & Fitness Center.
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Many people claim to eat healthy when they're actually doing their body a disservice with the food they consume. Take this quiz to find out if you're eating as healthy as you think.
By Diane Wedner, Lifescript Diet Detective
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