They say healthy eating is easy—you just have to know how. And, if you follow the basic rules, it certainly can be. What are those rules? Well, eat a diverse mix of colorful whole foods. Be sure to balance macronutrients like fiber, carbohydrates, and fats. Always choose foods that provide the body with a variety of essential nutrients. And, of course, avoid processed foods that contain harmful substances such as preservatives and food coloring as much as you can.
As simple as all this may sound, that last point is where things often get tricky. After all, certain ubiquitous foods often end up in our shopping carts because they appear “healthy” at first glance. Many unhealthy foods have developed a reputation for being “good for us”—and, once foods have been established as “healthy”, most of us stop questioning whether or not they truly are.
Fruity yogurts, brown breads, and gluten-free crackers are classic culprits. For example, a strawberry-flavored yogurt may contain a lot of sugar but little actual whole fruit; brown bread might actually be made mostly from white flour; and gluten-free crackers are often primarily from rice or corn flours that contain barely any fiber.
Unfortunately, excessive consumption of some of these foods can have a negative impact on our bodies. To get a sense of what to look out for, we chatted with Dr. Jessica Hinteregger-Männel, a specialist in general medicine, naturopathy, and nutritional medicine in Meerbusch, Germany. Here, she shares seven secretly unhealthy foods that have not earned their reputations for being “healthy.” Read on to find out what they are.
1. Rice cakes
Rice cakes with smoked salmon and cheese; rice cakes slathered in almond butter. Sounds like a delicious, uncomplicated, and healthy way to snack between meals, right? After all, the puffed rice base seems pretty light. But Hinteregger-Männel says this snack is deceiving: “Rice cakes don’t contain gluten, but they tend to contain empty carbohydrates, which cause blood sugar to rise quickly.”
Worse, the “puffing” process also produces acrylamide, a chemical that studies have shown can have a carcinogenic effect. “Rice also contains arsenic and cadmium, which is harmful to the kidneys and bones,” the doctor also notes, recommending that we should eat rice cakes sparingly.
2. Vegan cheese
Eliminating meat and dairy products from your diet can definitely be a healthy lifestyle change. However, not everything that is vegan is good for you—especially if they are processed. Case in point: Store-bought substitute products, like vegan cheeses and meats, which contain far too many additives. “Vegan cheese often contains saturated fats from sunflower and coconut fat, as well as much less calcium and much less protein than cow’s milk versions,” explains Hinteregger-Männel.
Here’s a protein comparison per 100 grams: most vegan alternatives only contain 2 percent protein, while semi-hard cheeses made from dairy contain 18 percent. At the same time, the vegan version contains more binding and thickening agents, flavorings and more salt. “Vegan cheese and vegan sausages are highly processed foods—and these can increase the risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes," explains Hinteregger-Männel.
3. Granola bars
If you’re on the go a lot, there’s probably a granola bar stashed in your bag to stave off occasional bouts of hunger. However, it’s important to note that most granola bars contain a ton of sugar. And, despite their “rustic” good looks, they often don’t contain the amounts of fiber, vitamins, or protein that you’d expect. “They usually contain very little wholegrain cereal flakes, and instead more chocolate and crispy bits made from white flour, glucose syrup, or worse still, high fructose corn syrup,” says Hinteregger-Männel, who adds that consuming too much fructose syrup, which is also increasingly used in soft drinks, can lead to fatty liver.
4. Dried fruit
Speaking of fructose, here’s another villain. Dried fruit, which is also often perceived as a healthy snack or eaten as a substitute for fresh fruit at breakfast, is a fructose bomb. “Dried fruit contains a lot of sugar and fructose—especially dates and figs, which are found in many fruit bars,” explains the nutritionist. Instead of dried fruit, she says it’s much better to opt for fresh apples, pears, bananas, and plums—or any fruit that isn’t dried.
5. Sugar alternatives
When it comes to sugar and sugar substitutes, we all get a little confused. Here’s the truth: Unfortunately, the body can’t really differentiate between different types of sugar. “Maple syrup, rice syrup, and agave syrup are touted as healthy sugar alternatives, but basically contain a mixture of sugars just like normal household sugar,” explains Hinteregger-Männel. For example, sucrose is made from fructose and glucose, rice syrup is made from glucose and maltose, and agave syrup is more fructose than glucose—and they all have just as many calories and few other nutrients.
Other sweeteners may seem like a slightly better option, but have other problems as well. “The hyped sugar substitutes such as xylitol and erythritol have hardly any calories, but according to the latest studies they can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and cause laxative effects if consumed in excess,” the doctor notes.
6. Breakfast cereals
Breakfast cereal is on the list of foods that aren’t as healthy as they seem because they are also too often chock-full of sugar. Take granola, for example: Just like granola bars, the cereal version features crunchy flakes that are held together by a sweetener. That’s what makes granola so addictively good! “Cornflakes, crunchy muesli, and granola are delicious, but usually contain a lot of sugar and fat,” says Hinteregger-Männel. “Frosted cornflakes from the supermarket contain up to 35 grams of sugar; a standard ready-made granola 20 grams.” What, then, would be a healthy alternative for those who can’t imagine their morning without a bowl of cereal? “Whole oats with fruit, natural yogurt, and cocoa nibs,” suggests Hinteregger-Männel.
7. Smoothies
In theory, a smoothie should be healthy. It’s full of vitamins from whole, blended up fruit, right? But those ready-made smoothies you find on the supermarket shelves are often not so great: “In many cases, smoothies contain apple juice and other types of fruit as a base,” explains the doctor. “This means that they also contain a lot of sugar and little fiber, which can lead to a rapid increase in glucose in the blood and prevent long-lasting satiety.”
Another thing to keep in mind? The nutrient stability of pre-made products. “The vitamin content of these kinds of products from the supermarket shelf tends to be low,” notes Hinteregger-Männel. “It’s actually better to eat a whole apple, because the pectins it contains fill you up and are food for a healthy gut microbiome,” says the doctor.
So, if you’re going to have a smoothie, make it fresh from the blender and use a vegetable—not a fruit or fruit juice—base and be sure to add some yogurt or another protein-rich ingredient like organic nut butter to amp up the satiety.