There are so many foods that are marketed as “health foods” and millions of dollars are spent on these products each year as people search for the best way to improve their health. Go to the supermarket and you will see labels on products that claim they are “sugar-free,” “fat-free,” or “gluten-free.” You also read about certain foods that you should include in your diet in place of other foods. But which ones do you really need? Let’s examine the evidence, if there is any, to see if the health foods we know are really what they claim to be.
1. Fruit Juice
Freshly squeezed orange juice, pureed berries or fruit shakes that you prepare at home are most likely to contain all the vitamins and minerals the fruits contain. These are not only refreshing
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However, you must be wary about products that are labeled low-fat/fat-free because most of these foods are loaded with sugar or salt to make them tasty. You see, when fat is removed from processed foods, the taste also suffers. In order to make up for this, food manufacturers substitute the ingredients with artificial flavors and added sugar and salt. So what you must have thought was healthy is not that healthy at all.
7. Gluten-Free Health Foods
Gluten is a protein found in many grain products made from wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. Baked goods and other food products that contain thickeners may be harmful to individuals who are sensitive to gluten. Therefore, manufacturers have come up with gluten-free products, which are attractive even to people who are not gluten sensitive at all. The trouble is that these products contain substitutes that are high in starch content, such as potato starch or tapioca starch. These thickeners are highly refined and devoid of nutrients, but can cause rapid spikes in blood.
Furthermore, there are many foods that naturally do not contain gluten, such meats and vegetables. And yet, food manufacturers label them gluten-free to get your attention to buy them as health foods, which are often more expensive than those not labeled as