There’s a lot of confusion when it comes to nutrition. Of course, we all want to improve our diets. But between the mainstream media, ‘expert’ health blogs, and the premise that you can walk into any organic store and anything you pull off the shelves will be good for you, it’s not hard to see why so many of us are confused as to what’s healthy and what aren’t.

The supermarkets don’t help matters. At first glance, they seem to be on our side, making eating healthy easy with bold health claims: ‘no trans fat’, ‘all natural’, ‘organic,’ or ‘sugar-free’ on the packaging. But the marketing is misleading. In reality, many of these products contain unhealthy, and in some cases harmful, ingredients.

Many of us don’t realise we’re sabotaging our attempts at healthy living with food and drink that masquerades as nutritious but actually aren’t.

So let’s look at five of the offenders that purport to be healthy when they’re actually packed with sugar, preservatives and other chemicals.

Dried Fruit

The problem with dried fruit is that it’s essentially just concentrated sugar. Drying the fruit removes the water content – what makes fruit filling – which makes it incredibly easy to overeat. It’s why you can eat a handful of grapes and be satisfied, but can go through a whole bag of raisins and still want more. Did you know that one small date contains a whopping 9 grams of sugar?

Always prioritise whole, fresh fruit over the dried alternatives.

Margarine

Margarine used to be considered a healthy alternative to butter. But most people have now realised that this is far from being true. Margarine is a highly processed pseudo-food that’s been engineered to look and taste like butter. Loaded with artificial ingredients, it’s usually made with industrial vegetable oils that have been hydrogenated to make them more solid. This increases their trans fat content significantly.

Studies have shown that margarine contributes to an increased risk of heart disease due to large amounts of trans fats, while butter is shown to have no effect on heart disease risk.

There’s no reason to choose margarine over real butter. Stick to the good stuff – preferably from grass-fed cows – and your body will thank you.

Honey

While honey is better than sugar, shop bought honey often contains refined carbohydrates, which have no nutritional value. At that point, you may as well have white sugar.

A great substitute is jiggery, a coarse dark brown sugar made from the sap of palm trees. A little thicker than honey, with a rich, brown sugar-like flavour, jaggery is completely natural and unrefined.

Brown bread

Don’t be fooled by wheat bread products. If the package doesn’t specifically say ‘100% wholegrain wheat,’ then it’s probably white bread with a little wheat flour mixed in for marketing. If it isn’t 100% whole wheat, chances are it will contain enriched flour, which gives you a sugar spike and crash without any nutritional value.

If you can’t get 100% wholewheat bread, multigrain and sprouted are good options too, as long as those are the first ingredients on the package.

Fat-free anything

Just because a food contains no fat, that doesn’t make it a health food. Of course, there are many healthy fat-free foods (like most fruits and vegetables). But always check the nutrition labels when buying packaged foods to be sure you’re getting a nutritious product.

When manufacturers take the fat out of products, they have to replace it with something else to keep its flavour. And the substitute of choice is sugar. Don’t fall for the ‘fat-free’ exclamations on the front of the box. Turn it round and look at the ingredients and sugar content too.

If you cut out these foods and combine your new eating plan with routine massage care, you’ll notice a difference in how you feel straight away.

To schedule a massage or find out more about the services Castle Thai Spa offers, contact us today.