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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSeven Foods You Think Are Healthy But Aren't
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1. Breakfast cereal
The packages scream nutrition messages at you: "Good source of vitamin D!" "High in fiber." "Antioxidants." And for years, we've been told that breakfast cereal is a healthy, wholesome way to start the day. But if that's the case, why is it nearly impossible to find a box in the cereal aisle without an array of synthetic vitamins and minerals added in? The reason: Without help from added nutrients, many cereals would have very little nutrition and wouldn't be able to make all those salubrious claims.
Cereal processing is damaging to both vitamins and fiber, so much of what exists naturally in the grains -- which may not be a whole lot to begin with -- often doesn't survive the journey to your breakfast bowl. To compensate, manufacturers add fiber ingredients and sprinkle in the equivalent of a multivitamin.
2. Subway sandwiches
Subway has done an outstanding job of promoting itself as the "fresh" and healthy alternative to fast food, and to some extent, these accolades are deserved. Much of the chain's food has fewer calories, fat and sodium than what you get at McDonald's and the like. But unless you're getting a sandwich with nothing but veggies, there's very little about it that's "fresh." Even though Subway bakes its bread inside the stores, it's definitely not Grandma's homemade loaf going into those ovens.
The dough is produced in one of 10 large, industrial factories around the country, where it's loaded up with additives like DATEM (short for diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and diglycerides), sodium stearoyl lactylate, potassium iodate, ascorbic acid and azodicarbonamide. That last one -- azodicarbonamide -- is known to break down into a carcinogen when heated and is a chemical used in the production of foamed plastics. When a tanker truck carrying this substance overturned on a Chicago highway several years ago, city fire officials had to issue their highest hazmat alert and evacuate everyone up to a half mile downwind. Mmmmm, fresh!
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Gluten-free snacks and baked goods
The booming trend of gluten-free shows no signs of abating and food companies are riding the wave. And while gluten-free products are eagerly welcomed by those who suffer ill effects from eating wheat, there's often a nutritional tradeoff. Gluten-free products can be little more than concoctions of refined grains and sugar since it's very difficult to make gluten-free products with whole grains and still make them taste good.
But without whole grains, your gluten-free bread isn't going to have any (naturally occurring) fiber, B vitamins or antioxidant compounds. For healthy gluten-free foods, look for packages of gluten-free products that list a whole grain, such a brown rice flour, as the first ingredient.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/03/seven-foods-you-think-are-healthy-but-arent.html
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)with a list of 'ingredients' on it is not going to be healthy anymore. Also, I'm not sure about the labeling laws in the US but where I am (in Canada) they have catch-all terms for certain things. They aren't required to put a list of food dyes, they just have to put 'artificial colour'. MSG can be called 'natural flavor'. Nitrites can be disguised as 'cultured celery extract'. It's all such bullshit. There are so many tricks the food industry likes to employ to make us think we are eating well. It's all BS. The only way to get around this is to make everything yourself, and who has time for that? I try as much as I can but as a single parent and a f/t student, well, I'm not perfect. I'm also broke so I can't buy all the fancy organic/natural stuff. I cook as much from scratch as possible but it feels like a losing battle - I've noticed each and every year the ingredient lists get more complex. A recent good one I found out about is cellulose - made from cotton or wood pulp and used to thicken food. It's in nearly every gluten free thing I've looked at as well as other things. I mean, really, are humans made to digest trees? I don't think so.
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)and don't find much good stuff to eat out there. The gluten free nonsense is particularly galling because for diabetics what they replace the gluten with is worse than the gluten. And it's not that good for anyone else unless you have those celiac problems.
One of these days I'm going to find something with big "HEALTHY" pronouncements on it that is actually healthy. Or at least not any worse than the non-healthy alternatives.
DBoon
(22,284 posts)Fresh fruits and vegetables get no promotion but deserve a huge "healthy" sticker
Can't say I've ever seen a TV commercial touting fresh broccoli, though
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)for one thing there's that storage problem, so I spend more time in the frozen section looking for spinach on sale. In season, there are so many farms around here that I buy get good stuff and freeze it myself-- I'm eating squash, beets, brussels sprouts, and berries from last year. Tried gardening once but everything either died or the deer got it before I did.
But, bananas, potatoes, carrots, pineapples, corn, and a whole bunch of other good stuff have to be limited because of the high carb content and glycemic index.
But, while a diet largely of cabbage, celery, and broccoli might keep me alive a little longer, there's still a lot of other stuff I eat and if it's in a can or box I read the label. And it's not just sugar and chemicals I look for-- if I have to buy, say, chicken stock, the amount of salt in some brands is incredible.
It all works out, but I really, really, miss tapioca and rice puddings. Really.
sylvanus
(122 posts)I was diagnosed 1 year ago with type 2 diabetes and a great whole
grain I stumbled on to is Freekah. It's green wheat, low carbs and high fiber.
Great substitute for brown rice, I made a turkey dressing with it for Thanksgiving.
I found it at a store that caters to middle eastern diets.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freekeh
TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)Arabs I know of within hundred miles of here so I have no idea where to get the stuff.
(Online, of course, if I can find a trustworthy suppler)
klook
(12,134 posts)Btw, my spell checker thinks that should be "free keg." Probably that would not be "part of this nutritious breakfast."
I read recently that the price of quinoa has skyrocketed due to worldwide foodie demand, thus pricing out of reach for many people who count on quinoa as a staple. So alternatives are welcome.
Thanks much - I will seek this stuff out.
cali
(114,904 posts)TreasonousBastard
(43,049 posts)none are a panacea and in many cases whole wheat flour isn't so much worse-- and is certainly cheaper.
Now, if we all started eating less white rice, white flour, and sugars before we get type II diabetes, think maybe we'd be better off?
hlthe2b
(101,701 posts)(and no bread, rice, pasta).... I can't tell you how much better I feel. The side effect is that I am ultra salt sensitive, even though I haven't added salt in years.
It does make it hard to find something edible at the usual fast food locales when traveling, though...
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)or fast food hamburger it's like a mouth full of chemicals to me.
Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)The horror
cali
(114,904 posts)Major Nikon
(36,814 posts)It's commonly found in many of the foods we eat. It's often used as an industrial solvent.
http://www.dhmo.org/
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Some of it is less obnoxious crap, but it is all fundamentally crap.
cali
(114,904 posts)bemildred
(90,061 posts)Shortcuts that work most of the time and don't hurt you much when they don't.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)But I think a lot of people just don't have the time.
datasuspect
(26,591 posts)don't eat it. it's poison.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)I don't know that it's all poison, but it's mostly crap.
REP
(21,691 posts)Biting the hand that fed them?
Crepuscular
(1,057 posts)Philly Cheese steaks were not on the list, so I'm still good!
Ron Obvious
(6,261 posts)Unless Oatmeal is a cereal... I like McCann's Irish Oatmeal because it has no sodium (I'm on a restricted diet), to which I add raisins and brown sugar. A 0g sodium breakfast that gives me a gramme of sodium to play with for supper, and that goes farther than you might think.
LadyHawkAZ
(6,199 posts)Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)Cleita
(75,480 posts)I'm always fighting gaining weight so if I eat anything even slightly processed I put on pounds. The only carbs I get are from fruit and veggies. I can't afford to eat out anymore, even fast food, because of the gas I use to get there.