Not so healthy "Health Foods"

A post like this has been writing itself in my brain for some time now, but reading Marion Nestle's fantastic book, "What to Eat" has finally spurred me to get it in writing.  Since I started studying nutrition in depth, it  has become quite a challenge not to say "you know that isn't really that good for you" every time a friend or family member eats one of the following foods, or even worse claims to have eaten a "very healthy breakfast" that consists of 2 or more of these foods at the same meal.  So rather than insulting your choices while you are trying to enjoy them (because there is nothing more annoying - except perhaps when you order something at a restaurant and a shockingly large portion arrives and everyone says "Whoa!!!" Hungry???" as if you knew they were going to serve 3 meals worth of pasta), I am going to list my top 5 unhealthy "health foods" here.  In my opinion, the following foods get WAY more attention and credit as health foods than they deserve. It doesn't mean these foods have have no nutritional value, just that for some reason (i.e. good marketing) these foods have the guise of health when, in fact, they present as many or more problems than they solve, especially for anyone trying to lose weight or increase energy.

1) Whole Wheat Bread (especially commercially prepared and sold): I hate to tell all of you who feel smug when you order your sub on whole wheat every day at lunch, but the effect it has on your blood sugar is only marginally better than that of white bread. It is better for you than white bread because it contains more fiber and protein and is therefore more nutrient-dense, but it is still a processed product made from flour, and when grains are pulverized into flour, they form a starch that is quickly converted into sugar in your bloodstream.   You don't need to stop eating whole wheat bread, but if your daily diet (like many Americans) is whole wheat toast or bagel for breakfast, a sandwich on whole wheat at lunch, whole wheat crackers and cheese for snack, etc. you are stalk consuming too much flour (and gluten) and therefore introducing too much sugar into your bloodstream. My guess is that you also feel hungry and lightheaded within 2-3 hours after these meals from the sugar crash. You might feel better than you would if you had all that on white bread, but you would be amazed at how much more energy you would have if you switched to steel cut oats for breakfast, ate a salad with lean protein at lunch and snacked on raw veggies with guacamole.

2) "Whole Grain," "High Fiber" and Other "Healthy" boxed cereals: These are the pet peeve of nutrition coaches like myself who stress the importance of eating whole, fresh foods.  Processed cereals come in big boxes and are made by big companies like Kellog's who use all that box space to make myriad and highly suspicious health claims about their products. As Michael Pollan says, if your food tells you it's healthy, it probably isn't (your kale isn't bragging about its iron content is it?). When cereal is made in a factory, they can add all the stuff to it they want... and they do - including not just fiber, anti-oxidants, omega-3s or whatever the new buzz word is, but also sugar, sugar and more sugar.  Considering most people eat about twice the portion size listed on a box of cereal, they are often taking in between 4 (the least offensive ones) and 40 (!!!) grams of sugar just at breakfast (not to mention the huge glass of OJ and our next food), which often leads to a day-long pursuit of chasing the sugar high you had at 8 am.  Did you know that Special K, All Bran and Corn Flakes all contain high fructose corn syrup? Gross. See this chart for more information. Even Kashi products, which are better than most, have on average 6 g of sugar per serving and like I said, most people eat more than a serving. Try steel-cut oats or eggs and a piece of whole grain toast (preferably made by a local bakery) instead.

3) Flavored Yogurt: "What to Eat" has a great chapter about yogurt called "Yogurt: Health Food or Dessert." Here is the gist: People don't drink as much milk as they used to so dairy producers have had to find other ways to sell the heck out of cow's milk, and they have thanks to Dannon, Yoplait and other makers of this concoction of sweetened, cultured cow's milk presented in all manner and sizes of cartons, tubes (Go-gurt - gross!) and bottles.  In all truth, unless you are eating PLAIN yogurt (preferably the thicker, higher protein Greek yogurts), you are eating the equivalent of ice cream under the guise of a health food. Yes, there are great tasting nonfat yogurts, but you'd be hard-pressed to find any supermarket variety with less than 14 grams of sugar, whereas many have as much as 17 to 22 g of sugar.  Considering 4 g = 1 tsp of sugar, that's scary!  And before you yell, "but it comes from fruit," look closely, most fruit flavored varieties are sweetened with fruit juice concentrates or unnatural sweeteners.

Think of how many well-meaning people eat or feed their kids breakfasts like yogurt, cereal and a banana -- a meal containing as much as 50 g of sugar before 9 am (and that's not including the sugar you put in your coffee or in your kid's juice). If you still crave yogurt, get plain low-fat or non-fat Greek yogurt, add a tsp of honey and throw some almonds and berries on top for a much healthier breakfast (with natural forms of probiotics, omega-3 fats and anti-oxidants) or eat it for dessert because that's what most commercially sold yogurt is.  If you use flavored yogurt to satisfy sweet cravings thinking it's better than ice cream or cake, you'd be better off with a few squares of dark chocolate.

4) Energy Bars and Protein Bars: Sure they give you energy -- from sugar! With the exception of Lara Bars, which on average contain less than 5 ingredients (all of which are natural), I cannot really recommend any power bars, energy bars or whatever you might call them (i.e. lunch on the go).  Most also contain loads of preservatives and artificial ingredients, and even the "organic" ones just contain too many ingredients period. You wouldn't believe how many clever names sugar can fall under in an organic energy bar.  Unless you are biking with Lance Armstrong, you really have no business inhaling 20 g of sugar and 17 grams of protein in 5 bites anyway.  If you are consuming these for jolts of energy on a really long workout, that's one thing, but as a snack during the work day, they are a very poor choice as you are just filling your body with more sugar, processed forms of protein and other crap than it needs.  Have an apple and some almonds instead.

5) Pretzels: A holdover from the "fat-free"craze of the 80s and early 90s, pretzels still have a rep as healthy snacks.  This is very puzzling to me because pretzels are the exact nutritional equivalent of white bread with salt on it.  Does anyone think that's healthy?  Sure, some fancy ones are made with whole wheat flour but for some reason when big food companies make something with whole wheat instead of white flour, they often assume people won't like the healthier taste and add more sugar, salt or even high fructose corn syrup to make up the difference so if you are shopping for a healthier version, read the labels very carefully. I'm not saying kids shouldn't eat pretzels (most are active enough to burn off the sugar that quickly rushes into their bloodstream) but please, for the love of mother nature, stop calling them "really healthy snacks." They are made of flour, salt and sugar: the American healthcare crisis trifecta!  A really healthy snack: an apple with natural almond butter, raw veggies with hummus or a generous handful of walnuts.

Thanks for letting me wax non-poetically on my soapbox. It felt good! I am taking clients now so to find out more about private or group nutrition coaching, visit www.inhabithealth.com.