Eating healthy is a desirable and popular goal. The food industry knows this, too, which is why it advertises some products as healthier than they actually are.
These are five foods you should avoid – or replace with better alternatives.
If you want to eat healthily or lose weight, you can learn a lot about foods’ nutritional value and calorie density.
Often, however, products are healthy in theory but have many undesirable additives in practice. The keyword here is processing.
Caution with highly processed products
Often, the more processed a food, the more it contains unhealthy ingredients.
Aspects such as shelf life are important in the manufacturing process. Preserve the taste, flavorings, and other additives, then come into play.
The result is products – that can be very healthy in their natural state – tend to become unhealthy.
Of the following five foods, you probably think they are healthy or will help you in your quest to lose weight.
When shopping, however, check the list of ingredients very carefully and revise your judgment about them if necessary.
1. Meat alternatives
Vegan diets continue to gain ground and have merit both in terms of animal welfare and healthy eating. But beware of processed products; here, vegan is not automatically also healthy.
Meat alternatives are produced in an effort to come to a product close to the taste and consistency of the animal product. Therefore, artificial flavors and binders are added on a large scale.
With these products, it is more important than usual to check the list of ingredients carefully.
It would be best if you don’t use these alternatives. There are enough plant-based alternatives that do not need chemical additives.
Jackfruit, for example, is extremely rich in nutrients and healthy. It comes very close to meat in consistency and texture and can be prepared in various ways.
Especially for athletes, the protein content is crucial. Good vegan protein sources are legumes such as kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
