10 Unhleathy "Healthy" Foods

hursday, 10 June 2010

• 10 Unhealthy "Healthy" Foods

  
  In these days of dieting, cutting calories, and smaller portion sizes, people are trying their best to be skinnier. But certain foods are trying to trick you into thinking that they are healthy choices when they really aren't. And by just looking at them, it's easy to think that they are good for you. In fact, they tricked me for many a year! But I'm here to show you 10 foods that seem healthy, but actually aren't.
  
  1. Diet Soda
  People know that drinking regular soda is bad for them, so they switch to diet because it doesn't have any sugar. That's only half right, it doesn't have any REAL sugar. It's full of artificial sweeteners which, if you drink an abundance of, can cause terrible things like type 2 diabetes and makes you more likely to be obese. Diet soda=bad.
  
  
  2. Dried Fruit
  Ok, this is one that fooled me. I always thought that dried fruit was good for you all of these years! But alas, no. It has a lot of sugar and trans fats because the majority of us buy our dried fruit from the store in a bag, and by adding all of those bad things is how the dried fruit keeps shelf life. Unless you are drying your own fruit, the stuff from the store is no bueno.
  
  
  
  3. Muffins
  Muffins are sugar mines. When people tell you, "Oh boy this is low fat and has no calories!" that's fine and all, but how much sugar does it have? Because sugar just turns to fat like THAT when you digest it. So don't let them trick you, always check for sugar content! Muffins are made with white flour, sugar and butter, all recipes for disaster! Specifically bran muffins, that's the biggest surprise of all! They have about 420 calories a muffin. Trust me, I'm disappointed that my friend bran muffin tricked me. That fiend.
  
  He may look cute, but he's really evil!
  
  4. Turkey Burgers
  Most people (including myself...well before I found this out) think that eating a turkey burger is better for you than a regular beef burger. Incorrect. My boyfriend works in our college cafeteria at the grill and he has told me that the regular beef burger has about 150 calories LESS than a turkey burger. At my school they have the caloric intake for pretty much every food sitting out (trying to keep us fit as a fiddle) and I even read myself that the regular burger at school has 150 calories and the turkey burger has about 300. And they were both the same size! Still unconvinced? Medicinenet.com claims that turkey burgers are hidden uhealthy foods in that they are full of fat. I'm personally appalled. Here's the website if you'd like to look for yourself.
  http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56301
  
  
  
  5. Certain Salads
  I'm not saying salads are bad for you, I'm just saying that you have to be careful with what you put on your salads. Let's take the ceasar salad. Personally, it's one of my favorites. And when we think of salad, we automatically think of a healthy choice, it's lettuce and stuff, right? Well a ceasar salad is full of all that dressing and cheese and (if you want) chicken. So the average ceasar salad has about 600 calories. Which is outrageous, because salads are thought of to be healthy!
  
  
  
  6. Smoothies
  I love smoothies, they are nice and fruity and delicious. But full of sugar. And I mean FULL of sugar. Ever heard of Jamba Juice? Well a 16oz Aloha Pineapple smoothie from Jamba Juice has a staggering 290 calories and 63g of sugar. Think it's a fluke? Well the majority of the smoothies at Jamba Juice at that size have about 60g of sugar and over 200 calories. And most smoothie chains in America are the same. Beware of smoothies unless you make it yourself with fresh (not frozen. it's full of sugar and syrup) fruit.
  
  
  7. Whole Milk
  Yes, milk is a dairy product and dairy is important in our diets, but it depends on what kind of dairy you consume. Whole milk is swimming with sugar, cholesterol and saturated fat. Try skim if you want less calories, although it clearly is not as sweet as whole milk. I'll admit, whole milk is sweet and delicious but it has too much sugar. Personally I drink soy milk which has it's own problems, I know. But if you want to drink soy milk it is definitely an acquired taste, like a fine wine. Except it's made with beans.
  
  
  
  8. Ketchup
  Ketchup is basically red sugar. Although it tastes wonderful with fries and on burgers and things of that nature, it's just sugar. That's mostly because it's made with far more than just tomatoes. It has high fructose corn syrup, which is just another word for sugar. Rule of thumb, if you are reading the nutrition labels in anything, things that end in -ose are just another word for sugar. So unless you are making your own ketchup, it isn't really healthy.
  
  
  
  9. Juice
  This really only pertains to juice that is on the shelf. It's just packed with sugar. Take orange juice for example. Sometimes my friend, Kara, and I get Tropicana orange juice from the cafe at college. It tastes pretty good, but 8oz of juice has about 20g of sugar. Yikes. If you want juice I recommend investing in a juicer. The juice tastes WAY better when it is squeezed fresh and it has less calories. Win win situation.
  
  
  
  10. Vitamin Water
  I like Vitamin Water, it's wonderful. My personal favorites are Dragonfruit and Endurance (the mango one). But once again, they are swimming with sugar, which is bad. Although I'm proud of Vitamin Water because they are making new healthy versions with less calories and sugar. Kudos, Vitamin Water!
  
  
  Do you know any other foods that seem healthy but actually aren't? What do you think of these 10 foods?
  
  

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  AS POSTED ON XANGA:

10 Positives and Negatives About Me

Thanks to xKayTee91 on Xanga for the brilliant idea of a list of qualities in myself I like and dislike!

Ten Negatives.

1. I don't exercise very much.
I plan on working on this this summer. I'm tired of being fat and not having enough energy.

2. I tend to make poor diet choices.
I've always loved stuff that's not very good for me. But yet I'm a member of the Food Revolution! Maybe if the stuff that's not processed and full of crap was cheaper and more easily available than that processed nonsense I wouldn't eat so bad. I enjoy fruits and veggies and yogurt, I just don't really eat enough of the good stuff.

3. I'm unemployed.
I was laid off in December just before Christmas and I haven't been able to get a job since. I've looked but only got one interview and job offer and then they ended up giving the position to someone else after they gave me the run-around when I asked them questions that were important for me to know before I could accept the position.

4. I can be lazy.
I really hate being lazy, but lately it seems I'm becoming it more and more. I need to be up and about.

5. I don't always treat others the way I wish to be treated.
Don't get me wrong I try. And I always have the best of intentions but sometimes I tell little lies and words just come out wrong or I just don't think enough before I speak.

6. I'm emotional.
This is probably one of my worst traits. I swear I never used to be, but something changed this is me. I get upset easily and take things to heart which generally leads to me crying and getting all emotional.

7. I'm not very confident in myself.
I never have been. I've always been quite shy around new people despite being friendly, and I get so nervous when I have to do presentations in front of people as much as I am may be confident in what I am presenting.

8. I watch too much TV.
This kinda ties in with the being lazy point. If there weren't so many great things on I probably wouldn't watch as much. Sometimes I don't even enjoy watching it. I just do it cos I'm bored and don't feel like doing anything else.

9. I only have a handful of good friends.
This kinda ties in with the confidence thing and the shyness. It's always been difficult for me to make friends somehow despite being friendly. What sucks most about this is that I'm not even all that close with them. I try put sometimes people just grow apart or always seem to be busy

10. I don't really know what I want to do with my life.
I'm totally stumped. I went to a community college and chose Literature, Philosophy, and the Arts as my major. I don't regret this because I chose my major based on my interests and it allowed me to take a bunch of really cool electives like business management and ethics classes. I would like to go back to school for business management because I have some experience there thanks to the job I had while going through college. Business management and working in retail have always interested me, but the money is fairly poor. I'm at a dead-end.

_____________

Ten Positives.

1. I have nice eyes.
I like my eyes and everyone always tells me I have pretty eyes. Apart from the fact that their sight is crap (I wear glasses and have since I was a kid).

2. I love to be comfortable.
I don't really like the 'latest fashions.' I won't rush out to the nearest store to buy the latest must-have item. I like to dress simple- gimme jeans or leggings and a t-shirt or camisole and a pair of sneakers and I'll be happy!

3. I love my friends.
My friends are my world. I may not have a lot or be all that close with them all but I don't know what I'd do without them in my life.

4. I'm funny.
I've got a great sense of humor and I do see the funny in most things. I've been taking a Stand-up Comedy Workshop to kind of help me express it more.

5. I'm loving and caring.
I'm incredibly loving, and sometimes I probably care too much, but at least I care. I get attached to animals and people. It's probably why I take it so hard and get upset when people act certain ways to me or tell me things I don't necessarily want to hear.

6. I'm passionate and creative.
I can be quite passionate about things that I believe in. I think one would be animal rights. I cannot stand animal cruelty. Another thing would be music. I love music! Music is my life. Without music I wouldn't be who I am today. Friends and family may not always be there for you when you need them (they have their reasons) but music is something I know I can rely on.

7. I enjoy helping people.
This kinda ties in with being passionate. If I could do nothing else the rest of my life I would choose to help people. I get so much joy and satisfaction out of it because I like to see how it makes others happy when I can do something to help them, even if it is just something that seems small.

8. I'm not religious but I am spiritual and believe in a higher being.
This is a positive for me because I believe it makes me think for myself. I don't look to a more powerful being for answers. I pray when I feel stressed out about something and sometimes it helps but I know in the end the decision is still up to me. God or whomever put me here to make choices and mistakes not to lean on someone else all the time. (And before anyone starts, I'm not bashing anyone who is religious. I completely respect that.)

9. I like to window shop and do price comparisons.
I think of this as a positive cos it potentially can save me a lot of money in the long run. I think before I buy. And I always make sure I am well aware of return policies so if I do ended up buying something and I go home and realize I don't need it I can just bring it back and get the money back instead of wasting my money.

10. I know my faults.
I think that the fact I know and am willing to accept my faults for what they are is a positive. It is a positive in that know I can work on them and hopefully work on becoming not a better but perhaps a more positive person.


So there you have it. There's my lists. Thank you to xKayTee91 on Xanga for the inspiration for todays blog. Considering I'm not a huge fan of myself, I think I did pretty well coming up with what I did. If you know me and you think there are more qualities good or bad please list them. I was honest, and that's all I could be. I hope to start and keep working on those negatives asap.