Don’t be fooled


When you’re trying to eat more healthily, it’s easy to be tripped up by foods that masquerade as good for you, but really aren’t. From “fat-free” snacks to surprise sugar traps, nutritionists say you should think twice before tucking into these 20 foods.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Banana chips


These must be healthy as they’re just slices of dried banana, right? Wrong. Crispy banana chips are usually fried in coconut oil and often have some added sugar too. A tiny 30g serving (about a handful) typically supplies 150 calories, over a teaspoon of sugar and a whopping 8g of saturated fat ­– that’s 40% of your daily limit of this potential cholesterol-raiser.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Energy balls


The average trendy energy/protein ball has around 160 calories and almost 2tsps of sugar. For the same calories and protein, with less than half the added sugar, you could have a 250ml glass of skimmed milk and a digestive biscuit. The milk and cookie duo are also a lot cheaper and packed with calcium too.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Vegetable chips


Beetroot, carrot and parsnip chips are still deep fried. They also still have added salt and a 25g portion has around 127 calories, which is just five less than standard potato chips. Chips are chips – i.e. an occasional treat food – whatever they’re made of, so just choose your favorite ones.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Flavored water

Clear, colorless and made with spring water, flavored waters seem innocent enough, but they’re really not any different to a can of diet lemonade or zero sugar cola. Just like a diet soda, these waters contains citric acid, flavorings and artificial sweeteners – they sometimes contain preservatives too. To hydrate, you’re much better off with plain tap water: add a squeeze of lime juice if you need to give it a lift.

Check out these genius hacks to make your water taste delicious




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Dried cranberries


Cranberries are so tart when fresh that they’re infused with added sugar when they’re turned into dried fruit. Typically, nearly 18g of the 20g of sugar in a 2tbsp portion of dried cranberries is added. That’s over 4tsps of sugar – more than the amount in five custard creams.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Swordfish


Fish is low in saturated fat and high in protein, minerals and vitamins: in short, something we should all aim to eat more of. But swordfish (and also marlin and shark) comes with a special health warning – it contains more toxic mercury than other types of fish and should not be eaten at all by pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant. Everyone else should eat no more than one serving per week.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Low-fat dressing

Low-fat dressing may often be higher in sugar than its full-fat counterpart – but there’s another reason to use a little oil rather than a fat-free dressing. You need some fat to properly absorb healthy fat-soluble antioxidants (like beta carotene and lycopene) from ingredients such as leafy greens, tomatoes and peppers.

Try these double-quick and delicious dressings for your greens




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Coconut oil

Coconut oil has far more saturated fat than butter. And most of the hype around it, including that it can help weight loss and Alzheimer’s disease, is based on very little evidence with hardly any human studies. Some of the specific saturated fats in coconut oil, known as medium chain triglycerides or MCTs, may have benefits, but for now it’s better to mainly use a monounsaturated oil, such as olive oil, which has much stronger evidence to support its health benefits. 




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Fruit smoothies

The idea of a smoothie is great – what could be wrong with a pile of fruit served up in a drink? But juicing, puréeing or crushing packs all the sugars from the fruit into a much smaller volume, while also freeing sugars from plant cell walls, so they’re able to harm your teeth and spike your blood glucose levels. A 250ml glass of an average fruit smoothie has 27g of free sugars – almost all the maximum recommended amount of 30g a day.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Green juices

Green juices are rarely much healthier (at least the ones that are palatable enough to drink, anyway). Most need to contain plenty of fruit to provide sweetness – you can expect a bought green smoothie to have about 18g, or over 4tsps of sugar, per 250ml glass. Green vegetables work best and taste nicest on your dinner plate or in a salad bowl.

These super-tasty low-cal home-cooked meals are packed with greens




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Fat-free yogurts


Diet fruit yogurts may be low in calories, but they come with a raft of flavors, sweeteners, colors and starch, tasting as artificial as they sound. A creamy 100g portion of full-fat natural Greek yogurt has just 95 calories and is much higher in protein than diet yogurt, helping to fill you up. You can add some subtle sweetness, vitamin C and antioxidants with fresh or frozen berries.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Baked chips

Baked chips have around 23 fewer calories per 25g bag compared with standard deep-fried chips. But they are a much more processed product, generally made with potato flakes and starch rather than whole cut potatoes. They also have more than a third of a teaspoon of sugar per bag. For healthier blood sugar and insulin levels, and if you are trying to avoid refined carbs, standard chips are typically a better choice.

Now discover chips, chocolate and other surprisingly healthy foods




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Fruit spread


It sounds like a healthier option to spread on your toast, but don’t be fooled. The sweetness in fruit spread may come from fruit juice concentrate, but this is just added sugar by another name. In fact, fruit spreads typically contain 55% sugar and jelly usually around 60%, so they are almost identical.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Agave syrup

This syrup from the Mexican blue agave plant (also used to make tequila) has been promoted as a healthy alternative to sugar, and has a low glycemic index (GI), so won’t spike your blood sugar. But the downside is that it is almost entirely made up of fructose, the type of sugar that is generally agreed to have the most harm as it can trigger a fatty liver.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Protein bars

Protein bars are a popular post-workout snack, but their 220–250 calories per bar is equivalent to a Mars bar. You also need to watch for polyol sweeteners in some bars, which can cause stomach issues. Exercising at high intensity for more than 30 minutes at least three times a week means you can benefit from a little more protein than average, but it’s obtained easily from real food. Most protein bars have 10–20g protein, which is the amount in 75g prawns or a couple of small hard-boiled eggs.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Yogurt-coated raisins

These may sound healthier than chocolate raisins, but they’re not. In fact, anything “yogurt-coated” is as sugary and as high in calories and saturated fat as the equivalent milk chocolate-coated product, if not more so. Unpack the ingredients of the yogurt-flavored coating and you will see why: it’s usually mostly sugar and palm oil, with just the teensiest bit of yogurt powder.

These are the best and worst things to eat if you want to live longer




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Organic Weetabix

Organic doesn’t necessarily mean healthier – and in the case of this popular breakfast cereal, it’s actually a nutritional disadvantage. That’s because standard Weetabix is fortified with a third of the recommended daily intake of B vitamins and iron, but the organic version isn’t allowed to have these nutrients added due to organic food-production rules.

Do you know which 28 world cereals have the highest sugar levels?




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Reduced-fat Cheddar

There’s no specific nutritional downside if you opt for reduced-fat cheese, but it’s likely you’ll just end up eating more, trying (and failing) to get a satisfyingly cheesy taste and texture. A small portion of full-fat Cheddar is often a better option, or go for a cheese that is naturally lower in fat, such as goats’ cheese, camembert, feta or brie.

Now try these comforting cheese recipes that everyone will love




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Açai bowls

An açai bowl typically contains frozen, sweetened, açai berry puree mixed with other fruits or juices, yogurt or non-dairy milk and a topping of granola. Honey or agave is often drizzled over and nut butters sometimes feature, but whichever way you look at it, that’s a whole lot of carbs and sugars layered into a breakfast bowl. Açai bowls start at around 375 calories and go up to 600 plus. And, açai aren’t any more “super” than other berries such as blueberries and strawberries.




Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.


21/21 SLIDES