12 MOST OVERRATED HEALTHY FOODS

Dig deeper to avoid being misled by products that don’t necessarily deliver all you expect.

If you’re a loyal Eat This, Not That! reader, by now you know that sports drinks, energy bars, and even green drinks often aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. They could be loaded with sugar and empty calories and may cost way more than they should simply because of all the jazzy packaging.

To achieve your health goals in a sustainable and safe way, it’s imperative to be conscious of the full nutritional picture of everything you’re putting into your body. Let’s take a closer look at foods that get more credit than they really deserve. But before we get into it, let’s clear one thing up: Most of the foods on this list are perfectly fine additions to your diet. The problem is that people often overestimate how healthy they actually are, so think before you consume.

1. COLD-PRESSED JUICES

A daily green drink or some sort of cold-pressed juice to boost your fruit and vegetable intake might sound like a great idea, but you may want to rethink your strategy. “When a fruit or vegetable is juiced, vital fiber is extracted, leaving you with a beverage that has some nutritional value but usually way too much sugar,” says Stefanie Sacks, MS, CNS, CDN. “I prefer the blended beverage using the whole fruits, vegetables.”

2 . YOGURT

The dairy aisle is overloaded with yogurt products marketed as health foods, but most are full of added sugar and/or artificial sweeteners. “Reading labels in this category is very important,” says Kathy Siegel, MS, RDN, CDN. “Look for the fewest number of ingredients, and go for the yogurt with the real stuff, such as milk and live and active cultures. The newest dairy product to look for in this category is Skyr, an Icelandic dairy product that’s high in protein and low in sugar. It’s similar to Greek yogurt, but is less tart.” Plain Greek yogurt is always an awesome choice, too. Just steer clear of the flavored yogurt varieties and don’t even think about the kinds that come with candy toppings.

3. EGG WHITES

Yes, egg whites are good for you, but you know what’s better? Eating the whole egg! One of the biggest myths in the food industry is that the cholesterol in the foods you eat can trigger a cholesterol problem. But what you eat has virtually no impact on the cholesterol level in your blood. Plus, when you eat fragmented foods, your body starts to crave the rest—and that can make you more likely to reach for something unhealthy. Egg yolks contain choline, which is essential for the functioning of all cells (especially brain cells), so eat the entire egg.

4. BROWN RICE

We hate to bring you down a notch, but opting for brown rice over white rice doesn’t make you that healthy. While brown rice does have some of the nutrients lost in processing strips white rice of iron, fiber, and vitamins B1 and B3—it still doesn’t have that great of a nutritional profile when you consider the calories. To get more of a nutritional bang for your calorie cost, always choose the least-processed version you can find; that will usually be the long-grain kinds that take about 30 to 40 minutes to make.

5. COCONUT SUGAR

Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the cut flower buds of the coconut palm tree and it’s often touted as a “healthy sweetener because it’s low on the glycemic index and low in fructose. Unfortunately, it has about the same number of calories as table sugar; so, while high prices and marketing might make you believe it’s healthy, it’s really only marginally healthier than the classic white stuff.

6. MILK ALTERNATIVES

“Nut milks, soy milk, and oat milk—are generally only about 1 or 2 percent of the nut/soy/oat, with the rest of their composition being water, sugar, and/or sweeteners, vegetable oil, and a bunch of artificial additives to emulsify, preserve, and make the beverage palatable,” explains Sophie Manolas, clinical nutritionist and founder of The Edible Pharmacy. She suggests checking the label of different milk alternatives to find the one with the least ingredients and always buying the unsweetened version. The very best option (both nutritionally and economically) is to make your own. “All you need is a small amount of your chosen nut, a food processor, some muslin cloth, and some filtered water."

7. COCONUT OIL

While coconut oil can be good in moderation (it has been linked to improving immune function and helping to fight cancer and heart disease), know that 87 percent of its fat is saturated (13.5 grams and 120 calories per tablespoon; the recommended daily limit is 14 grams). Our point: Use this oil very, very sparingly. Olive oil is lower in saturated fat and has been proven to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol).

8. COCONUT WATER

Most people don’t actually need to hydrate with coconut water or anything else but plain water when they workout. Plus, many of the claims surrounding the benefits of coconut water (including that it can boost weight loss) have yet to be proved by substantive clinical testing. One thing is for sure: Most prepared coconut waters have more than 2 teaspoons of added sugar and at least 50 calories.

9. WRAPS

Sandwich wraps sound like a better choice for lunch, but you’re probably being fooled. “They may be thinner, but wraps are usually packed with refined flours, hydrogenated oils, and very little fiber,” says Siegel. “But if you love a wrap, look for products with whole grains listed in the first ingredient and no trans fat. Then, pack with lean meats and veggies.”

10. AGAVE NECTAR

Just as they tout coconut sugar as a sweetener, packaged foods often brag that they’re sweetened with agave. While agave is low glycemic (meaning it won’t spike your blood sugar as much as other sweeteners), it’s actually higher in calories and 150 percent sweeter than table sugar!

11.  BULLET PROOF COFFEE

Bullet proof coffee blends coffee made from low-toxin coffee beans with grass-fed butter and Brain Octane, which is a coconut oil extract that’s 18 times stronger than coconut oil— and it has about 440 calories. While many say they feel full until lunch, drinking Bullet proof coffee on the reg can seriously backfire if it’s not a meal replacement. And if you’re replacing your regular breakfast consistently with Bullet proof coffee, it means that you’re forgoing essential nutrients at the start of your day.

12.  GLUTEN-FREE FOODS

They are generally a motley mixture of simple carbohydrates and various chemicals to bind food together, and don’t hold much nutritional value. Simply put: Gluten-free isn’t code for healthy. A cookie is still a cookie—even if it’s GF.

Written by Sharon Feiereisen in "Eat This Not That!", USA, Summer 2017, excerpts p.28-29. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.