Many foods are advertised as being low in calories and fat, and they
certainly taste like they are healthy too; but are they really good for
you? There are countless foods and beverages found on grocery store
shelves or served in restaurants that have an aura of being healthy, low
fat and low in calories, but unfortunately they are sadly not. These
foods easily deceive us, and make us believe that we are consuming fewer
calories than we thought, when in fact they are loaded with unsaturated
fats, sugar, and other calorie-laden ingredients.
So as the
summer gets underway, and more of us are hitting the beach or the pool,
here are six unexpected foods that could easily be causing you to pack
on the pounds.
1. SushiSushi
may seem like the perfect light, low calorie meal when you are trying
to drop a few pounds, right? What could possibly make it fattening when
it contains raw fish, veggies, seaweed and only a little bit of rice?
Beware,
these bite-size pieces can be deceptively loaded with mayo, cream
cheese and tempura batter, pushing the calorie count of a single roll
into the 500 to 600 range. If that wasn’t bad enough, the sauces that we
dip our favorite rolls into are not so innocent when it comes to our
waistline.
Soya sauce, while a must have when eating sushi, is
loaded with sodium, causing us to retain water and feel somewhat bloated
the next day. Teriyaki sauce, on the other hand, may not taste salty
but it is also contains a lot of salt. At the same time, it's loaded
with sugar, hence its sweet taste, causing it to be extremely high in
calories and causing us to eat more than we think.
2. Tofu
Tofu,
another Asian restaurant favorite, can be a very healthy, low fat dish;
however, it doesn’t stay that way after most chefs gets theirs hands on
it. Tofu naturally has a very bland plain flavor, so do you ever wonder
why it tastes so scrumptiously delicious at most restaurants? Most
likely, it has been deep-fried and then doused in decadent sauces to
give it its sweet flavor and crunchy texture; unfortunately though this
process sends the calorie, fat and sugar content far above what you
would ever have guessed.
3. Salads
Salad
may seem like an odd addition to this list, as after all how many
calories and how much fat can really be lurking inside a pile of
lettuce? Unfortunately most salads at restaurants don’t just consist of
shredded carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Most likely
you will find nuts, cheese, croutons, and of course creamy dressing.
Most of us know that cheeses are high in fat, particularly the saturated
kind, but very few of us actually realize how much cheese, and hence
extra fat, lands in our salad.
Now not all fat in salads is
evil; avocados, nuts and olive oil are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated
fats. However, just because these foods are good for your heart,
doesn’t mean they are great for your waistline. They are all still quite
high in calories, and while they make you feel fuller longer, it’s
important to watch out what is being added into your salad.
The
top salad sinners include Ceaser salad, Cobb salad and even chopped
salad when it’s topped off with blue cheese and ranch dressing. Instead,
stick to salads with low-fat (not fried) meats, lower fat cheeses, and
fresh fruit in the place of dried fruit.
4. Granola
Loaded
with healthy nuts and oats, what’s not to love? However, granola
contains many hidden ingredients. The breakfast favorite gets a tasty
twist from added oil and sugar, which certainly make it delicious, but
unfortunately like many tasty food, high in calories. In fact, one bowl
contains around 500 to 600 hundred calories, which is almost three times
the amount of calories found in the most sugary breakfast cereals
available. Make sure you read the box carefully, and watch out for added
dried fruit and even honey as this can push the sugar content through
the roof.
5. Bottled green tea
Green
tea is definitely a super food – filled with antioxidants, it lends
your body a healthy hand from head to toe. However, bottled green tea is
unfortunately not nearly as “sweet” for your health as most of them
contain only a tiny amount of these healthy compounds. In fact,
scientists have found that you have to drink about 20 bottles of bottled
green tea to get the same benefits of consuming one mug of real green
tea.
Why is that? Green tea gets its amazing health powers from
its polyphenols. These polyphenols, however, are also what give green
tea its astringent flavor. Most of us don’t particularly like this
taste, which is why many of us dilute our tea by adding milk, sugar, and
let it steep in hot water much longer than we should. When it comes to
bottled green tea, many mass producers minimize this powerful flavor by
simply adding less tea, and thus reducing the amount of health
beneficial contents, as well as pouring in sugar.
6. Juices and Smoothies
Last,
but certainly not least (in calories), juices and smoothies are some of
the biggest culprits when it comes to unhealthy “health” foods. Fresh
fruits are excellent for your body as they are without doubt loaded with
vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. While many fruit juices contain a lot
of the vitamins of the fruit (Vitamin C in particular), they are loaded
with sugar.
Now, some fruit juices are labeled with “natural”
sugar i.e. it’s the sugar from the fruit; however, to our bodies sugar
is sugar. Moreover, fruit juices do not contain the skin of the fruit,
and thus lose out on the fruit’s fiber, and some vitamins. Even
vegetable juice suffers at the hand of mass producers.
Products
like V8 and tomato juice are made with real vegetables, and thus are
high in vitamins, minerals and fiber; but unfortunately these savory
drinks are also loaded with sodium.
Smoothies of course are the
ultimate culprits. They are typically made from real fruits; however,
they are mixed in with juices and added sugar. To make matters worse,
some smoothies are made with full-fat yogurt or even ice cream which may
give a creamy texture but it also ramps up the fat and calorie count
without you even realizing it.