The truth about ‘healthy’ foods

12:22 23 November 2010

For years, food manufacturers have claimed that their product is the epitome of healthy eating, with the calorie and fat content being emblazoned on every label.

After some research, however, studies have found that these products could worryingly be high in salt, despite the healthy labelling. This could be due to the producers making it taste better by adding in extras or simply a marketing ploy to get customers to buy.

We take a look at the foods you should avoid when switching to a healthy option.

The ‘healthy’ drinks
Did you know that some fruit juices actually have as much sugar in them as Coca-Cola?

A study carried out in the Daily Mail found that Waitrose’s British apple and pear juice has more than 10 per cent sugar – the same as the popular fizzy drink. Innocent smoothies also have this amount of sugar in them, despite claiming to only include fruit.

Some argue the point that the sugars are ‘natural’, but experts say that these are actually very harmful to use as they could increase the risk of heart disease.

The difference between light and normal spreads
Putting ‘light’ in a product automatically connotes to a buyer that it is a healthier version of something from the same range, but this may not be the case.

The law does not currently monitor the use of such terms, therefore manufacturers are free to put it on labels – even if it isn’t any different from the original product.

Some products like mayonnaise and butter may have less fat than the previous offering, but more often than not it is still very high in fat.

They also tend to have more sugar in them if the fat is reduced as fat is usually the ingredient that gives taste to food.

Cereals and cereal bars
Although the calorie content may not look like much, if you study the fat and sugar that is included in cereals and snack bars, it is significantly higher than most experts would recommend.

Again, taste is being blamed for such a high amount of it and by adding milk you also increase the amount of sugar intake.

The ‘cluster’ wholegrain cereals should be avoided, according to researchers, as they measure the highest in fat.

Despite cereal bars being marketed as a healthy snack option, they are very high in sugar, despite being less in fat. You should check labels if youÂ’re trying to lose weight.

Lunch time
Any ready-made sandwiches or salads are very high in fat, salt and sugar. Even the supposed ‘healthy’ option displays an alarming amount of fat, which is often more than recommended for your lunch hour.

Dressing on salads can also come with a high health risk, with saturated fat being the main cause for concern.

The best option would be make your own sandwich or salad, as then you can keep a check of everything you will be consuming.

Lean meat
Although your stockist may claim that the meat you buy is ‘lean’ or ‘low’, you may have to rethink their claims.

Again, the words they use are not legally binding and therefore actually stand for nothing, therefore manufacturers can claim that their ‘lean’ mince is actually healthier but it actually may not be.

The recommendation is to look closely at the meat before you buy it; you can often tell when thereÂ’s a high amount of fat on the product.