As the importance of eating healthy and organic has recently, so has misinformation on the same. The need to consume fresh, healthy, and unprocessed foods has in various healthy food options. However, these ‘healthy’ food alternatives may not be as healthy as you may think.

Various foods marketed as healthy may cause more harm to our bodies than good. Although some of these foods are healthier than traditionally unhealthy foods, they might not provide us with enough nutrients. In this article, we discuss various foods that might appear healthy but do more harm to us than good.

9 ‘healthy’ foods that are causing us more harm than good:

1. Granola bars

Granola bars have emerged as a healthy snack but that is untrue. Most granola bars are abundant in butter, sugar, preservatives, vegetable oil, molasses, and other components that have been proven to degrade our health.

2. Veggie chips

Similar to granola bars, veggie chips have emerged as a healthier alternative to chips. However, even baked veggie chips are plentiful in sodium, preservatives, etc. They are also cooked to the point that they often lose their nutritive value.

3. Low-fat food alternatives

Low-fat alternatives for milk, yogurt, and packed snacks are marketed as ideal for people who wish to lose weight. However, these foods are still abundant in unhealthy fats and packed with sodium, sugar, corn syrup, or other taste-enhancing unhealthy components.

4. Sports drinks

Sports drinks aim at boosting our energy levels. These drinks achieve this by being abundant in sodium, corn syrup, sugar, and other extremely unhealthy foods.

5. Packed ‘organic’ foods

Organic foods are known to be healthy, unprocessed, and safe to consume. In order to make these accessible and delicious, they are packed with preservatives, molasses, sodium, sugar, and other components that cause long-term damage to our health.

6. Whole wheat bread

This might be shocking but whole wheat bread may not be much healthier than white bread. In order to increase their shelf-life and taste, this whole wheat and healthy bread are stuffed with sodium, molasses, and other preservatives that make them unhealthy.

7. Ice tea

Iced teas are considered a much healthier alternative to sodas and other sugary refreshing drinks you might opt ​​for when eating outside. This practice may not be as helpful as you may think. Iced teas are plentiful in sugar and other flavourings that help enhance the taste. It is ideal to opt for homemade iced teas.

8. Egg whites

Egg whites are favored over regular eggs when trying to lose weight. This might reduce your calorie intake but it also significantly reduces the nutritional value of your eggs. You might miss various necessary nutrients such as zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin D, etc.

9. Couscous

Couscous has recently emerged as a healthier alternative to white rice, white bread, and other unhealthy fibre-rich foods. However, couscous is not a whole grain. Couscous is semolina grind up to smaller pieces and heavily lacks healthy fibre.

What’s the takeaway?

Various unhealthy and low-nutrition foods may be marketed as being healthy and nutritive. Low-fat, baked, and other healthy alternative foods are often abundant in preservatives, sugar, sodium, and other unhealthy components.

If you wish to consume healthy and nutritive food, you must quit packed foods immediately. The best way to ensure you are eating healthy is to consume home-cooked food. Buying fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc., and preparing themselves, ensures you eat healthy and nutritional food.

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.