Here Are 20 Unhealthy Health Foods You Should Avoid
Do you have more of these unhealthy foods? Leave them in the comments!
Ryan Aliapoulios
03.06.18

Food labeling is a tricky business. We’re all familiar with labels like “organic,” “free range” and “all-natural.” Still, what these labels actually mean may vary from product to product and instance to instance. As many people may already know, the weight loss market in the United States is enormous—just last year it was valued at around $66 billion dollars! As a result, many brands want their products and foods to be labeled as health foods so that health-conscious consumers will want to buy them. The only problem is that most of us have been fooled into thinking many “health” foods are good for us when they actually aren’t!

Here are 20 examples of “health” foods that you should actually stay away from.

1. Fruit Juice

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

We may be tempted by orange or apple juice when we’re in the grocery store, but we should think again. These juices are often just as bad for you as soda is—mostly because of how much sugar is in a single glass. Additionally, the juice from the store is drained of oxygen and artificially flavored for resale… so it’s best to stay away from it.

2. Sugar Alcohols

transforminghealth.org
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transforminghealth.org

Although sugar alcohols are often found in sugar-free options, these chemicals are often heavily processed, may lead to food allergies and often come from genetically-modified corn products. If you’re looking for a healthy low-calorie sweetener, try green stevia instead!

3. ‘Atlantic’ Salmon

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flickr.com/cruster

Although salmon is often labelled “atlantic,” this is typically just a code word for farmed fish. This is not ideal for many reasons, among them high dioxin levels which can cause plenty of problems for your immune system.

4. Microwave Popcorn

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flickr.com/madame_furie

The main issues with microwave popcorn are the containers they come in. Microwavable bags often come coated with dangerous chemicals that are linked to cancer. The fake buttered flavoring in the popcorn can also cause lung disease, strangely enough—best to buy organic kernels and pop them yourself!

5. Factory-Farmed Meat

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flickr.com/pcdevils

Aside from the cruelty and maltreatment farmed animals are subjected to, the quality of meat is also quite low. Many of those animals are fed hormones and given an unnatural diet, all of which have effects on your body as well.

6. Margarine

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flickr.com/jeena

Although it was originally thought of as a healthy alternative to butter, margarine was basically just made of trans fats which we now know are terrible for your health. Although trans fats in margarine are mostly a thing of the past, these alternatives still contain plenty of highly processed and non-natural ingredients.

7. Canned Green Beans

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flickr.com/artizone

Although green beans themselves may be good for you, canned beans are often contaminated with pesticides and BPA chemicals which can lead to many health issues. Buy fresh if you want to enjoy this tasty snack.

8. Non-organic Strawberries

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flickr.com/timalosi

Although strawberries are delicious, nonorganic strawberries come contaminated with more pesticides than almost any other food. These pesticides can cause different negative health effects depending on which chemicals are used, but none of them are good for us.

9. Agave Nectar

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flickr.com/Mike Mozart

The myth of agave nectar is that it is somehow healthier than any other kind of high-sugar syrup. The truth is that it’s just not. Just like other sugary ingredients like syrup or honey, eating a ton of it means too much sugar, which is just not a good idea.

10. Seitan

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flickr.com/crystalflickr

Seitan is a compelling choice for vegans and vegetarians who still want to get a meat-like staste. Still, seitan is really a very dense amount of wheat gluten with a lot of sodium. Although not everyone has celiac disease, eating too much gluten can tip the scales in favor of developing gluten allergies.

11. Fat-Free Or Low-Fat Milk

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

The issue with low-fat or fat-free milk is that the only good things about the milk are only absorbable with fat included. Stripping the fat out of these dairy products means robbing yourself of the nutrients they provide, at which point you’re really just drinking empty calories. If you’re going to drink milk, go with the fat.

12. Artificial Sweeteners

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

Many people probably know about this one already, but fake sweeteners come with tons of negative effects. Although they have no calories, research has shown that they damage gut flora and can actually cause diabetes (though they have links to many other health problems as well).

13. Diet Soda

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flickr.com/kennyvaughan

In fitting with the reasons above, the same is true for diet soda. Trying to lose weight while consuming artificial sweeteners is often pointless—and the chemicals in diet soda are numerous and cause virtually an endless list of health problems.

14. Canned Tomatoes

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flickr.com/wordridden

Because they come in a can, these tomatoes often come contaminated with BPA, a synthetic estrogen which can cause reproductive issues, heart disease, diabetes and more. Try going organic or grow them yourself!

15. Bread

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flickr.com/wordridden

This is a big one, as we’ve been sold on bread by many different food industries. Still, the truth is there is nothing inherently healthy about eating bread. In fact, eating too much modern wheat can lead to celiac disease, inflammatory issues, acid reflux, obesity and more. We realize it’s hard to completely give up bread, just keep this in mind.

16. Corn

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flickr.com/calliope

The issue with modern corn is that it has been genetically engineered to withstand pesticides, pesticides which end up inside the food when you eat it. To be fair, genetically engineered corn has never been tested for its long-term impacts on human health. To be on the safe side, though, try to stick with organic or non-GMO corn.

17. Sprouts

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flickr.com/therealbrute

Although sprouts are not necessarily unhealthy, they come with some tricky health issues. The biggest concern with these chemicals i that they have been behind so many recalls due to bacterial issues and have been found contaminated with salmonella, E. Coli and listeria. If you’re going to eat sprouts, make sure you cook them first (or swap in another veggie for the crunch you’re looking for).

18. Sports Drinks

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

Sports drinks were made specifically for athletes who were depleting their body of salts and sugars during strenuous exercise. For most people, there’s simply no need to drink so much sugar and salt in our drinks—there’s nothing “healthy” about it.

19. Vegetable Oils

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

Although the idea is that vegetable oils may have some inherent health benefit over animal fats and oils, this really isn’t true. As always, it depends on how much you’re consuming and how—frying anything in oil is never going to be healthy, even if its vegetable based.

20. Breakfast Cereals

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flickr.com/jeepersmedia

Although we all love our cereal in the morning, the truth here is similar to the deal with bread. Mostly, these things break down into sugar in our bloodstream and are too processed to truly have any nutrients to offer us. This goes for most granolas that try to present themselves as a healthy option, too!

What do you think of this list? Tell us in the comments area below.

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