Exposing “useful” products that are actually harmful

Today, a healthy lifestyle is more popular than ever. Every self-respecting person tries to exclude harmful food from his diet and is actively interested in information about healthy nutrition. It’s just that this information is often based not on the desire to improve a person, but purely for marketing purposes. You consume seemingly useful dietary products, but the excess weight does not go away, and you can not boast of impeccable health (even more problems may take place). You will get rid of some misinformation with the help of our list of harmful products which are positioned by the producers as supposedly useful.

Cornflakes

By eating this product, many people try to lose weight, but it is enough to inquire about the technology of its production in order to be convinced of the hopelessness of this desire. First, flakes are not made from the whole corn, but from corn flour. For this, the grains are cleaned from the shell and the germ and are ground into a powder. The composition of this product is close to wheat flour of the highest grade, that is, it is pure starch, devoid of any vitamins and minerals.

Second, in order to flavor the starchy product, salt, sugar or sweeteners, or flavor enhancers are added to it. “Usefulness” is achieved through the enrichment of synthetic vitamins. As a result, the output is far from natural and at the same time is not a diet product, since its caloric value is about 400 kcal per 100 g.

Muesli

Another option for a quick breakfast, the usefulness of which is a little doubtful. However, if we are talking about muesli from the store, then there will be more harm to health and figure from it than good. Producers often improve the taste of their product with sugar and artificial additives, and cover dried fruits and nuts with fat for better storage. In addition, dried fruits are often replaced with candied fruits, which contain a huge amount of sugar and artificial colors.

If you want to eat really useful muesli, make it by yourself. Just mix whole oats or multi-cereal flakes with dried fruits, nuts, and seeds. You can change ingredients every time, so you will not get tired of the product for a long time, and it will saturate the body with various vitamins and minerals.

Sports bars

There are several types of bars – energy, protein, and bars for weight loss. First of all, we reject the third option: to lose weight on a product with a caloric content of about 350 kcal per 100 g is simply unrealistic. Even if you find a bar with a lower calorie content, it will not be enough to satiate for a long time because of the small amount. If you do not plan to starve yourself, you will still have to eat normally, and the use of this product will not help.

Mass gain also will not be effective with the help of protein bars. The protein in them, as a rule, is soy of not good quality. In addition to it, there is a lot of sugar and artificial additives. The weight from such a product, of course, increases, but it is represented not so much by muscles as by fatty deposits. Instead of energy bars, it will be more useful to eat a portion of complex carbohydrates from cereals or spaghetti before training, which will nourish muscles for a longer period of time.

Sweets with fructose

Fructose is sugar from fruit, which does not pose a threat to health when used as part of whole fruits. But in response to people’s desire to minimize refined sugar in their diet, manufacturers increasingly began to replace it with fructose.

Such products can be useful, but not for everyone. Fructose is recommended for diabetics, since insulin production is not required for its assimilation. But a healthy person does not need such a replacement, especially since fructose has the tendency to be directly transformed into fatty deposits.

Low-fat dairy products

The inscription “0% fat” on a yogurt or curd package looks tempting for a person who wants to lose excess weight. However, producers have to compensate for the lack of fats with a lot of sugar and flavor enhancers, because the fat-free product without additives is so tasteless that you would not have bought it again.

In addition, there is no direct connection between fat consumption and a gain of extra kilograms, because their true reason lies in the excessive consumption of simple carbohydrates from sweets, fast food, and other refined foods. Fats are very necessary for the body to maintain metabolic processes, the synthesis of hormones, as well as a for a good condition of the skin, hair, and nails.

Black bread

The big misconception is that if the bread is not white, then it is useful. But a product made of white flour can be easily transformed with the help of dyes. And black bread of natural color from rye flour of the highest grade will not be much more useful than wheat bread.

Therefore, be sure to read the labels on bakery products. Instead of flour of the highest grade, the first ingredient in the composition of useful bread should be whole-grain flour.

Brown cane sugar

The difference between white refined and brown unprocessed sugar is not as significant as many people would like. Both products are simple carbohydrates, instantly absorbed into the blood and causing sudden jumps in the level of glucose.

Due to the lack of processing in brown sugar, there are actually some valuable nutrients, but their amount is so small that this does not justify the use of this product. Thus, it definitely not worth paying more for them. In addition, it is difficult to find a natural imported cane sugar on the market.

Dried fruits

Dried fruits are a controversial product that can bring both benefit and harm. Dried fruits contain a huge concentration of beneficial vitamins and minerals. But there are no less simple sugars in them. Therefore, if you have a tendency to be overweight, you definitely should not get involved in them.

In addition, the problem is that it is very difficult to find really natural and healthy dried fruits on the shelves. For better storage, they are covered with fat and various chemical compounds, and they are dried not by a natural method, but with furnaces to speed up production. Due to high temperatures, dried fruits lose most of their nutrients and become no more useful than regular sweets.

The natural product can be distinguished by a plain-looking appearance. Such dried fruits are more wrinkled, hard, and with lack of attractive shine. A product of your own making will be even more useful. It is much more reasonable to purchase a dryer in which fruits and vegetables are deprived of moisture under the influence of moderate temperatures, or to dry the crop naturally, simply in the air. Then you can always be sure of the quality and usefulness of your dried fruits.

Mass enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle is inspiring. But this picture is overshadowed by a huge amount of false information distributed by marketers. Do not believe absolutely all the promises of manufacturers. If you want to eat properly, do not be too lazy to learn the information by yourself, to be interested in the technology of producing certain products, and also be sure to read the ingredients on the labels.