Are Your Healthy Snacks Actually Healthy?

We all want quick, tasty snacks and food companies often happily respond by selling “healthy” bars, drinks and chips that look good on a supermarket shelf. The problem is that many of these products marketed as healthy are reformulated, portion-sized or labelled in ways that make them seem healthier than they are. Behind the labels, they can be high in sugar, salt, refined carbs or calories and eating them often won't help weight, heart or metabolic health. Here's are some common examples you need to look out for on the shelf.

9 “Healthy” foods that are often not healthy

• Granola or cereal bars

Many of these are loaded with added sugars, syrups and chocolate. They can be high in calories while giving a health-halo from words like “oats” or “whole grain.” Audits show many cereal bars contain 20–30 g sugar per 100 g or per bar which is not a great mid-afternoon choice.

• Fruit juices and many shop-bought smoothies

Even “100% juice” concentrates fruit sugar without the fibre of whole fruit as the body absorbs those sugars fast. For children especially, excess juice can contribute to tooth decay and small but measurable long-term weight gain, guidelines recommend limiting portions.

• Flavoured yoghurts and milk drinks

Flavoured varieties often contain large amounts of added sugar. Studies comparing flavoured versus unflavoured milks and yogurts show nearly twice the sugar in flavoured products. The “low-fat” versions may also have added sugars to replace lost taste.

• “Low-fat” labelled snacks and dairy

Removing fat sometimes increases sugar or refined carbs to keep texture or taste. A systematic comparison found low-fat versions often had higher sugar than regular versions. So “low-fat” does not equal “low-calorie” or “low-sugar.”

• Protein and energy bars

Many protein bars are highly processed, with added sweeteners, saturated fat and high calories. The “protein” tag can encourage overconsumption; not all bars supply high-quality protein in amounts that meaningfully curb appetite. Always check full nutrition panels.

• “Vegetable” or baked chips

Vegetable-labelled chips like beet, spinach, sweet potato are often still deep-fried and can be as high in calories, salt and saturated fat as regular potato chips. A recent nutrient-profiling audit of Indian packaged chips found many exceeded sugar, salt or fat thresholds despite health claims.

• Trail mix or dried-fruit mixes

Dried fruit concentrates sugar and calories and add chocolate, candied fruit or sweet coatings and the snack becomes calorie-dense. Portion sizes are often easy to overeat.

• Flavoured or sports drinks and “electrolyte” waters

Marketed for exercise, sports drinks are often full of added sugars and provide little advantage for normal daily activity; they're essentially sugary drinks for non-athletes. Regular consumption increases risks associated with sugar-sweetened beverages.

• “Multigrain” breads, crackers and snacks

Multigrain can simply mean a mixture of refined grains unless a product specifies whole-grain content, it can still be high in refined carbs, sodium and calories. An audit of packaged snack foods showed many “health” claims mask poor nutrient profiles.

The easiest way to stop falling for the gimmicks is to consume whole, home-made meals. If making meals from scratch is difficult for you, try meal-prepping.

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 doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

References

Review of 100% Fruit Juice and Chronic Health Conditions: Implications for Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Policy — Advances in Nutrition (American Society for Nutrition) — 2018.

A systematic comparison of sugar content in low-fat vs regular versions of food — Nutrition & Diabetes (Macmillan Publishers) — 2016.

Variations in Sugar Content of Flavored Milks and Yogurts: A Cross-Sectional Study across 3 Countries — Current Developments in Nutrition (American Society for Nutrition) — 2019.

Comprehensive Nutrition Review of Grain-Based Muesli Bars in Australia: An Audit of Supermarket Products — Foods (MDPI) — 2019.

Nutrient profiling assessment of packaged snack foods with nutrition-related claims available on the Indian market — Frontiers in Nutrition — 2024.

Snack Food, Satiety, and Weight (review) — NCBI— 2016.

Consumer motives and nutritional quality of cereal/fruit bars — NCBI — 2022.

Protein bar nutritional evaluations / commercial bar composition studies — NCBI — 2024–2025.

Sports drinks and sugar content (reviews/guidance) — Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health / clinical reviews — 2019–2024.