In India, young people are growing anxious about their diet choices as they have seen their parents develop chronic diseases due to long-term neglect. According to The Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing (2017) young Indians are willing to spend more to source organic healthy foods for daily consumption. But the real question lies in assessing if the 'healthy foods' label translates to actual healthy nutritional benefits or not? The healthy food label doesn't neutralize the impact of healthy foods, because of hidden calories present in these foods.
These healthy foods may be responsible for sabotaging your diet by adding additives, preservatives and artificial sweeteners into the processed food packets. These additions made to improve the taste, feel and look of the supposedly healthy foods is adding a dose of unhealthy elements. In turn, these are making you secretly gain weight as an excess of calories that aren't clean are being supplemented in these healthy foods.
What is the calorie trap?
The foods being branded as healthy doesn't always mean low-calorie or free from additives or added sugars. It's important to note that most packet of foods may be adulterated or the nutrition facts can be misrepresented as reported in the randomized testing by the food safety public labs by Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
This makes for a case to self-scrutinize the label packet of healthy foods that you are consuming on a daily basis.
7 'healthy' foods that can cause weight gain
1. Processed nuts and seeds:
The portion size of nuts and seeds is key to ensure a healthy flow of nutrients and make choices that will give you a proper health boost. Most individuals don't realise that nuts can make you gain weight, if more than the recommended amount is consumed on a daily basis as consuming more nuts doesn't translate to the body absorbing all the nutrients in the portion size. The recommended amount of nut consumption for an average person is 25g to 30g as per the nutrition guidelines by The National Institute of Nutrition.
Tip: Make a mixture of raw unprocessed nuts and seeds to get the complete nutritional benefit.
2. Avocado dips and sauces:
The healthy fruit known for its creamy texture and health benefits has a high concentration of healthy fats. But, consuming processed avocado dressings or dips can have additional ingredients that can harm your health.
Avocado is a high fat, healthy food that can have hidden calories when consumed in combination with various ingredients.
Tip: A whole avocado, smashed and made into a dip at home is at its healthiest when compared to a ready-made processed dip or sauce in a bottle or packet.
3. Ready-made smoothies:
The ready-made smoothies have a high concentration of sugar which makes for a combination that can spike blood sugar levels. The caloric-count on the smoothies increases the healthy impact of smoothies.
Tip: Blend easily available ingredients to get nutritional benefits form smoothies.
4. Store-bought granola and breakfast cereals:
This may vary according to the composition of the ingredients of the packet, but most store-brough granola and cereals have a high dosage of per gm sugar and artificial sweeteners that negates the healthy benefits of the cereals. This can lead to an increase in weight as everyday consumption of store-brough granola can make the it unhealthy. There is an increasing corelation of high sugar in most healthy foods, so chose carefully.
Tip: Combine raw forms of fortified oats, whole grain flakes and add sweeteners in controlled amounts to make the granola and breakfast cereals actually healthy.
5. Protein/energy bars:
The protein or energy bars are a candy bar in disguise whose label can be potentially increasing weight. This happens due to hidden sugars in protein bars that elevate blood sugar levels and increase the chances of developing diabetes in combination with a sedentary lifestyle.
Tip: You can scan the label of your protein or energy bars, make sure the added sugar is of natural origin for portion control. You can also make your own protein or energy bars for your own preferred ingredients.
6. Healthy dressings:
The dressings and sauces used for salads are made from a base of fattening ingredients, alongside additives and preservatives that make the dressing unhealthy. Even if these dressings or sauces are added to salads, the health quotient is negated.
Tip: Make your own dressings for salads by combining simple ingredients that can add a flavour boost to your salads.
The main aspect to focus on while eating healthy foods is to focus on portion control, reading food labels, and being mindful of calories. There are a number of ways that can ensure you follow an actual healthy diet, free from additives, preservatives and added sugars that can ruin your long-term health and immunity.
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:
Madan, M. (2017). Empirical study on preference of millennials towards healthy food products with respect to organic and functional foods. Indian Journal of Health & Wellbeing.
