How many of us remember sitting at the breakfast table as a child and slurping down a bowlful of Wheaties cereal while staring at a box cover adorned by a legendary athlete like Bruce Jenner, Mary Lou Retton, Pete Rose, or Michael Jordan? We felt good about starting our day the same “healthy” way they did, and our parents felt good about it, too!
The same can be said of so many foods that society once considered healthy but turned out to be seriously detrimental to our health.
The truth is, there may be nothing more difficult to decipher than the true healthfulness of foods. Some of this is due to our ever-evolving understanding how the human body functions, and the critical role our diet plays in that. Most of this, however, is a result of intentionally deceiving messaging put forth by the food industry via underhanded political lobbyists, clever advertising campaigns, and intentionally misleading packaging meant to lull us into a false sense of security about what we’re feeding our bodies.
Unsurprisingly, the availability of information on the internet might be making things worse, as the burgeoning health and fitness community diverges more often than it agrees, and otherwise well-meaning “gurus” seem to have fallen into distinct, often polarized, philosophical camps.
Alas, bestselling authors don’t often agree, and dieticians sometimes have just as much difficulty deciphering all of this as the rest of us.
Meanwhile, the population of the United States is by far the unhealthiest it’s ever been, and this is due mainly to poor diet. Wanna hear some mind-boggling statistics?
- We are fatter than ever before. 70% of Americans are either overweight or obese. That’s nearly 3 out of every 4 people. In fact, the average woman today weighs more than did the average 1960s man!
- We eat way more than ever before. The average number of calories consumed by Americans now equals 3,540 per day, up from 2,400 per day in 1960. That’s an obscene number of calories for anyone who is not an endurance athlete.
- We are sicker than ever before. 6 in 10 American adults now live with at least one chronic disease like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or some type of metabolic dysfunction. Is it possible that most adults in this country have a chronic disease, despite the recent advancements in medicine? Yes, it is.
- We are dying sooner. The U.S. life expectancy is dropping precipitously. At 76.4 years it’s the shortest in over two decades, and this is NOT due to Covid-19. Our “healthspan”, defined as the period of life in which one lives unencumbered by chronic disease, has dropped into the 60’s, and while healthspan is a relatively new concept, it is believed to be at its shortest in over 50 years.
When it comes to our diet, Americans are a mess, and I believe this is because we genuinely don’t understand what it means to eat healthy.
So, what the heck is an otherwise well-intentioned person to do?
In sticking to the mission of this newsletter, which is to provide a simple and sustainable approach to wellness, I am hereby offering this list of 15 foods that most Americans believe to be healthy but are otherwise sabotaging our health. To add some value, I’m also offering healthy alternatives to each.
Some of these may be obvious to you, but believe me, they’re not obvious to everyone.
So here we go…in approximate order of egregiousness.
#1 – Industrial Seed Oils (a.k.a. Vegetable Oils)
I am starting off with what might be the most controversial item on the list, but one about which I feel the strongest. More generically (and politely) referred to as “vegetable oils”, industrial seed oils include canola, corn, cottonseed, soybean, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed, and rice bran.
Industrial seed oils were originally developed for all sorts of uses besides eating, and their progression onto supermarket shelves over the years was driven almost entirely by their comparatively low production costs, and not at all by any truly healthful attributes.
These oils are highly processed using a variety of harmful chemicals and solvents, come from genetically modified crops, produce damaging trans-fats when heated, and contain unhealthy amounts of Omega-6 fatty acids.
More and more, these oils are being linked to serious health issues including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, food allergies, gut inflammation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), asthma, cognitive decline, autoimmune disease, osteoarthritis, and even infertility.
My personal belief is that the proliferation of these oils is largely responsible for the increased occurrence of chronic disease in our country, and my suggestion is to avoid them at all costs!
But this is tougher than it seems, as industrial seed oils are used in almost every processed or prepackaged food you can choose (just read the labels), in virtually all fast-food scenarios, and in many restaurants. The only way to avoid these oils is to eat a 100% whole foods diet, which frankly is what you should be aiming for anyway.
Healthy Alternatives to Industrial Seed Oils: Extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.
#2 – Packaged “Bread”
Whenever I get on my high horse about avoiding prepackaged, supermarket bread, I’m almost always met with eye rolls from my audience. After all, bread has been a staple of the human experience since our humble beginnings. How could it be so bad for us?
Well, the fact is that the bread made by our ancestors, and for that matter the bread still produced and consumed in some parts of the world, is quite healthy. That product usually consists of just four basic ingredients – flour, yeast, water, and salt. In modest quantities, our bodies are well equipped to digest bread effectively and derive from it good, useful energy.
But when you stroll down the “bread” isle of your local supermarket, what you are seeing is not bread in the classic sense. It is what the food industry refers to as “sandwich loaf”. It has been designed, via a combination of highly processed ingredients and chemical additives, to be sturdy enough to accept a spread of chilled peanut butter and jelly, yet pliable enough to absorb a bite without pushing its contents out the sides. It’s been designed to keep for up to 2 weeks after purchase, compared to real bread which goes stale after 24 hours. Sandwich loaf is engineered foodstuffs, not bread.
Sandwich loaf is bad for you, plain and simple. It will spike your blood sugar, increase your risk of type-2 diabetes, destroy your gut health, and provide nothing but empty calories.
And please don’t think opting for multigrain, whole grain or whole wheat varieties is tipping the scales in your favor in some way. Most of what you’ll find on supermarket shelves is just as bad for you as the plain white versions, sometimes worse. Just read the labels and you’ll see what I mean. Many of these supposedly healthier offerings no longer use yeast!
Many supermarkets these days offer fresh-baked breads, and these can be healthier choices than the prepackaged variety, but not always. Make it a point to read the ingredients, as these often come from mass-produced dough that is heavily engineered, as well.
Healthy Alternatives to Prepackaged Breads: Find a bakery that makes its breads from scratch or bake your own.
#3 – Diet Soft Drinks
If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably aware that sugary soft drinks are pretty darn bad for your health. But did you know that diet soft drinks might be even worse?
Many recent studies are now showing that drinks with artificial sweeteners can increase your desire for high-calorie foods and put you at risk for weight gain. In fact, one such study showed that diet soda drinkers had a higher body mass index (BMI) than their counterparts drinking regular soda.
Similarly, the artificial sweeteners in these products have been linked to serious health issues and can be toxic to the brain. Diet soda drinkers are more likely to have chronically high insulin levels, compromised gut microbiomes, weakened immune systems, and nearly double the risk of developing metabolic syndrome which increases risk of heart attack, stroke, and type-2 diabetes.
Don’t let the low-calorie content fool you. Diet sodas are very, very bad for you and have no place in a healthy person’s diet.
Healthy Alternatives to Diet Soft Drinks: Get your caffeine from coffee and your carbonation from seltzer water. Try flavoring water yourself by soaking lemons, cucumbers, or other fruits overnight. Coconut water is a very healthy alternative that contains necessary electrolytes and can make you feel better. I don’t like the taste, but lots of people do, and the gym crowd loves it as a pre-workout.
#4 – Low-Fat or Fat-Free Salad Dressings
Feeling good about that big salad you had for lunch? You know, the one you smothered in supposedly “healthier” low-fat or fat-free dressing?
Not so fast!
The proliferation of low-fat dressings is based on a fundamental assertion that fat is unequivocally bad for you, an assertion that has been largely overturned in recent years.
The fats in traditional salad dressings, particularly those with an olive oil base, can help your body absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K12 that are plentiful in many salads. They tend to be high in calories, and that should be a consideration, but they are not overall unhealthy.
Low-fat dressings, on the other hand, tend to be deceptively high in sugar, with high fructose corn syrup often the first ingredient, and contain all sorts of additives to give them the oily texture of traditional dressings. They are unhealthy enough to counteract the healthfulness of the salad you are eating, which is a darn shame for all those well-intentioned dieters out there.
And, while we’re on the topic of salad dressings, know that this is a frequent place for those industrial seed oils to hide. Read the labels, and you’ll see what I mean.
Healthy Alternatives to Low-fat or Fat-free Salad Dressings: Extra virgin olive-oil and balsamic vinegar, or recipes containing these two ingredients as a base.
#5 – Margarine
Margarine was invented in the late 1800’s by a French chemist. It was originally made from beef fat and was intended to be cheaper and less perishable than regular butter. As time went on, the beef fat was replaced by – you guessed it – vegetable oils, which were at the time considered healthier alternatives to butter, something we now know to be untrue.
Ultimately, margarine is unhealthy for the same reasons that industrial seed oils are unhealthy. It is made from heavily processed ingredients and heated to very high temperatures during the manufacturing process, which contributes to inflammation in the body and negatively impacts gut health.
Butter, on the other hand, is a simple food that requires no heavy processing and contains several important nutrients like Vitamin A, Vitamin K2, and other trace minerals. Yes, it is high in both saturated fat and calories, so it should be used sparingly, but it is not fundamentally unhealthy.
Healthy Alternatives to Margarine: Butter (particularly from grass-fed cows) or ghee (essentially butter without the milk fats)
#6 – Boxed Cereals
Packaged breakfast cereals represent one of the all-time American marketing successes, and it would be extremely rare for any adult in this country to have been raised on anything but this ubiquitous breakfast staple.
The original breakfast cereals from back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were developed as vegetarian options to the meat-dominated breakfast regime of most turn-of-the-century Americans. These whole-food cereals were quite different than what we find on supermarket shelves today and were generally quite healthy.
But over the years these products have evolved, and not in a good way. They are now heavily processed and designed to be more appealing to children. Often, their primary ingredients include highly refined grains, high-fructose corn syrup (sugar), food dyes, and – you guessed it – industrial seed oils.
Eating packaged cereal might be the worst way to start your day. It will spike your blood sugar, sap your energy, encourage inflammation throughout your body, destroy your gut health, and negatively impact your immune system.
Consider this. Last year, partly in response to the plethora of misleading information on breakfast cereal packaging, the FDA created a definition of the term “healthy” to which these products must comply for manufacturers to market themselves as such. As a result, the following cereals, previously considered healthy by many Americans, are no longer allowed to use the term “healthy” on their box covers or in any form of marketing: Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Cheerios, Mini-Wheats, Life, Wheaties, and Special K.
Sure, you can find some small-batch cereal options from lesser-known manufacturers that can be reasonably healthy alternatives, but I suggest you really do your homework on these and read the labels carefully.
Eating boxed cereal for breakfast is a big part of the reason why so many Americans are unhealthy. As convenient as these products might be, you need to stop eating them immediately and be a bit more thoughtful about what you prepare for breakfast.
Healthy Alternatives to Boxed Cereals – Oatmeal (only the right kind, see below), Yogurt with fruits and nuts (again, only the right kind, see below), veggie omelet (yes, eggs are healthy).
#7 – Instant Oatmeal
I happen to believe that oatmeal is a very healthy breakfast option, and it’s a staple in our household. But it is important to understand that oatmeal can range from very healthy to quite unhealthy based on the choices you make.
For instance, whole grain oats, when purchased in either steel cut or rolled (aka “old fashioned”) form, are a great source of soluble fiber, Vitamins B1, B2 and E, and have a relatively low glycemic index. This means they won’t spike your blood sugar, they’ll provide good steady energy for hours, and they can help guard against type-2 diabetes and some even some cancers.
However, quick-cooking and instant oats are more processed to help them cook quicker, and thus have a higher glycemic index, which will cause a sharp rise in blood sugar and trigger an unwanted chain of events throughout the body.
To make matters worse, many instant oats, particularly those packaged in single-use “just-add-water” packets, contain lots of added sugar and salt, rendering them virtually useless from a wellness standpoint.
Regardless, it’s extremely important to choose only organic oats. Standard oats (like the Quaker Oats brand with which we are all familiar) are harvested by spraying them with glyphosate, the cancer-causing compound found in Roundup weed killer. Organic oats (like the Bob’s Red Mill brand found in the health food aisle) are harvested mechanically and contain little or none of this dangerous compound.
I realize this may all seem confusing, but your takeaway should be to stay away from the instant variety of oatmeal, particularly from those convenient little flavored packets. They’re no healthier a breakfast option than the boxed cereals discussed above.
Healthy Alternative to Instant Oatmeal: Bob’s Red Mill brand steel cut or old-fashioned organic oats. They take a bit longer to cook than the instant variety, but they are orders of magnitude healthier. They also taste way better.
#8 – Mass-Marketed Yogurts
Yogurt is much like oatmeal in that it’s value as a healthy option depends entirely on which variety you choose.
At its core, yogurt is extremely healthy for you. It contains lots of protein, calcium, and many other nutrients, and supports a healthy gut flora which is super important for so many reasons. Yogurt can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes and can help you maintain proper weight and body composition.
Add some fruit and nuts and you’ve got an awesome breakfast combo or late-day snack.
But the unfortunate reality is that most people choose very unhealthy yogurt options. Many yogurt brands – most of which are household names – add so much sugar that they’re even worse than eating a piece of cake or slice of pie.
The “diet” versions aren’t much better. These are packed with artificial sweeteners that can mess up your microbiome and cause weight gain, much like we discussed in the “diet soft drink” section above.
If your yogurt selection comes from mass-marketed brands like Yoplait, Dannon, LaLa, Oui, and Chobani you need to pay very serious attention to the ingredients in those products, and in particular the amount of sugar they contain.
Yes, you surely feel less guilty about cracking open a single serving “fruit on the bottom” yogurt cup than you do eating a piece of apple pie but know that from a metabolic standpoint your body really can’t tell the difference.
Healthy Alternatives to Sweetened Yogurts – Please eat yogurt, it’s very good for you. But choose options with no sugar added and no artificial sweeteners, which will push you away from the mass-marketed brands. Greek yogurt has more protein than regular yogurt, but less calcium, and both are good options. You can control the sweetness yourself by adding your own fruit and nuts, or maybe even a small amount of local honey.
#9 – Fruit Juices, especially Orange Juice
As we scarfed down our previously-thought-to-be-healthy breakfast cereal, what did we accompany that with? Was it a nice, cold, tall glass of OJ? I bet it was!
Little did we know that this combination of highly refined grains, added sugars, and super-sweet fruit juice was sending our bodies into a state of complete panic and self-preservation. Every morning, while we were still sitting at the breakfast table casually perusing the morning paper, our bodies were fervently secreting unnatural amounts of insulin to counteract this sugar overload. This caused our artery walls to become inflamed and grow thicker and less supple over time, placing undue stress on our heart and causing irreversible damage, a condition now broadly referred to as heart disease.
Additionally, our bodies were slowly but surely becoming resistant to the insulin, a condition that eventually leads to type-2 diabetes.
There you go! Wondering why so many Americans are dealing with heart disease and diabetes? Look no further than the traditional American breakfast, thought by generations to be a healthy way to start their day.
So back to fruit juices in general, and orange juice in particular.
The primary thing you need to understand about drinking fruit juice is that it’s NOT the same as eating whole fruit. Not even close.
During the juicing process, most of the fiber found in the original fruit is lost and the sugars become concentrated. In fact, a cup of orange juice contains about 23 grams of sugar, which is pretty darn close to what the American Heart Association recommends we ingest in an entire day. So, a single 8-ounce glass of OJ is, by itself, a full day’s allotment of sugar. Pour a second glass and its game over for your body.
Yes, there are beneficial nutrients in fruit juices, but those are not worth damaging your body over. If a half-gallon of orange juice typically occupies space on the door shelf of your fridge, I’d suggest changing that habit immediately.
Healthy Alternatives to Fruit Juices: I’d recommend you stop consuming calories from fluids. Stick to lemon or cucumber-infused water, simple coffee, or tea.
#10 – Sports Drinks
Today, pretty much everyone knows the benefits of staying well-hydrated when working out, but when the first sports drink – Gatorade – came on the scene in 1965 at the University of Florida, it was literally a game changer.
Since then, sports drinks have become a multi-billion-dollar industry, and their popularity is increasing, particularly among children and young adults.
For athletes, the ability to quickly replenish both fluids and electrolytes is often beneficial, as is the caffeine boost that accompanies many of these drinks.
But there’s a serious downside to sports drinks, and that is that they are often loaded with sugars, artificial sweeteners, and food dyes. They are empty calories, plain and simple, and provide almost no nutritional value.
This can really be a problem for kids and teenagers who are heavily influenced by athletes who are getting paid enormous sponsorship dollars to peddle influence. If your kids are really exerting themselves and could use a little refresh from time-to-time, that’s fine. But if they’re drinking sports drinks to satisfy a sugar or caffeine craving, then it’s your job to recognize and correct that.
Adults may find sports drinks beneficial during workouts but understand that these aren’t biologically necessary unless you’re working out at a modest intensity for 45 minutes or more.
Healthy Alternatives to Sports Drinks: Add an electrolyte packet to plain water (I prefer Propel brand, but there are plenty of others) or coconut water, which naturally contains beneficial minerals and electrolytes. Gym rats like to add a pinch of salt to their coconut water for perfect hydration during hard workouts.
#11 – Fiber and Energy bars
I’ll keep this one short and “sweet”, because the healthfulness of these products has everything to do with their sweetness.
On one hand, fiber and energy bars can be a wise choice for a snack or mini meal if they offer a healthy dose of protein and fiber and are low in sugars and saturated fat. In fact, the gym crowd swears by their “protein bars”, which for purposes of this discussion can be considered a subset of these products, but only if they are very low in sugar and carbohydrates.
On the other hand, most of what you’ll see on supermarket shelves and vending machines is quite unhealthy, sometimes dreadfully so. That’s because they typically contain lots of added sugar, artificial additives, and – here it is again – industrial seed oil.
As one might expect, some of the unhealthiest snack bar brands are also the most popular, and include Nutri-Grain, Clif Bar, Quaker Chewy, Kashi, and Fiber One.
If you must occasionally eat a fiber or energy bar, choose one that contains only natural ingredients that you recognize – nuts, honey, dried fruit and the like – and contains little or no added sugars.
Healthy Alternatives to Fiber and Energy Bars: In terms of a healthy between-meals snack, there are way better options out there than any prepackaged bar. But, if necessary, the RXBAR is probably the least egregious of all the commonly available brands, as it contains only egg whites almonds, cashews and dates.
#12 – Lunch Meat
The fact that many folks still believe that cold cuts are a reasonably healthy lunch option is crazy to me, but it’s nonetheless true.
Sure, they do contain some protein, but the health benefits stop there.
Lunch meat is extremely high in sodium, and a typical lunchmeat sandwich exceeds the American Heart Association daily allowance. They’re also high in saturated fat and contain numerous compounds that can be damaging to your heart over time.
Most cold cuts are considered processed meats, which the World Health Organization (WHO) now classifies as “carcinogenic to humans”. Additionally, these foods almost always contain nitrates, which produce carcinogenic compounds in the body and are more and more being linked to some cancers.
Lunch meat is bad for you, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Combine it with the typical prepackaged bread and an oily spread like mayonnaise, and it becomes disastrous for your body.
Healthy Alternatives to Lunch Meat: Purchase unprocessed meats like chicken, turkey, tuna, or salmon. Try a hummus spread instead of mayo.
#13 – Fake Meat
This one is guaranteed to be controversial, but there’s a reason that Beyond Meat is always on sale at your local supermarket!
The truth is that most fake meat does not have good nutritional value, and despite heavy marketing and even political efforts to the contrary, people are starting to wake up and notice this.
For example, the Beyond Meat burger offers almost no vitamins and minerals, while the nutrients in the Impossible burger are synthetic. These products contain a variety of additives that contribute to high blood sugar, have a base made from GMO corn that can cause leaky gut and immune dysfunction, use gluten as a binding agent which destroys the gut of so many of us, contain way too much soy, which is a top food allergen and can disrupt hormones and suppress thyroid function, and are loaded with – here it is one more time – industrial seed oils. There’s nothing good about these products. Nothing at all.
Now, I do realize that many folks approach the decision of real vs. fake meat from more of an ethical perspective, and this is totally fine, admirable even. For those in this camp, I suggest you consider building your meat alternatives from a whole-foods, vegetable-based ingredients. My family has experimented with many such recipes, and they can be delicious alternatives to a beef or turkey-based burger.
Healthy Alternatives to Fake Meat Products: Homemade veggie-based burgers, such as a black bean burger.
#14 – Applesauce (some)
In its most natural form containing nothing more than apples, water and cinnamon, applesauce is quite healthy when eaten in modest quantities. However, most store-bought applesauce contains additional ingredients that can detract from its healthfulness, most notably added sugars.
In fact, a single 1-cup serving of applesauce may contain up to 50 grams of sugar, some of which is naturally occurring from the apples, and some of which is added.
When it comes to the foods we eat, sugar hides in unexpected places, and store-bought applesauce is one of them.
Healthy Alternatives to Applesauce with Added Sugars: Choose varieties with no added sugar. It’s as simple as that.
#15 – Peanut Butter (most)
Peanut butter is one of the world’s most popular spreads, and in its most basic form (ground peanuts) is unprocessed and healthy, save for anyone with a peanut allergy.
However, most store-bought brands have added sugar and – yes, this sounds like a broken record – industrial seed oils. These additions can turn an otherwise healthy spread into something you should avoid.
Healthy Alternatives to Most Store-Bought Peanut Butter: Choose varieties containing only peanuts and maybe a bit of salt. That’s it!
