actually means anything, we count 15 food marketed as healthy when that simply isn't

true 15 - Cereal,

• Most people on this Earth always start their breakfast off with cereal, and even

though most proclaim it's the best way to start your day - that's simply not true

• Obviously the sugary cereal aimed at kids is generally unhealthy, but even the healthy-branded

ones like Raisin Bran and Honey Flakes contain an equal amount of sugar since the manufacturers

destroy the original vitamins and minerals to add their own preservatives

• Even when you find a brand of cereal that retains as much of their original ingredients

as possible - the reality is you're still much better off with whole foods for breakfast

14 - Multigrain and Wheat Breads, • People generally know that white bread

isn't the healthiest thing in the world, but fewer realise that the supposed "healthy"

alternatives aren't that much better • Whole wheat bread is good for you, but

the ones you'll find on the shelf at your supermarket are hardly ever whole wheat - they're

generally made of enriched flour which are the same ones that have had their nutrients

stripped during processing • Your risk of blood sugar problems, diabetes

and heart disease may rise unless you incorporate more whole grains in your diet, while also

helping you maintain a healthy weight 13 - Reduced Fat Peanut Butter,

• This is a classic marketing trick - to pretend like there's a healthy alternative

to a product considered fatty by removing the fat and replacing it with things just

as unhealthy • If you get a topping with reduced fat,

it just means they've added in sugar and fillings to retain most of the taste while retaining

all the calories • Even though checking the dietary information

on the back is a confusing, indecipherable mess - you're better off checking it to make

sure you know what you're putting in your body than get a slightly worse tasting product

for absolutely no reason 12 - Muffins,

• Many consider these a nice bread-like snack, blueberry and bran flavoured ones providing

as much nutrition as fruit • In reality, muffins, no matter what style

or flavour, are miniature cakes loaded with calorie, unhealthy fats, sugars and the same

nutritionless refined flour found in some supermarket bread

• If you feel like buying muffins next time you're at the market, consider sharing one

with a friend or even make your own at home but load them up fresh, healthy ingredients

11 - Trail Mix, • Certain nuts and seeds are actually very

good for you, and you can even get ones that include dark chocolate and dried apricots

still just as healthy, but trail mix is not that

• Most supermarket versions come with candy pieces, yogurt chunks and deep friend fruit

pieces - all loaded with calories, sugars, trans fat and refined carbs

• From just a couple of handfuls of trail mix, you're getting almost a third of your

daily calorie intake along with all kinds of salted nonsense - if you're looking for

a quick snack, consider more basic nut and seed varieties

10 - Sport Drinks, • If it isn't already obvious, this product

is aimed at athletes and olympians, those who push their bodies beyond breaking point

- it wasn't aimed at guys who do 5 sit-ups and call it a day

• These drinks contain heavy salts and liquid sugar, and while they're generally considered

slightly less unhealthy than soft drinks, there really isn't much difference - electrolytes

will help you regain lost salts in your body, but most people don't need this

• Something you should consider is, if you're sweating all the water from your body, maybe

you should try drinking, I don't know, water 9 - Pre-made Salads,

• It's amazing what some salads can get away with, to the point where they end up

with more calories than the meatiest, heart-attack inducing fast food hamburger on this planet

• There are those that have some lettuce covered in ham, turkey, cheese, bacon, fried

chicken and drenched in mayo claiming itself to be a salad in the longest word-stretching

technicality ever • Most restaurants aren't guilty of this

if they prepare the salads fresh, and you can easily prepare a salad at home yourself,

add in a little tasty meat without going crazy and all the salads you feel like eating

8 - Fish, • As unbelievable as it sounds, there are

a couple of reasons fish contain all sorts of harmful toxins and actually have a slight

risk of ending your life • Farmed fish, unlike those caught wild

and fresh, are kept in horrifyingly bad conditions and prone to disease and parasites - farmers

combat this by pumping them full of antibiotics and chemicals, then feed them gluten, soy

and junk grain meals until they end up dead and on your plate

• Fish also naturally contain mercury known as one of the most toxic elements in the world

- but luckily not a huge amount, though if you're getting mercury from other methods

then you'll end up dead a lot faster - all because you can't get enough of those prawns

7 - Fruit Juice, • This one is mixed, because while it does

contain some nutritious fruit vitamins - the amount of empty calories and sugar it contains

just outright destroys all the benefits • Even if you were to drink cans of coke

day after day, you wouldn't be filling your body with anywhere near the amount of calories,

carbs and grams of sugar found in fruit juice • Not even all-natural preservative free

juice can escape the downsides - those make up for the lack of calories and sugar by loading

it with high fructose corn syrup and additives 6 - Pretzels,

• Now, not all pretzels are bad - you can actually get whole wheat ones that contain

a good deal of fiber, and especially when mixed with protein from cheese or peanut butter

• Pretzels are better for you than potato chips, but don't be fooled - they don't give

your body anything but empty calories - so no vitamins, fiber, minerals or protein to

speak of • And if you're eating salted pretzels you

might aswell be injecting salt directly into your bloodstream - you get almost half your

recommended daily intake from one small packet 5 - Energy Bar,

• Like with energy drinks, you're obviously only supposed to eat these if you're into

heavy workouts, especially if they contain a huge amount of protein

• But most energy bars are souped up candy bars - they contain an equal amount of calories,

fats, sugar and oil, just as bad for you • Energy bars are meant to be effectively

meal replacements so your body has something to draw on when it gets exhausted, so if you

are planning to eat these, stick with ones that have a low sugar and carb reading, as

make sure they pack on the protein 4 - Margarine,

• Many don't understand the difference between butter and margarine, and since butter got

a bad rap back in the day because of the high saturated fat content, most stick with margarine

• But here's a news flash: margarine isn't real food, it's a Frankenstein creation of

chemicals and oils made to look and taste like butter - studies have shown you're more

likely to get a heart attack from eating toast with margarine than you do with butter

• Real butter, preferably grass-fed is the way to go - just read the information on the

back of the product and make sure it isn't processed

3 - Dried Fruit, • This one sounds amazing because, well,

it's fruit - fruit is supposed to be healthy, but there's something very basic that should

be understood • If you're going to have a fresh product

sit on the shelf for weeks on end, you're gonna need to add something that will keep

it from spoiling, hence preservatives, the most common item found in any supermarket

and one of the worst for your body • Dried fruit is loaded with sugar and sulfar

to keep them going, which jacks up their calorie count to insane degrees - a few banana chips

can give you over a hundred calories all at once

2 - Subway, • We all remember the marketing campaigns,

how they make the food right in front of you, that guy who lost a bajillion pounds by eating

nothing but subway • And to a degree it is true - the food

is fresher than most other fast food restaurants, but you have to understand: healthy food depends

on your point of view • The meat is processed, everything is filled

with preservatives the sauces riddled with sugar, the extras like cookies and soft drinks

essentially junk food bundled with the sandwiches • You might aswell go to McDonalds and order

a prepackaged salad alongside your big mac - that's pretty much what you're doing with

Subway 1 - Fruit Yogurt

• Even low and fat-free yoghurts can't escape the reality that in order to retain anything

resembling taste, it needs to be drenched in corn syrup, starch and sugar

• Some include artificial sweeteners which, if you're diabetic, might set you off and

spike up your insulin • If you do get a yoghurt though, and believe

me you could do much worse for a snack, don't get ones with fruit chunks - they generally

contain sugar and preservatives - just add your own fresh fruit to a vanilla flavour