“Health from Food” Series | Four dangerous “healthy foods”, have you fallen for them?

Nowadays, people are pursuing health, whether in diet, life or travel. Therefore, all kinds of food in shopping malls are "green and healthy", which makes consumers dazzled. But are the so-called "healthy foods" really healthy? The following 4 kinds of food with "healthy" appearance taste good, but they are really not healthy at all.

1. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables

The ingredient list of most fruit and vegetable chips on the market can be summarized in this format: vegetable oil + vegetables or fruits + sugar (maltose syrup, maltodextrin) + salt, among which vegetable oil is mostly ranked second in the ingredient list. There are many ways to make "dehydrated fruits and vegetables", such as shade drying, sun drying, low-temperature freeze drying and dehydration, and deep-frying and dehydration. No matter which processing method is used, nutrients will be lost, and oil will be added during the processing, and its calories are not low. Most of the common comprehensive dried fruits and vegetables we see are actually low-temperature fried products, that is, the crispy taste of dried fruits and vegetables comes from frying. It contains extremely high calories. If consumed in excess, it is easy to cause obesity and other physical discomfort. During the frying process, the nutrients in the vegetables will also be lost, reducing their nutritional value. Long-term consumption of dried fruits and vegetables can also cause malnutrition and easy to get angry.

2. Delicious "trap" salted nuts

Nuts are rich in dietary fiber, minerals and other nutrients, which can provide a strong sense of fullness and are very good snacks. However, many nuts in supermarkets are covered with a layer of outer coating. First, too much salt is not good for controlling blood pressure, and second, many salt-baked nuts are fried foods. Many nuts on the market are fried. The saturated fat added and the trans fat produced during the frying process completely offset the health effects of nuts. It is not advisable to wrap the kernels in thick sugar and amber-baked nuts, which makes healthy nuts fall into the unhealthy trap of added sugar. Most nuts are also salt-baked. Salt will make people eat more and more, and it will cause edema. Long-term high salt intake will also cause high blood pressure.

3. Whole grain biscuits

Whole grain biscuits are biscuits made with whole grains as the main raw material. Whole grain biscuits in supermarkets are known as one of the healthiest foods. When there is a large amount of dietary fiber, the taste of this type of whole grain biscuits is not very good. In order to cater to the taste of consumers and increase sales, merchants will add more fat and sugar. This is not a healthy food, but a veritable high-oil and high-sugar food. Some whole grain biscuits add a lot of vegetable oil and added sugar, which not only loses the original healthy properties of whole grains, but also makes you fatter and fatter. Refined grains have a higher glycemic index than whole grains, which means that the same amount of whole grains and refined grains, refined grains are more likely to make people obese. For people who want to control their weight, eating fake whole grain biscuits frequently will not only fail to reduce fat, but will be counterproductive, and may even cause various diseases. Over time, the body will have various problems, lack of other nutrients, leading to malnutrition, and will also affect the growth and development of children.

4. Lactic acid bacteria beverage

In order to increase the healthiness of their products and attract consumers, merchants put the words "zero fat" in advertisements and packaging. The World Health Organization recommends that the daily sugar intake per person should be controlled within 25 grams and not exceed 50 grams. However, some lactic acid bacteria drinks contain nearly 50 grams of sugar. Many lactic acid bacteria drinks on the market are under the banner of being good for the intestines. Consumers see the label: "Rich in 10 billion active lactic acid bacteria" and rush home to buy them. In fact, the effect of lactic acid bacteria drinks on the intestines is very limited. Usually, the lactic acid bacteria drinks we see on the market have water, fructose syrup and white sugar ranked first in the ingredient list. Compared with yogurt, the protein and calcium content of lactic acid bacteria drinks is significantly lower. Secondly, for flavoring, more sugar is often added to lactic acid bacteria drinks. A survey shows that the sugar content of various brands of lactic acid bacteria drinks on the market is even higher than that of cola!

Many young people tend to ignore the importance of diet to health. They prefer to choose convenient and fast food such as takeout or processed food as their daily diet instead of choosing to cook by themselves or choose healthy food. However, this bad eating habit may lead to health problems. In order to improve this situation, we should strive to convey the concept of healthy diet to young people and choose healthier food and eating methods.

Author: Zhao Zixian and Lei Zhiyuan from Luoyang Normal University

Review expert: Ren Yongqiang, professor/chief physician of the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology