Things disguised as healthy...

[marshmallowmamma]

A light hearted post but what are some things that are portrayed as healthy but aren't really ? My list is as follows...

Flavoured water
Most yoghurts
Yoghurt coated raisins
Most cereals
Fruit juices

Obviously we need to live a little but give us some that yiu think are purely just marketed to reel us in

You would think. but I have worked with plenty of people who will happily munch through loads of biscuits because they are 'low fat' who will eat a salad but dump half a cup of mayo on it. who knock back smoothies and protein cookies/bars as a snack and never once actually look at nutritional/calorie content, just see the marketing. They were in healthcare too.

What's unhealthy is the demonising of food and ascribing moral values to it as good or bad.

Black pudding

Dried fruit.

Black pudding is seen as healthy, really? Don't get me wrong I love it, especially fried in butter with egg and bit of white pepper but I wouldn't consider it particularly healthy food, just yummy :)

I'm feeling hungry now 😁

Who thinks black pudding is healthy??

This in spades - food is not the enemy - disordered thinking about food is not healthy either!

and type 2 diabetes is not caused by wholemeal bread!

100%

I agree with you @shumway but there are lots of things pushed aside “healthy” which trick people.

Butter in coffee is a current example.

And people often tell me they’ve “just “ had a “healthy’ salad, or sandwich, but it’s laden with mayo. Nothing wrong with having mayo, obviously, but it’s a skewed view.

Ditto the just leaves salad.

Yep I don't get this one. Wraps are surprisingly high in calories, not to mention salt.

I cannot believe anyone regards the majority of the foods on this list as healthy.

Oats, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, whole vegetables, whole fruit, dried pulses, meat (from the butcher's, fish (from the fishmonger), quality oils, Greek yogurt, sheep's or goats cheese, full fat organic milk if you can tolerate dairy, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate for a treat, herbs and spices... Forget the rest.

People are massively sucked in by marketing. There’s a ‘skinny’ choc spread that’s same cals as nutella, people are disbelieving when you point it out. Plus tricks like showing cals per 5g (who has 5g) or for half a bar but protein listed is for full bar.

Low fat/high sweenter yougurts - they seem to kick of the sweet cravings in me.

Slimming world used to love them.

Its all marketing.

I had a friend who used to get borderline angry at me because she didn't understand why I was losing weight while eating chocolate or crisps.

Most things labelled as healthy are full of sugar but low in fat. Cereal bars are one of the worst, go ahead biscuits have more sugar in them than some basic brand biscuits, putting chocolate on a rice cake kind of makes it unhealthy 🤣.

so many people believe smoothies are healthy yet they are packed with sugar.

The thing Dr Chris off of operation ouch did on ultra processed foods is a real eye opener - he said you can usually tell ultra processed foods as they claim some kind of health benefit on the packet.

God, some of the total bollocks on this thread 🙄

Writing off "yoghurt" full stop. Live unsweetened yoghurt and kefir have huge nutritional benefits.

The way some people are going on, you'd think fruit was the devil's work, sent to tempt us.

Just practise moderation and self control, medical conditions aside.

Do you have an eating disorder, OP? This thread is so, so unhealthy.

Açaí bowls
Anything Gluten free , unless you are celiac ,
protein bars,
veggie crisps

How is it unhealthy? The foods people have listed are mostly ones people wrongly assume are healthy and that people eat assuming they are despite not actually liking them much. If people understood nutrition better they'd make different decisions I'm sure and probably eat things they actually like more!

Anything called low fat is generally a chemical shitstorm and best avoided. As with anything smoothies are fine in a reasonable quantity- and natural yoghurt is fine as doesn't have anything added to alter the taste.

I think there is a genuine problem with big food companies manufacturing highly processed (and profitable!) food and marketing it as "healthy". It's often aimed at busy parents anxious to feed their kids well, or people stressed about their weight. And it's often pretty expensive, too. Take Yoyo Bears as an example; they claim to be "one of your five a day!" "Pure fruit!" It'd be cheaper, and perfectly fine, for a child to have an apple and a biscuit.

Do you have an eating disorder, OP? This thread is so, so unhealthy

I don't agree. This is one of the more sensible, balanced food threads I have seen on Mumsnet. Lots of people saying that portion control is important and that you can eat a range of things in moderation.

And yes, people drawing are attention to the fact that many products marketed as healthy are anything but. I think that is important. These companies are taking the piss with these products - pushing them as healthy, charging a premium and they are often full of utter junk.

I think it's important for people to know that dried fruits in particular are very bad for dental health, as are smoothies and fruit juice consumed in large quantities. Most people know that sweets and chocolate are bad for teeth, but many people have swapped them for excessive amounts of fruit, smoothies etc and are then surprised when their teeth continue to decay.

This is an informative thread, not a competitive-undereating thread which we see far too often on Mumsnet.

@ColdColdColdColdCold no I don't

I've just had some with my greek salad for lunch, (and a bit of salad dressing) 😂
Being a MN salad, this will keep me going through this afternoon until Friday. 😉

Low sugar, a bit of fibre from the oats/pearl barley, high protien, iron. Sensible component in a varied diet. I'm on a 5:2 day so needed filling on a limited amount of energy/ calories.

It's not marketed as healthy, but it's more nutritious than many other popular fast day choices such as 10 calorie jellies and mug shot type foods.

Keep it varied and portions sensible.
(And why am I 5:2ing? Because due to injury my calories in/ out are out of balance and I'm adjusting before I'm officially overweight, and have reached the age where a bit of concious management is necessary).

so many people believe smoothies are healthy yet they are packed with sugar.

A smoothie has the same amount of sugar as whatever i put in it.