The surprising truth revealed: 5 junk foods disguised as healthy snacks

November 3, 11:34 PMFitness ExaminerStefan Pinto

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When you think junk food, what comes to mind? McDonald’s and Pop Tarts? Try again. Granola, yogurt, protein bars and juices are everyday foods we associate with health, diet and weight loss, but lurking under the wrapper is excessive sugar content, saturated fats and mysterious ingredients with little or no nutritional value — collectively making up what is commonly referred to as “junk food.” The ten common offenders:

1. Granola bars

Oligofructose, sorbitan, monosterate, polysorbate 60, sodium caseinate, FD&C Red 40, dextrose, lactate pentahydrate. And now, the ingredients you’ve heard of: High Fructose Corn Syrup, High Maltose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Oil, Aspartame… granola used to be a mixture of whole grain oats, nuts, honey and fruit. Stay away from this all-too-convenient egregiously labeled healthy snack. Tip, if it says “fortified” or “enriched” on the label, it’s probably junk. A Kellogg’s Nutrigrain, Strawberry Cereal Bar contains 12g of sugar (that’s more than half the content of the entire bar).

2. Frozen Yogurt

Yogurt is considered a relatively healthy food due to the live cultures that make up the content; live cultures promote and maintain digestive health. However convenience and pleasure can sometimes hurt us. Lurking in frozen yogurt are chemicals, added sugar, artificial sweeteners and fake flavoring. FYI: according to CalorieCount.com a half-cup of frozen yogurt at TCBY (and it’s fat free): can contain 120 calories, two grams of fat, and 20 grams of sugar, making the only thing frozen yogurt has in common with real yogurt is “Y”

3. Fruit Juice

Juice labeled as a percentage of “natural fruit juice” contains high-fructose corn syrup, and to think kids are chugging juice instead of water. The website for The Juice Products Association, an industry lobbying group, tells us that “Drinking 100% Fruit Juice is Associated with Lower Risk of Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome.” The findings were based on research presented at recent Experimental Biology meeting. It should be noted that all exhibitors and scientists presenting at these EB meetings are represented by a sponsor. Incidentally, The Juice Products Association is funded by Tropicana and Coca-Cola.

4. California Roll

Eating fish is healthy! Omegas, iron, zinc, iodine, protein. Best of all, it’s raw, from Japan! See, the fact is, California roll isn’t from Japan, it’s from California, and the whole raw fish thing? Well, it’s cooked. And it’s artificial crab meat. There is nothing healthy about this food. Aside from the avocado, negated by the fattening sauce. Stay away from this nonsense food.

5. Protein bars

Packed with sugar and hundreds of calories, some worse than a candy bar, many protein bars could very well negate your workout. According to diet.com, a Balance Gold Chewy Chocolate Chip bar has 210 calories, 63 of those are fat calories and hardly any fiber, calling it “not a wise choice.” You should always read the labels on a protein bar carefully. Because it contains protein in the name, doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Check out the Pure Bar, my pick for the best protein and energy bar.