FAT AND SUGAR FREE FOODS? BE CAREFUL!

You are health conscious, you work out, try to lead a healthy life and you are very careful about what you eat. You know the consequences of too much fat and sugar in your diet; hence you are always careful to buy only foods that are labeled “fat free” and “sugar free”. You go home feeling happy that you are making healthy choices.

If the above description sounds anything like you then I have some bad news for you, you have been unknowingly sabotaging your efforts to stay fit and healthy! How you ask? Well the culprits are all that fat and sugar free food you have been consuming. First of all know this, fat and sugar occurs naturally and not all fats or sugars are bad, it’s in the nature of the fat and sugar as well as the quantity you are consuming.

Fat of the right nature and quantity is good for you, i.e . Omega 3 fatty acids are an example, as well as naturally occurring sugars such as fructose in fruits. What you have to be careful about is the quantity you are consuming to avoid unnecessary weight gain.

Fat and sugar free foods on the other hand, can be very detrimental to your health. Don’t be deceived by smart marketing techniques and clever labels employed by food companies to hide the truth! Good marketing can make products seem fat loss friendly while they do the complete opposite. Companies meanwhile are only there to make money; your health comes a distant second.

So don’t be fooled, the following are common foods we all loved, disguised as healthy but are really not. Read through and know the truth and it shall set you free!

Thanks and have a great weekend!

FAT FREE YOGURT:

People new to dieting see these products in the supermarket and rush to stock up on it, after all yogurt is good for weight loss so fat free yogurt must be twice as nice, right? Well wrong actually, the problem with fat free yogurt is that it is not sugar free. This is because once the fat is taken out the yogurt does not taste nice any more so a lot of producers will load it with sugar to make up for the loss of taste. Furthermore some of these fat free yogurts are made with thickening agents and these unnatural additives are no good for your health. So please avoid fat free yogurt like the plague!

DIET SODA:

Diet soda like COKE ZERO and the likes are calorie free, so many weight conscious people flock to them as a sugar free replacement for regular soft drinks, I should know cause I used to be one of them! Although there aren’t any calories, diet drinks are loaded with many unpleasant chemicals to make up for the lack of sugar. Examples of chemicals found in them include aspartame and the likes, their side effects include bloating and headaches. Research has even found that they may increase your risk for heart disease and other health problems. If you regularly drink diet soda, you may often find that you have a strong craving for sweet food. If you crave sweet food all day, then eating healthy is going to be a major problem!

LOW FAT ICE CREAM:

Low fat ice cream has similar issues to low fat yogurt, yes there is less fat, but that usually means there is more sugar in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (flee when you read HFCS on any label!) HFCS is one of the leading causes of obesity; if you can remove it from your diet forever you will be doing yourself a world of good.

SUGAR FREE CHOCOLATE:

This is just like eating your cake and having it, virtually impossible!  It still contains plenty of sugar alcohols and for some people can cause digestive issues such as gas, bloating, constipation and running stomach! Also remember, just because its sugar free does not mean it doesn’t contain calories and fat, so please eat in moderation.

FRUIT DRINKS:

When you read “made with real fruit” on the label, be very careful. Truly there might be a minute quantity of fruit in the junk they are trying to make you buy, but if you read the label, you will find out that you are probably just drinking sugar, HFCS (remember?), or flavour enhancing chemical additives. Let me give you another reason to avoid packaged fruit drinks, they are notoriously high in calories. Drinking them is not going to help your weight loss program one bit, they may sprinkle some vitamin C in it for you, but that’s about all the benefit you get from fruits drinks, so please just say no my friend!

AND FINALLY:

In conclusion, far as good nutrition goes if you want to eat healthy, just the real thing. By that I mean eat whole foods, but eat in moderation. If you want fruit, don’t drink juice eat an apple or an orange instead. Natural foods are the best and when you eat foods closer to their natural state, you don’t have to worry about harmful chemical additives and what they might do to your body. So please always read the labels, and if the ingredients are up to twenty and you can’t pronounce most of them; run for your life!

Have a great weekend!