The supermarket or grocery store tempts us constantly with its aisles and its pretty-colored items, with fun labels. But a lot of the mass-produced foods aren’t very good for you. In fact, they might be very very bad for your overall health. These are the foods you should avoid buying at the store.
If nutrition and a healthy lifestyle are what you’re looking for when getting your groceries, then there are some foods you should avoid buying. And you should also substitute them with something healthier. Some of them are actually advertised as healthy and full of vitamins. But it’s best to stay away from them. Your family will be better for it.
Of course, if there are some things you really love, you can have a cheat day every two weeks or sometimes every week, where you taste them. If you don’t have them constantly, they’re not that bad for you. Only continuous consumption can turn them into unhealthy bombs.
5 foods you should avoid buying periodically
1. Vitamin water
From the name, it sounds like something really healthy. How can something made up of water and vitamins hurt you physically? Well, vitamins like A, D, E and K need to be consumed with healthy fat (a healthy type!) in order to be properly absorbed by your body. And water isn’t fat! Other than that, drinks that boast a high content of vitamins also have some bad sugars in them, to make the drink taste better.
2. Orange juice
Yes, oranges are healthy for you and have so much vitamin C in them! But you can’t say the same for orange juice. None of the brands you can buy in the market are actually made 100 percent from oranges. Even if some of them claim so on the label! Most of the nutrients in OJ are lost during the processing and packaging of the juice. The fruit is processed, pasteurized, and kept in holding tanks for months, during which it loses all of the nutrients and taste. For the latter part, producers make up by adding too much sugar. Way too much.
3. Vanilla extract
How many times have you used that tiny vanilla extract vial to flavor your pancakes, waffles, or muffins? For me, it was more times than I could count. And it turns out that the vanilla extract isn’t exactly that, but a fake. The process of growing vanilla beans is expensive, which means that the vanillin in the extract you buy at the store can be extracted from things like coal and wood. Do you really want to put that in your baked goods? I think not!
4. Salads in bags
This hurt me personally because I used to buy salads in sealed bags from the grocery store constantly. Four, maybe five times a week. After a long day at work, all I needed was to buy that bag, toss the veggies in a bowl, add some olive oil and have my dinner in peace, without too much effort. Unfortunately, these ready-made salads are really unhealthy. For one, they expose you to the risk of getting sick with salmonella and listeria. British scientists found a lot of bacteria in bagged salads. Somebody actually found a dead bat in a bag!
Washing the leaves lowers the risk a little, but not completely. It’s best to stick to making your own salad with the ingredients you bought yourself.
5. Powdered coffee creamer
This one is very rich in trans fats, the worst kind of fats we know of. So far. But it also has a high content of corn syrup and vegetable oils, which help extend the life of the coffee creamer. So, they last longer but are damaging to your health. Is that the kind of deal you want to make with the devil? If you’re not lactose intolerant, just stick with milk. It’s by far a healthier option.
