As more and more of the population becomes health conscious, it is important I feel to continue expanding one’s ideas of what “healthy” really means.
As a society we have become very accustomed to accepting many things as being “healthy” which from a nutritionally scientific standpoint just aren’t. What do I mean by that?
While you will not die, or get an immediate disease from such foods, they are not helpful in aiding the body to function optimally and over the course of your life lead to various damage. Sure we can continue to get by on statements like, “but it is just from time to time” or “it is okay in moderation“, but this is not conducive for optimal health, wellness and longevity. And while these things may seem to be worth it in the moment, they will not seem like that if you fast forward to the future where they may have lead to a serious disease.
The American Dietetic Association has stated in the past, and as far as I know still stands by the statement today:
“There are no bad foods. All foods, in moderation, can fit into a good diet.”
This statement has confused many over the years, to say the least, not to mention completely thrown many people off track from leading a truly healthy lifestyle. And I am sure it did not help matters where the current obesity situation stands.
This statement greatly diverts attention away from the central truths that 1) certain foods diminish the optimal functioning of our systems, no matter in what amounts and 2) by eating “bad” foods, one does not have enough room for the good foods. Consider this example: if I am eating french fries, a hamburger and a soft drink for lunch, do you think I really have enough room for a big plate of the stuff I really need like vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruits, etc.? The answer is no.
That is why in this ongoing quest to educate more people on what healthy really means and what foods to take seriously for good health, never mind optimal health, I will be featuring certain foods in this new series called “Foods That Seem Healthy, But Aren’t“. There will not be a specific amount of parts to this series, as it will be done on an ongoing basis. Every so often I will feature several foods that may seem healthy, or that we have accepted as healthy, but ones that really aren’t.
1. Granola Bars
I hope you are not too shocked by this one. But at the same time, as an avid granola bar eater in the past who thought she was “healthy”, I would not be surprised if you were.
During the past decade, granola bar sales have skyrocketed to make it a multi-million dollar industry. Too many people made them their substitute for chocolate bars, proper breakfasts and the ideal school snack. Thus today, we have granola bars with fruits, with chocolate, in chocolate, with yogurt, various grains, peanut butters and you name it!
The truth is granola bars are loaded with sugars. Be it natural, artificial or organic – they all still contain not just one, but numerous sweeteners. Check out a wrapper of your favorite granola bar and you are sure to find the typical sucrose, glucose-fructose, corn syrup and if it is from a health food store cane juice, rice syrup and the like.
Secondly, they are highly processed! Don’t kid yourself that the granola bar that has apple pieces or cranberries in it is healthy. After the company has finished with them, those fruits are next to worthless, nutritionally speaking.
Thirdly, they have sodium – yes salt and lots of it! I know, I know, you would not expect that from a “sweet” food, but don’t be fooled. Check out your labels and if the sodium is more than the amount of calories per serving, you’ve got yourself a high sodium food.
And let’s not even go to the ones with chocolate and/or yogurt. Have you ever seen how much fat, but especially saturated and even possibly trans fat is in them?
So bottom line, if you seriously consider yourself health conscious and look for healthy food options, then granola bars are not part of that equation. Sure there are some better ones, like Kashi, and worse ones like Quaker, but bottom line they are all not much better than chocolate bars. If you really want to keep them in your diet, then the only other option is to make your own and omit the unnecessary chemical additives and numerous sweeteners and salts.
2. Boxed/Refined Cereals
Food number two is going to be hard to swallow for many out there as well, but yes I am talking about 99% of the cereal aisle. From the obvious Fruit Loops to All Bran and Mueslix, refined cereals trick many each day into thinking they are eating a “healthy breakfast.”
A bowl of milk with cereal has become the signature breakfast for many adults and children alike out there for decades now. After all, what could be more convenient and at the same time more acidic to the body. And throughout the years there have come numerous cereals that cater to pretty much, one would think everybody’s taste buds. But very few people are actually seeing them for what they are.
For starters, like their granola bar friends they are loaded with sugar and no I am not talking about a select few, but all of them. I have no idea how ones like Lucky Charms or Fruit Loops are still even on the market. I guess advertising is doing a really good job somewhere convincing people that somehow their kids are getting a nutritious breakfast?
You do not need to believe what I am writing here, simply go and pick up the box, any box of cereal that you have at home and read the ingredients. You will find numerous sweeteners, some with fancy words, that may not even strike you as sweeteners. Check out this label from Kellogg’s Mueslix – one of the better looked upon cereals (sugars, artificial additives and even hydrogenated fats!)
And what of all of this? Such a breakfast, or meal at any point in the day gives your poor pancreas some serious and very unnecessary work. To add to that, all these simple sugars run rampant through your bloodstream, and you find yourself hungry again shortly after, more prone to mood swings and depression, not to mention excessive sugars at any one time cannot be used by your body unless you are going to run a marathon in that moment, so they result in some of the easiest weight gain.
Now before you start thinking, “but what about all the whole grains?” Yes, let us talk about those whole grains. Do you actually see whole grains in Cheerios? How about in Shreddies? And no one is questioning this?
While you may see the odd whole grain, in cereals like Mueslix or Kashi, most cereals are just ground up flakes, and relatively all cereals use some kind of flour. While whole grain flower is a huge improvement to white flower, we still cannot kid ourselves and think this is the healthy way to get grains. When grains are ground up like that, your body for the most part treats them like simple sugars, and there you have even more stress for your pancreas, weight gain risks and even links to future diabetes.
Finally, while I do not have to explain to you that these foods are highly processed and thus acidic, they too contain enough salt/sodium to make some people think twice about eating them, especially if you are concerned about your blood pressure or heart disease.
So is there any hope? Of course. If you want a delicious and nutritious grain based breakfast or meal, look for that 1% in the cereal aisle that are nothing but real, whole grains and add in your own fresh fruits and nuts. For ideas see “6 Optimally Healthy Breakfast Grain Options.” Yes it will take you a little more time to prepare in the morning, but I would hope that the health of you and your family is worth it.
3. Sweetened/Processed Juices
If I were writing this to you all about 3 years ago, you would not hear me say what I am about to say. I, like most other people out there thought juices were great! It wasn’t until some serious research that I did on “liquid sugar” and how your body deals with it, and then reading Dr. Olson’s book “Sugarettes”, that I quickly re-evaluated my thoughts about juice.
For starters, drinking juice is not a substitute for eating fresh fruit. This is something that many people think. It can be perhaps, IF you juice your own fruits and drink them immediately, but even then you are most likely missing the best part – the fiber.
Millions of people around the world rely on juices to quench their thirst each day and likewise millions of parents push juices onto their children thinking they are doing the right thing. Unfortunately, this is not quite the case.
When we drink “liquid sugar” our body prepares for physical digestion, but there is nothing to digest. The simple sugars that all juices are, are very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream as they require very little, if any digestion. Hence this stimulates the appetite. But wait a minute, didn’t we get at least a couple hundred calories here? Yes. But the average body reacts as if it did not eat yet.
Straight simple sugars like this mess with our insulin regulation, pancreas, mood balance, weight balance and even have a profound effect on our artery health, which can trigger future heart disease.
They lack fiber and thanks to the processing lose a lot of the nutritional benefits that the original fruits had, while they gain unnecessary additives.
And I am not even talking here about drinks, or sodas, just good old orange, apple, tropical and similar juices from Tropicana, Oasis and the like. And while some companies are now bringing about unsweetened juices, which of course are a bit better, liquid sugar is still liquid sugar.
So what is the solution? If you like the fruit taste, eat the fruit – fresh and whole or make a homemade smoothie. And as for drinks, we really don’t need anything but water. Most people can’t seem to drink enough water in a day. Rightfully so, with all the other beverages they are consuming, but we need pure water nonetheless, which nothing can replace. And if that seems a little boring to you, squeeze in some fresh citrus fruits into your water to liven it up a little, but know that processed juices have no place in an optimally healthy lifestyle.
4. Canned Fruits and Vegetables
Yes, that was not a typo – I did say fruits and vegetables. You may be thinking, “when does someone say fruits and vegetables are not healthy?” Well the answer is when they come from cans that are lined with a serious hormone disrupting chemical toxin called bisphenol A.
Some of you may recognize this name as being tied to the whole plastic bottle controversy, but cans for food are also guilty of having this chemical substance. Without getting into the whole explanation of bispehnol A here, just know that as of April 2008, Canada has officially become the first country to initiate a ban on the importation, sale and advertising of items with this substance, and currently other countries are following suit. As hopeful as that sounds, they are for now mainly targeting baby products and it will be some serious time still before we see them tackle canned food.
So are all cans to blame? Generally speaking, yes. Perhaps the odd company out there makes their cans without the liner, but it is virtually impossible to know and I wouldn’t hold my breath out on this one.
And what of the effects of bisphenol A? As I mentioned to you it is a very potent hormonal disruptor. It mimics estrogen and has been linked to all sorts of reproductive organ cancers, fertility issues, and proper sexual development in kids to say the least.
So what is the solution? Simple – just substitute all canned fruits and vegetables with fresh or frozen ones. I know it cannot be that hard, it will just take some getting used to at the beginning, but is actually very easy to accomplish if you are going to give it a conscious effort. And while you are at it, don’t stop with the fruits and vegetables, aim for removing all cans from your lifestyle. For optimal health and wellness, it is the only solution that makes sense.
Conclusion
Thus there we have it – 4 food items that seem healthy, but really aren’t.
Remember, people have lived without these items in the past and did just fine and we can do it again. Especially when we live in such a richly abundant world today where we have so many options and substitutes.
So will consuming these items kill you? Of course not. By keeping them a part of your life, you will most likely have average health and be part of the typical health statistics of society. IF that is not good enough for you however, and if you are motivated for more, then removing these items from your life is part of the journey of achieving optimal health, wellness and longevity.
For in the end, everything that you ever put into your system adds up – it all just depends on how good you are at connecting the dots in the end.
If you have any foods you would like to ask about or suggest for this series, feel free to include them below. Till next time!
*Photograph 1 provided by ashleigh290
*Photograph 2 provided by anne.oeldorfhirsch
*Photograph 3 provided by wsilver
*Photograph 4 provided by manwithface
*Photograph 5 provided by stevendepolo
About the author:Evita Ochel, B.Sc., B.Ed., CHN - is a certified holistic nutritionist, biologist, educator, writer, researcher and speaker in the areas of health, science and holistic wellness. She is a nutritional science expert and her teaching and writing focus on natural, wholesome, plant-based and organic nutrition to achieve optimal health and longevity. Learn more about Evita Ochel or Follow Evita Ochel on Twitter.
33 Comments to “Foods That Seem Healthy, But Aren’t – Part 1”
I love this series!
The way I see it is, if the food wasn’t available 100 years ago somewhere in the world, be weary. For example, people thought margarin is healthier than butter. I never bought into it, thinking, “Something that tastes that bad can’t be good for me.” Now we are finally talking about trans fats / hydrogenated fats. I think making solid fat out of veg oil by hydrogenation is a recent technology.
On the other hand, fruits, even exotic ones Americans were not familiar with 100 years ago, or even 10 years ago, were there somewhere in the world 100 years ago. So that is perhaps safer.
Granola bars and breakfast cereals were probably not available 100 years ago.
BTW I heard puffed grains in general are no good. Sudden temperature change affects the integrity of molecules, or something. So microwaved foods are not very good, either. And I was eating the organic microwave meal for lunch for years (and some canned organic vegs and beans)…
Evita, you go girl. Bust out all the unhealthy foods in disguise!
Thank you for introducing this series! Great start!
I think most people really do want to eat healthier, but are being misled and confused by the hype and advertising out there. I’ll be sure to send some this way.
Just a word on juice… All commercial juices are pasteurized, meaning they are cooked, rendering the content highly acidic and killing most of the nutrients. So even the ones that are not made of concentrates (many chemical processes) and sweetened are still processed. If you absolutely must have juice (for a treat once in a while), juice it yourself and consume it immediately.
Great article. Thanks for reminding. I’ll be more careful.
Thanks for the great tips Evita. I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
@ AKEMI – Thanks Akemi and great way of looking at it. It is true many foods that we have today are so far removed from their natural, original origins that they really can be debated on what kind of “food” they really are.
Although some people will argue that as soon as we made flour thousands of years ago that this was already processed food, and of course it was, what I think is most important to focus on getting rid of first is the highly processed stuff. It is one thing to take the least refined flour and make your own say bread and quite another to buy the highly processed bread from a store today.
So you are right when you say the cereals, etc were not around 100 years ago. All highly processed food that makes up most of our grocery stores today has only come about in the last century with a boom in the 1950′s.
Puffed grains are definitely not good, even that quick oatmeal is not the greatest as it has been heat treated for quick and easy cooking, which kills the nutrient value and makes it act more like a simple sugar in our bodies.
So thanks for your support and I will definitely have to feature margarine in one part of this series, as I know many people think it is healthier than butter, or just plain healthy – thanks!
@ HANLIE – Thank you Hanlie and fantastic addition about the juice. It is true indeed that once any beverage has been pasteurized, it kills all heat sensitive nutrients, which are most often our precious vitamins and other phytochemicals, even some proteins and other nutrients get denatured.
And I am absolutely with you about the fresh made juice if one really has to have it. For optimal health I don’t see any other solution :)
@ LINA@HAPPYFAMILY – Thank you for stopping by Lina, I am glad you enjoyed it!
@ LOVELYN – You are welcome Lovelyn, thanks for your comment!
Oh my gosh – YES! I love how you’re calling out the old “everything in moderation” saying. It gets my back up when people bring it up, because it just turns into an excuse to eat anything they want. ;)
I totally agree with everything on your list. I was addicted to granola bars growing up, and trust me these were not healthy. (Think all kinds of sugars, marshmallows, etc?! Eeks!)
You’ve got an awesome and super informative site here.
@ NATHALIE – Hi Nathalie and thank you for the encouragement and feedback!
I feel the same way about that whole “everything in moderation paradigm”. If we are serious about our health, then we have to be honest with ourselves to stop believing it and using it!
[...] friend Evita, from Evolving Wellness, has started a new blog series called Foods That Seem Healthy, But Aren’t. As usual, the post is well-written and [...]
Thank you for the article. I agree with you on the nature of granola bars today. They’re just candy bars with extra crunch.
Wow, that was very informative. Ok, so I understand the canned fruits and vegetables aren’t healthy because of the can liner. But what about the ones that are in the plastic cups? Like the ones kids take for lunches, e.g. the Dole ones. I can’t see the syrup being particularly healthy for you. Like obviously fresh fruit is the best option, but are they really processed too?
@ KYRA – You are very welcome Kyra and I am just really happy to be able to keep spreading information where our true health and wellness is concerned.
You said it very well – granola bars are nothing more than candy bars. It may be tough to face that for some, but the ingredients don’t lie.
@ AMBER – Thank you so much Amber for the feedback.
With regards to plastic itself as a container, plastic numbers (if you look at the bottom) #1,2,4, and 5 are talked about as being safe for food storage and that food’s consumption. Those fruit cups that you talk about come in that type of packaging and at the present time, this plastic is not considered to be of harm to us, where the leaching of toxic chemicals is concerned. (Unlike plastic numbers #3,6,and 7)
The truth is plastic is plastic and we are only beginning to learn about its many devastating effects where our health and the environment is concerned. So it is always best to reduce its use as much as possible.
In terms of the nutrition value of the food inside itself – in this case the fruit cups, you are right in assuming they are really processed too. For starters if you have the ones with the cherries, those are so processed in chemicals, food dye and so artificial.
Secondly, I am not sure of the exact ingredients of each, but if you look at a label you will be sure to find sugar added to it. That is what makes the “syrup” part the way it is.
I looked at the Dole fruit bowl site and there isn’t even any fiber in these – which one would think is a big factor in the whole point of eating fruit.
So yes, they are really processed. I am sure the fruit is heated, which kills most of the beneficial substances, then they have all this sugar added on top of the natural fruit sugar, then of course it comes in a plastic cup, and heaven forbid there are any of those red cherries in there.
Thanks for your inquiry and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions :)
If you are looking for a great snack for the kids for school like that, consider making a homemade fruit cocktail. Sunday night before school, dice up a few fruits, place in a sealed bowl and refrigerate. The fruit’s natural juices will start to come out and make a bit of a “syrup”. They can take some in a container to school, and a big bowl like that made on Sunday can at least last for some snacks for 2 if not 3 days (in terms of it staying fresh).
Hey Evita. I’m not too surprised about the foods on your list. I have picked this information up in the past by reading other health and fitness blogs.
It was a big shock to me when I first discovered that cereals were not that healthy. We’re brought up to believe that cereal is the healthy way to start your day from such an early age that it is hard to believe the truth when you finally find out. However, nutrition labels do not lie and since making the discovery I have replaced my regular bowl of cereal with a nice, warm bowl of oatmeal.
@ TOM – Hi Tom, great to hear! I am glad you were not too surprised with the items here, as we dive in deeper to the whole health and fitness world, we do have a chance to learn all this.
But as you say, it was shocking the first time, for me as well. But great to hear that today you are making the most of the nutritional labels – it’s true there is a wealth of info on them, if we only take a moment to read :)
I have a question, and I don’t know where to put it. So I’ll put it here.
So I’ve increased the amount of fruit I’ve been eating for the sake of eating more fruit, and I’ve actually noticed a difference in my energy levels and my nails are actually ridiculously hard right now which has never happened. Anyway, my question is how many servings of fruit should I be eating? Some people say 5, some people say 10.
And there’s another thing I’ve been wondering about. Since you don’t eat dairy or meat or eggs, you’re obviously deviating from the Canadian Food Guide. We’ve (well I have, anyway) been told our whole lives how to eat by this model. So what’s your equivalent? Like how much protein/fat/carbs/ etc. should people be eating everyday? And what are your replacements?
If you’ve answered all this in another article or something just forward me to the links.
Thanks!
@ AMBER – Hi Amber and I have to start by saying that you are serving as a great source of inspiration, and as I could not pass up a teaching opportunity, I wrote the following post, which should answer most of the questions you address above:
http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/790/eating-food-guide-harm-good/
Bottom line,there is no magic number for fruits or vegetables. The idea is to eat as many as you can, especially vegetables. Although fruits are healthy eating more than 5 servings a day may prevent you from eating the other critically nutrient important foods.
Some people in fact flat out say no more than say 2 – 3 fruits a day and others live totally on a fruititarian diet and actually sustain great health benefits. So yes, enjoy your fruit, but make sure you focus on the fresh vegetables, especially greens above all else.
And as for benefits, when we start eating nutrient-dense, natural food, we generally very quickly begin to see amazing benefits in our health, body structure and energy levels.
After you read the other article, let me know any other questions that arise.
Hey, this article is getting lots of good comments, rightfully so.
I noticed something about my body and eating and I’d like to share.
I’ve been buying organic as much as I can. The other day, organic bananas were out at the supermarket, so I bought the regular kinds. When I ate them, I noticed they taste different! It’s hard to describe, but it’s just — weird. Organic bananas taste more natural, and they are sweeter.
I had the same experience years ago with milk (after drinking organic milk for a few months, I couldn’t swallow regular milk. It tasted like sweat and smelled bad — not rotten but bad. Btw I quit drinking all milk since.), but I didn’t expect plant foods to taste so different whether they are organic or not. Of course, I never noticed the difference when I was eating non-organic or when I was eating organic only sporadically.
Do you think my body is getting changed?
I have similar issue with some of the cooked foods, too. The other day I bought a pack of sushi (rice and grilled fish). It tasted like a bland goo to me. Oh, and cheesecake — one of my former fav dessert — just tastes weird. I’m a bit confused and discouraged.
@ AKEMI – Oh yes Akemi, I know completely what you are talking about. This is the reason I can no longer eat regular strawberries :)
And to answer your question, definitely! Our bodies change a lot when we change our eating habits. When we go all natural (and especially plant-based natural) one of the first things you will notice within about 3 months is a change of your tastebuds. Natural foods all of a sudden taste great. We no longer need the ketchups and salts and all other condiments. And in this you will notice that you are also more sensitive to taste differences. You will have such a more refined taste bud for sweetness, where if you had a chocolate bar, it would leave you nauseous from how overly and unnaturaly sweet it is.
Besides that every 2 years, a large portion of your cells is brand new, and every seven years, your pretty much your entire body!!! Can you imagine that! That is why it is never too late to start I tell especially seniors. Every day makes a difference in how your body will function.
That is why starting from the day we make changes, should we stick to them, our bodies can only get better. What does that mean? For starters we reverse a lot of our minor ailments, next we prevent a lot of the major problems and for most people the aging process is somewhat reversed, if not greatly slowed down.
It is amazing what is happening to you indeed. Our bodies do change, for once they taste, natural food, they are very quick at adapting to let you know, “yes, yes,yes! Give me more of this, not the other stuff, that I had to work so hard to digest and detoxify!” This is also why it is one of the most amazing gifts to start a child right away on a natural diet, where they never taste processed food. For most, it tastes like garbage should they ever taste it in the future.
Yeah, regular strawberries taste like plastic. So are regular (non organic) blueberries.
And I agree with the sugar sensitivity.
Another thing with foods. The other day, I had raw chocolate pudding made with raw cacao. That night, my skin was itchy all night that I hardly had any sleep. Which made me think — I always had a weakness (severe weakness) with chocolate. Is it possible that I was craving chocolate, which has been giving me some level of allergy? Perhaps cooked chocolate (pretty much all chocolate) is less potent than raw cacao so I didn’t notice its effects.
The idea of craving something that give us mild irritation sounds crazy, but I think I read something like that before. After all, that’s what alcoholics do — their bodies process alcohols differently from normal people, producing some unusual chemical (which works as painkillelr, I think)
If this is so — is addiction about irregular metabolism or a form of food allergy?
@ AKEMI – Hmm, based on what you explain, I don’t think you would be craving that which you are allergic to. The body’s natural response is to make an aversion to anything that makes us sick.
With alcoholics it is a little of a different story, alcohol is addictive and once body metabolizes those toxins, it really messes with one’s brain chemistry (long chain of reactions). Plus people crave that mind numbing experience. If people really listened to their bodies, after one serious sickness from alcohol, they would never pick up alcohol again, and to some this happens. To others however, alcoholism mostly sets in after timed use. Body slowly gets used to working with alcohol and just like with any drug, one needs more and more. So even though it can make them sick, after a long time, it will actually make them more sick, not having it, than having it.
Mind you chocolate, because of the sugar and little bit of caffeine can be addictive too, but I don’t think that is what was happening in your case.
However, yes, regular chocolate is more fat and sugar than cooca bean, so if you do have a sensitivity/allergy to chocolate, you would have noticed it more with the real raw stuff.
However, if you have some stress in your life at the moment, that can also bring on some itching. Although, if it only lasted that one night and after the food, then it probably is related to that. To know for sure, try it again and see how you feel. (As long as you are sure and you know you do not have a serious/anaphylactic allergy to cocoa beans, which will cause airway obstruction)
Finally, if you are craving chocolate, you may be low in magnesium, or again something to do with stress.
Continue to monitor your body, and you should get more clues, if this is something that should be looked into further.
It is so incredibly beautiful to see and hold an apple, that is a real apple. You know, one thats not perfectly round, with a couple of little imperfections??? in the skin, actually perfect imperfections, and then to taste it, how does one eat a rediculously red, or green, perfectly??? round, actually so imperfectly round, waxy skinned apple? Here is another place where a new consciousness is growing visibly at the grocery store, organic aisles are getting bigger, and the $ cost of these products are starting to come down as demand begins to increase. That is positive. I am so incredibly comfortable asking you Evita, something that has recently become a bit of a pain in the back of my neck so to speak…. About three months ago I went from being vegetarian to trying full on veganism, and usually when I do something like this I go full out and am very unforgiving towards myself when I break my own rules. Chocolate is something I crave, I am very Pitta, and I find that chocolate really soothes me, (dark choc not milk) I have a problem rationalizing this with myself and I wonder if that conflict is more damaging to my soul than the minimal milk solids in the chocolate??? Then, last night, I was having a really special meal of the most delicious root vegtables and quinoa, all mixed up into an amazing LOVE SOUP, but the recipe called for some old, parmesan regiano, to be cut into thin chunks on the top of it!!! I again went into a bit of a neurosis over this, but eventually enjoyed the parm and felt that it added to the experience. When in your opinion, does the compromise outshine the negative self talk? I dont know if Im explaining this properly, I hope your answer helps me and others. LOVE LOVE LOVE
Hi Doug
Ah, very good questions. It is true, there is a point at which it is better to eat something “less healthy” and feel good than try to go without it and cause oneself pain, or stress of some kind.
So where is that line? Well with chocolate I can tell you that is an easy one….today in the raw and vegan communities, there is a great tasting and healthy substitute for pretty much anything. Many small businesses are making amazing “sweets” based on chocolate that are entirely vegan and in most cases raw – like Megan from Decadently Raw: http://decadentlyraw.com/
So for chocolate, the easiest way to get a super healthy chocolate fix is to buy some “chocolate cocoa nibs” (these are basically pieces of cocoa beans – doesn’t get any purer or better. And since you already like dark chocolate, this is it in its purest form. They come from several companies and can be found at your local health food store. A popular company is Navitas, you can check out their link here:
http://www.navitasnaturals.com/products/cacao/cacao-nibs.html
As well, natural nutrition leaders, like David Wolfe and Mike Adams always have some great recommendations when it comes to high quality raw, vegan chocolate – can’t think of any at the moment (as I don’t eat them), but try this article, it lists some sites and info that may be helpful:
http://www.naturalnews.com/021756.html
As for the second part of your question, like what about those small bits of ingredients, like a little cheese here or perhaps an egg there?
Generally I would have to say that you should feel good about what you eat – that should be first. So when transitioning from vegetarian to vegan you may find a few places along the way, where it calls for some animal products and you feel stuck. I think this gets easier as you go for two reasons: 1) You learn more about these animal products and how they got to you, their quality, etc, and you just can’t look at them the same way, meaning that if you did put them into a meal, you wouldn’t feel good about it. And 2) you become more experienced and you learn all sorts of new recipes or neat substitution ideas.
I can tell you that my transition from vegetarianism to veganism was not an overnight event, so any animal products in my diet kept constantly decreasing until there were none. Today I got to a point where if a recipe calls for an animal product, if I cannot substitute it, I just don’t make it. This is just what I need to feel good about my meals. For me, I know that little bit of animal product won’t harm me necessarily, but I just got to a point where I cannot support any of those industries in any way any more.
So take your time, don’t beat yourself up or be too hard on yourself for having that odd item here or there as you transition, just continue to learn about new foods and before you know it, you will have many new delicious recipes that will make you feel great always :)
I just came across your site and its been so enlightening. I have a few questions..recently,i stopped eating processed foods,artificial sweeteners and refined sugar from my diet and i’m allergic to dairy too. All i seem to have left to eat for breakfast are either oats or fruits and whole wheat pancakes. Since i can’t have even most ‘healthy’ organic cereals (kashi refuses to say what natural flavors in their organic cereal is and their other cereal obviously have MSG ). Anyways, is their any raw grain or natural food that i can eat as a cereal with almond milk. The organic granolas that come in food bins, what are they made from? I don’t want to get get stuck with limited food choices. I have my lunches and dinners ok but breakfast? Please help!
Hi there,
Thank you so much for stopping by and the great feedback – I really appreciate it!
In terms of your question, first may I congratulate you for taking all those things out of your diet – that is a huge step!
For a super healthy breakfast option, especially when one has a lot of allergies, and wants a raw food option, I highly recommend a green smoothie with hemp seeds.
The green smoothie will provide at least 1 if not more servings of vegetables, and 2 or more servings of fruits. The hemp seeds are an amazing source of protein, healthy fat and omega 3 fatty acids. A 2 cup serving of such a smoothie also will keep you full well into lunch, if you use enough of the hemp seeds. Simple recipes can be found for it on this site.
As for grains, I recommend looking into Bob’s Red Mill Products. They are widely available all throughout North America whether you live in the US or Canada. You don’t even need to use almond milk for them, but just water (as they require boiling). They are completely PURE – no additives! They have a wide variety of natural grains like steel cut oats, quinoa, amaranth, a natural museli, teff and others!
You can read this article for more help:
http://evolvingwellness.com/posts/510/6-optimally-healthy-breakfast-grain-options/
Hope this helps and please let me know if you have more questions!
Lots of great points thrown in here I don’t know where to begin, but just to emphasize that if it has a health claim, it is actually a marketing claim. You have Coke paying American Academy of Family Physicians, You got Seattle’s Best recently linking up with Burger King, these are not associations that benefit health, they benefit bottom lines. When Kellogg’s can get away with putting “Boosts Immunity” on lucky charms just because it was fortified with some vitamins, we have serious health problems. When we have as many pharmacy outlets as fast food, I think people will eventually put 2 and 2 together, but until then thanks for everything you do Evita :).
Hi Alexander
Thank you so much for the feedback!
I think we hold a shared passion when it comes to how food is marketed today and what food actually is.
Thank you also for bringing up the amazing points you have!
[...] I read a post from Evita Ochel a holistic health counselor and biologist at Evolving Wellness about foods that seem healthy but are not and again I became curious about whether food marketing is [...]
I just read in two reliable sources that canned fruits and vegetables are safer for you now than fresh because of all the contaminants put on fresh fruits and veggies. Even washing them well does not protect you all the time.
Hi Lex
Thank you for your comment and for your interest in this article.
As for canned produce being safer than fresh, I just cannot agree with that one bit for several reasons. If you would like to, please share what sources claim this.
The problem is that yes, pesticides are put on most produce today unless it is organic, but the produce in the cans came from that same patch of produce with pesticides. So now you have in the can, produce with pesticides, with lots of nutrients lost due to the processing, and on top of that issues with leaching from the can of things like the BPA chemical.
Buying fresh produce provides us with top quality freshness and thus nutrient density, that even if there were some issues with the produce, in most cases the benefits are way higher than the costs. The biggest way to minimize on the problems is to buy certified organic and local as much as possible.
As for other contaminants being on the produce, I am not sure which ones they talk about, but again the idea is that if most of us went into the factories that process any canned or other food and saw how it is done, we would most likely never eat that again.
The closer something is to nature and in its most natural form, the healthier. The more processing done on it, the more the food loses.
And I have to be honest with you, even if every media outlet tomorrow went on and said that canned produce is better than fresh, I still wouldn’t buy it or eat it, because to me it just doesn’t make sense. I know that when I buy local and organic, say peas for example, I am getting green, crisp peas that taste amazing and have all their nutrients, not something half brown and soggy out of a can, that isn’t even appealing to the eye.
In the end, of course everyone has to make the decision that they are comfortable with, but I would strongly urge anyone eating produce to always buy fresh, as the benefits like I said, almost always outweigh any costs, and that is even if the produce is not organic.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs are popping up everywhere (http://www.localharvest.com) Urban areas are also getting some help with some novel ideas (http://www.growingpower.org). When you bite into or peel an apple, what happens? It turns brown. Why? because it oxidizes, turns brown when the antioxidants are lost. This happens within 5 minutes. So we want to cut up an apple (nutrients lost), process it (nutrients lost), Package it (nutrients lost) and store it (nutrients lost), add sugar in many cases, then consume it and pat ourselves on the back for eating healthy? I agree the contaminants are a problem, but this is because we’re trying to do good things on a large scale and it’s that largescale process that is causing the energy/ecological problems as well as sanitary problems.
Hi Alexander
Thank you for including that fantastic explanation on how food processing really hurts the freshness, quality and nutrient content of produce!
It was a big shock to me when I first discovered that cereals were not that healthy. We’re brought up to believe that cereal is the healthy way to start your day from such an early age that it is hard to believe the truth when you finally find out. However, nutrition labels do not lie and since making the discovery I have replaced my regular bowl of cereal with a nice, warm bowl of oatmeal.
Hello Cinemax
I can totally relate. I have had many, many shocks myself in the last few years when I started researching some of the food we eat, and is pushed upon us by the mainstream.
This is why today I am dedicated to helping others learn about their food and food choices for best health results.
And yes, you bring up a great point – if we could only read our nutrition labels, specifically the ingredients, it makes a big difference in how we start seeing our food.
Great choice to go with natural oatmeal in the morning and all the best for your health :)
Here’s a small tip. I did a post on a super healthy grain called Quinoa. I was looking for some pictures of quinoa so I went to Google to search.I entered quinoa pictures in the Google search box and at the top of Google was a site with all pictures of quinoa. There was pictures of quinoa in breads, muffins, cereals, salads, main dishes and side dishes. Here’s the really cool thing that I stumbled on and maybe a lot of you already know about this. When you click on one of these pictures of a quinoa dish that looks appetizing it displays a picture but when clicking out of the picture a website with a recipe appears. Just an idea if your looking for healthy choices for your meals.