10 foods you probably think are healthy but actually aren't

Eating healthy can be quite a struggle. 

Like, it's pretty hard to opt for a handful of chia seeds instead of 5 handfuls of fries. 

But, alas if you want your body to function at its best, then it's gonna have to be chia over fries. Well most the time, anyway. 

However, if you are being wary of what you're putting into your body, you may not realise that what you thought were healthy options, were in fact not.

Here are ten foods to look out for as they're not as healthy as they look:

1. Granola

Whilst granola sounds like a healthy breakfast option, it can contain a high amount of sugar if it's store bought. Make your own homemade granola so that you can keep tabs on that sugar intake. 

2. Flavoured yogurt

If you like to pair your granola with yoghurt, then be wary of flavoured yoghurts. Flavoured yoghurts contain a lot of sugar, and many contain only very small amounts of fruit.

3. Dried fruit

Always choose fresh fruit over dried. Dried fruits are actually loaded with sugar and preservatives like sulfur dioxide to extend their shelf life.

4. “Sugar-free” foods

What they replace the sugar with, in these foods is the concern. Some sugar-free foods contain aspartame, which has been linked to weight gain. The sweeteners that can be used in replacement have usually undergone some type of chemical process, so you're just putting chemicals in your body really. 

5. Diet drinks

We all know someone who has a weakness for a Diet Coke. But this may not be the best drink option as the artificial sweeteners in diet soda fool your body into thinking you’re eating real food. This causes a spike in insulin, which can turn into stored fat. 

6. Cereal bars

Whilst they may seem like a healthy choice that is convenient, they are only the convenient part. They’re packed with sugar, as Diabetes UK found when they looked at ten popular cereal bars on the shelves today and found the majority were high in sugar.

7. Fruit juice

This is another one that actually contains a load of sugar. They also don’t contain the valuable fibre found in eating fruit whole, so head for the fresh fruit instead of drinking it!

8. Cereal

If you want your cereal to be healthy, you need to head for the whole grain ones and avoid the other majority that is sugar laden.  

9. Popcorn

This light snack may seem healthy and it can be - without any added toppings. For example, that cinema popcorn covered in butter and salt is not healthy, sorry!

10. Hummus

A dip made of chickpeas has got to be healthy right? Not if it's one of the store-bought ones that are full of salt and fat. Campaign group Cash tested 210 supermarket dips and found that some types of humour contained more salt than four packets of ready salted crisps.