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Don't believe the hype: The 7 most overrated foods

Posted on Aug 2nd 2007 11:54AM by Martha Edwards

Filed Under: Nutrition & Supplements

There's lots of hype out there about what's healthy and what's not and honestly, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between the two. But thankfully, eDiets has put together a list of what so-called 'health' foods aren't actually that great for you, like:

Energy bars: I once heard these described as 'Peanut M&Ms with a multivitamin' and I don't think that's far off. These are mostly sugar and protein with some nutrients added in. And they're high in calories.
Juice: Even if it's 100% natural, you're still better off eating an whole fruit

Protein Powder: Some protein is necessary for muscle growth but too much protein can have the opposite effect and cause you to put on fat. The protein in your normal diet should be enough for you.
Apple Cider Vinegar: It won't help you lose weight fat, unless it turns you off food altogether because it's so nasty.
Red Meat: yeah, it's high in protein and carb-free but it's only good for you in moderation. Opt for lean and vegetable-based protein most days of the week and make red meat a treat.
Sports Drinks: These are basically soda with some vitamins. 'Energy' is another word for calories so be wary of these high-cal drinks
Natural Sweeteners: Natural sweeteners like maple syrup and honey are still sugar, and still have the same calories as sugar.

What overrated food makes your list?

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2 Comment

Tags: energy, energy bar, EnergyBar, juice, red meat, RedMeat, sweeteners

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

FitClubScott 8-02-2007 @ 1:18PM

Athletes, do have greater protein requirements than sedentary people. If you train for athletic events, you need more protein than the average joe couch potato, to repair muscle tissue and stay strong.

If you don't consciously consume more protein, you probably will lose muscle. So you have a choice, real food or "engineered food" like protein powder or protein bars. I definitely prefer real food, but sometimes I need to eat protein and I don't have real food available. When that's the case, I would rather drink a quick protein shake where I can control the amount of fat and carbs over a protein bar which, like the energy bars out there, are basically candy bars.

I would agree with the other things, but you can't take away my protein powder. :)

http://thefitclub.blogspot.com

looksbooks54 8-02-2007 @ 2:03PM

One fitness expert (Don Lemmon) referred to energy bars as the equivalent of eating cake batter , and I agree. Even Atkins bars tend to be useless.

Green tea has gotten way too much play - when I lived in Japan (8 years) I NEVER heard about green tea for weight loss. The Japanese are really much more into beer (Kirin and Asahi) and coffee, even before Starbucks got a foothold.

And the Japanese always told me that the tea for weight loss was Oolong, not green. Some people are now marketing this as "Wulong".
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