Adapted from the8-Hour Diet, now available in paperback
Diets often focus on taking stuff off your plate, but that's how you lose out on great flavors, great nutritional benefits, and great weight loss. The problem is, many superfoods often have evil twins—unhealthy foods we like to call "health" food imposters. Look out for these imposters, ones that often sit right beside the healthy version on store shelves!Health Food Imposter #1: The Wrong Animal Protein
A classic muscle-building nutrient, protein is the base of any solid diet plan. It takes more energy for your body to digest the protein in meat than it does to digest carbohydrates or fat, so the more protein you eat, the more calories you burn. Still, you shouldn't reach for overly fatty, overly processed choices that could sabotage your diet. Unhealthy foods: Sausage, bacon, cured meats, ham, fatty cuts of steak like T-bone and rib-eye, Egg Beaters, egg-whitesThe real powerfoods: Pasture-raised turkey, chicken, and whole eggs; other lean, organic meats; the right fishHealth Food Imposter #2: The Wrong Nuts
In the war against good fats and bad fats, nuts are superheros. They contain the monounsaturated fats that clear your arteries and help you feel full. Consider the mighty almond: Just one handful provides half the amount of vitamin E you need in a day and 8 percent of the calcium. This handful also contains 19 percent of your daily requirement of magnesium—a key component for high energy levels. A Purdue University study showed that people who ate nuts high in monounsaturated fat felt full 1½ hours longer than those who ate fat free.
Unhealthy foods: Candied, salted, or smoked nutsThe real powerfoods: Pure, unadulterated nuts, including walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and Brazil nutsHealth Imposter #3: Yogurt Sweeter Than Soda
Dairy is nutrition's version of a typecast actor. It gets so much attention for one thing it does well—strengthening bones—that it gets little or no attention for all of its other perks. But take a look at the mounting evidence: A University of Tennessee study found that dieters who consumed between 1,200 and 1,300 milligrams of calcium a day lost nearly twice as much weight as dieters consuming less calcium. Still, there's a lot you won't find blatantly plastered on dairy's label, like added sugars. Nonorganic dairy likely comes from cows fed an unnatural diet of grains, including genetically modified ones grown using lots of chemical pesticides. For more info, read It's Official: Organic Milk Is Better for You.Unhealthy foods: Sugary fruit-on-the-bottom-yogurts and sugar-laden frozen yogurts The real powerfoods: Organic milk, organic yogurt with no added sugars (anything listed with –ose, syrup, or sugar on the label indicates added sugar)
Read More: 11 Weird Things Sugar's Doing to Your Body
Health Food Imposter #4: Certain Peanut Butters Peanuts also have amazing weight-loss benefits. In an 18-month experiment, people who integrated peanut butter into their diet maintained weight loss better than those on low-fat plans. The problem is, many peanut butter companies lace their products with dangerous, heart-destroying trans fats. Unhealthy foods: Peanut butter products containing hydrogenated oils—this is code for dangerous trans fats!The real powerfoods: Rodale News recommends organic products like Once Again Nut Butter.Health Food Imposter #5: Processed Berries Depending on your taste, any berry will do. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries—you name it, if it's a berry it has health benefits. Berries carry powerful levels of antioxidants and fiber that keeps you fuller longer. But when you process berries to turn them into other products, these miracle health foods suddenly lose a lot of that beneficial fiber, leading to blood sugar spikes and increased hunger. Worse yet, many popular berry juices contain little juice—and lots of potentially damaging fake food dyes. Unhealthy foods: Berry juice, especially ones containing added sugars and fake food coloring chemicals; jellies, most of which eliminate fiber and add sugarThe real superfoods: Fresh, unadulterated berries, preferably organicHealth Food Imposter #6: Fruit Juices When you're trying to lose weight, the most effective weight-loss tool in your home just might be the fruit bowl. If you keep it filled with crisp apples, ripening peaches and plums, citrus, and fuzzy kiwi fruit, you'll have handy snacks that serve you nutritionally and stick with you to curb your appetite. A recent Penn State study found that people who ate an apple 15 minutes before lunch ended up consuming 187 fewer calories during the meal than those who didn't snack beforehand. The problem comes when we try to turn perfectly fine fiber-rich fruits into other things.Unhealthy foods: Fruit juices, which concentrate sugar and strip out fiber; many of them have more calories than Coke.The real powerfoods: Whole, organic apples, oranges, and other fruitsHealth Food Imposter #7: Many Cereals & Whole Wheat Bread Whole-grain carbohydrates can play an important role in a healthy lifestyle. In an 11-year study of 16,000 middle-aged people, researchers at the University of Minnesota found that consuming three daily servings of whole grains can reduce a person's mortality risk over the course of a decade by 23 percent. The problem is, food manufacturers are very sneaky. Sometimes, after refining away all the vitamins, fiber, and minerals from wheat, they'll add molasses to the bread, turning it brown, and put it on the grocery shelf with a label that says wheat bread. It's a trick! Truly nutritious breads and other products will say whole wheat or whole grain. Don't be fooled. Unhealthy foods: Processed bakery products like white bread, bagels, and doughnuts; breads labeled wheat instead of whole wheatThe real powerfoods: Organic oatmeal, whole grain bread (we like those made from more spelt flour or whole grain sourdough), and cereals with little added sugars (Rodale News recommends choosing organic whenever possible to avoid pesticide residues and GMOs.) For more ideas on how to jump-start your weight loss, check out The 8-Hour Diet, available from your favorite bookseller: • Barnes & Noble • Amazon • Rodale Store • IndieBound
Read More: 11 Weird Things Sugar's Doing to Your Body
Health Food Imposter #4: Certain Peanut Butters Peanuts also have amazing weight-loss benefits. In an 18-month experiment, people who integrated peanut butter into their diet maintained weight loss better than those on low-fat plans. The problem is, many peanut butter companies lace their products with dangerous, heart-destroying trans fats. Unhealthy foods: Peanut butter products containing hydrogenated oils—this is code for dangerous trans fats!The real powerfoods: Rodale News recommends organic products like Once Again Nut Butter.Health Food Imposter #5: Processed Berries Depending on your taste, any berry will do. Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries—you name it, if it's a berry it has health benefits. Berries carry powerful levels of antioxidants and fiber that keeps you fuller longer. But when you process berries to turn them into other products, these miracle health foods suddenly lose a lot of that beneficial fiber, leading to blood sugar spikes and increased hunger. Worse yet, many popular berry juices contain little juice—and lots of potentially damaging fake food dyes. Unhealthy foods: Berry juice, especially ones containing added sugars and fake food coloring chemicals; jellies, most of which eliminate fiber and add sugarThe real superfoods: Fresh, unadulterated berries, preferably organicHealth Food Imposter #6: Fruit Juices When you're trying to lose weight, the most effective weight-loss tool in your home just might be the fruit bowl. If you keep it filled with crisp apples, ripening peaches and plums, citrus, and fuzzy kiwi fruit, you'll have handy snacks that serve you nutritionally and stick with you to curb your appetite. A recent Penn State study found that people who ate an apple 15 minutes before lunch ended up consuming 187 fewer calories during the meal than those who didn't snack beforehand. The problem comes when we try to turn perfectly fine fiber-rich fruits into other things.Unhealthy foods: Fruit juices, which concentrate sugar and strip out fiber; many of them have more calories than Coke.The real powerfoods: Whole, organic apples, oranges, and other fruitsHealth Food Imposter #7: Many Cereals & Whole Wheat Bread Whole-grain carbohydrates can play an important role in a healthy lifestyle. In an 11-year study of 16,000 middle-aged people, researchers at the University of Minnesota found that consuming three daily servings of whole grains can reduce a person's mortality risk over the course of a decade by 23 percent. The problem is, food manufacturers are very sneaky. Sometimes, after refining away all the vitamins, fiber, and minerals from wheat, they'll add molasses to the bread, turning it brown, and put it on the grocery shelf with a label that says wheat bread. It's a trick! Truly nutritious breads and other products will say whole wheat or whole grain. Don't be fooled. Unhealthy foods: Processed bakery products like white bread, bagels, and doughnuts; breads labeled wheat instead of whole wheatThe real powerfoods: Organic oatmeal, whole grain bread (we like those made from more spelt flour or whole grain sourdough), and cereals with little added sugars (Rodale News recommends choosing organic whenever possible to avoid pesticide residues and GMOs.) For more ideas on how to jump-start your weight loss, check out The 8-Hour Diet, available from your favorite bookseller: • Barnes & Noble • Amazon • Rodale Store • IndieBound