Beware of this healthy food

We live in a health conscious and appearance-possesse d world today. Never before have we been more concerned about how thin we look or how our clothes fit. This quest to achieve the ultimate body has also prompted us to make healthier eating choices. Or so we think. Supermarkets are filled with aisle after aisle of products labelled 'low fat' or 'zero fat', but a quick read of the nutrition information on the flip side of these products shows that these foods could actually be labelled 'high sugar', 'high sodium' or 'absolutely fibre free'. Marketing gimmicks and general misinformation have confused and frustrated us to the point of rethinking this so-called healthy lifestyle.

1. Fruit juices While juices might be full of vitamins and minerals, and might be the most appealing drink on a hot, hot afternoon, they might not be the best choice for your diet. Juices take up very little place in the stomach, leaving you hungry and unsatisfied. They also lack the one important ingredient that whole fruits contain: fibre. Opt for the whole fruit instead of the juice. And you will benefit from the vitamin and mineral content as well as the good old stomach-filling fibre.

2. Raisins While most fruits (besides avocado), are fat-free and chockfull of vitamins and minerals, raisins are simply too dense in carbohydrates to be considered a diet food. At 115 grams of carbs per one cup (145 grams) serving, you would probably be better sticking to lower carbohydrate and thus lower calorie fruits, like strawberries, apples, oranges or peaches.

3. Corn flakes Be it the high sugared or the sugar-free variety, corn flakes do not qualify as the ideal breakfast cereal. Lacking a decent amount of fiber, corn flakes fail to fill you up or provide a steady flow of energy. Stick to other high fiber cereals, like wheat flakes. You will do even better with high fibre hot cereals, like oatmeal or cream of rye!

4. Ghee Grandma's favourite addition to any dish, be it rotis, parathas, curry, meat and, in more extreme cases, even with toast or biscuits. However, grandma grew up when people thought ghee was healthy and necessary for the human body. It helped your skin glow, improve your memory and, somehow or the other, was heart healthy and reduced cholesterol levels as well! Well, it is 2005. And while ghee might have a few healthy properties which include its content of monounsaturated fatty acids, its saturated fat content is too high to allow it to be anywhere close to being 'good for you'. Ghee can make any dish delicious, so can its other cholesterol filled counterpart, butter, which is actually lower in calories: 1 tablespoon of butter gives you 90 calories. 1 tablespoon of ghee gives you 115 calories! This is not to mean that you should avoid ghee. Just that you should consume it in moderation. This means you should be able to see those vegetables clearly and not have to fish them out!

5. Brown bread Brown bread is not always more nutritious than white. The bread you want to make part of your healthy diet is the wholewheat variety. The brown colour is sometimes just white bread with added colouring. Unfortunately, people eating slice after slice of this so-called healthy brown bread thinking they are providing their body with heaps of valuable fibre, iron, B vitamins, etc, are just victims of this cruel marketing gimmick. To tell whether a brown bread is really more nutritious, read the label. If the first ingredient is wholewheat, this is a healthy food. If it says 'bleached' or 'enriched' flour, or just wheat flour, it is just coloured white bread.