'Healthy' Foods You Should Be Avoiding

When trying to eat healthy, not everything is as it seems. With nutrition and wellness as the new trend, many brands are hoping to pass their products off as healthy so the unsuspecting well-meaning person will buy it. According to The Chalk Board, you should steer clear of these foods!

Whole Grain Bread: Just because a bread claims to be whole wheat, does not mean that it's 100 percent true. Most often whole wheat contains white flour as well, and there is no guarantee that it is even predominantly whole wheat. This makes it not much better than its white-flour alternative, other than the possibility of a higher fiber content. Many brands also add high-fructose corn syrup, GMO-soy oil and flour, artificial flavors and artificial sugars such as sucralose. Finally, unsprouted breads are high in gluten, making them a difficult food to digest for many people. Opt for organic, sprouted bread instead to increase digestibility, and nutrition content.

Diet Drinks: Despite being void of calories, diet drinks are a quick ticket to an increased waistline. Artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose, acesulfame potassium, aspartame and others, are being linked to just as many negative health problems as conventional sugar. Research has proven that artificial sugars lead to weight gain, causing the body to crave more sugar and calories throughout the day. In addition, the artificial sugars used in diet drinks can lead to blurred vision, fibromyalgia, neurological disorders, metabolic syndrome, cancer, indigestion and diarrhea.

>> Read more about the dangers of diet soda by clicking here.

Vegetable Oil: It has the word vegetable in it so it must be healthy, right? Wrong. Vegetable oil is one of the secret toxic offenders. It's made from an array of low-quality oils including soybean, canola (rapeseed), corn and cottonseed. Unless labeled explicitly, corn, soybean, cottonseed, and canola oils produced in North America almost certainly contain genetically modified products. In addition, they are high in omega-6 fatty acids, which contribute to heart disease, raise inflammation levels, and may lead to cancer and depression. Finally vegetable oils may also contain trans fats which lead to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.

Sub Sandwiches: What could be unhealthy about about a sub sandwich? Well sadly, a lot. From the refined white gluten-laden bread to the highly processed meats, cheeses and dressings, a whole lot can go wrong in a sub sandwich. While the ingredients seem simple enough, each one can be packed with preservatives, hidden MSG, refined sugar and chemicals. The bread alone has over 50 ingredients! The processed meats are loaded with sodium and harmful preservatives such as nitrates, which are known to lead to high blood pressure, kidney stress, bloating and an increased risk in cancer. The bread contains a chemical ingredient called azodicarbonamide, which is banned as a food additive in the U.K., Europe and Australia, and is known to be harmful to health. Worst yet, even the vegetables aren't off the hook. Preservatives and even artificial colors are added to many of the "fresh" vegetables, and even the cheese contains artificial colors, preservatives and cellulose.

Sushi: When we think of sushi, we imagine raw fish, a scant amount of white rice, and maybe a piece of avocado, all rolled up in a seaweed wrap. A perfect combination of protein, carbohydrate and fat. And that would be healthy if that was the whole story. The problem is that sushi should look like this, but often doesn't. Instead, a piece of fry-oil drenched, crunchy tempura shrimp or mercury-laden tuna makes its way to the plate, along with some heavy duty "dynamite" sauce and now we have a plate full of unhealthy fats and heavy-metal-filled protein. The good news is that there are tons of super healthy, low calorie, nutrient-dense options, you just have to know which ones to choose. Keep it simple and focus on the basic elements of raw fish and fresh vegetables.

>> For a healthier "sushi," click here for our Skinny California Roll Wrap!

Fast Food Sandwiches: We want fast food salads to be healthy so badly, but they just aren't cutting it. Not only are the ingredients less than fresh, the salad dressing and "extra" toppings are also packing in tons of calories and preservatives. Dressings and toppings such as candied nuts, tortilla chips, croutons and fried Asian noodles are laden with unhealthy oils (trans fats), GMOs, refined sugar, MSG and lots of preservatives and chemicals.

Want to read more about "health" foods to avoid? Click here for the original story on The Chalk Board.