5 Healthy-Sounding Foods That Are Actually Sabotaging Your Diet

Many foods with so-called “health halos” can be diet disasters. Here are five foods that may be fooling you. 1. Gluten-free foods According to a recent national survey from Consumer Reports, 63 percent of U.S. adults believe that a gluten-free diet will improve their health. About one-third said they buy gluten-free products or try to avoid gluten. However, a clinical trial published in August in the journal Digestion found that nearly 90 percent of those who think they’re “sensitive” to gluten actually have no problem digesting the protein.  Unless you’ve been diagnosed with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, eliminating gluten from your diet may have unintended consequences. Here’s why: Gluten-free foods often have more calories, fat, sodium, added sugars and cost more than their gluten-containing counterparts. Studies have found that people following a gluten-free diet are often deficient in several nutrients, including B-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. Other research finds adherence to a gluten-free diet is associated with weight gain.   2. Dark chocolate You’ve probably heard that dark chocolate is good for your heart – and that it may even help you maintain memory as you age. In fact, a study last year in Nature Neuroscience found that after eight weeks, older adults who consumed high amounts of cocoa flavanols daily made significant improvements on tests that me...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news