Advertisements and misleading research abound, highlighting healthy foods and activities that are actually not that great for you.
People will claim some foods are better than others or that this specific habit boosts your health and wellness, but often these claims are misleading or downright false.
A user went to Reddit seeking information on which “healthy” foods, habits, and activities aren’t as good for you as they seem.
Here are some of the most interesting responses.
Fruit Juice
Fruit juices are often branded as a healthy alternative to soda, but they aren’t as good for you as they want you to believe.
“Most “healthy branded juices” a lot of them contain more sugar than the average soda,” claimed one user.
Another added, “Even the ones with “no sugar added” have an absolutely insane amount of sugar.”
Acai
One user claimed that the highly touted superfood serves as a dessert in its home country.
“In Brazil, people accept that it’s a dessert, not a superfood,” they said.
Others said the fruit itself isn’t that unhealthy, but how it’s served in the US, with added sugars and syrups, makes it much worse.
Sports Bars
People see sports bars and automatically see healthy, forgetting that active people need far more calories.
“When you’re running a marathon or biking 50 miles or other endurance activity, it is fine that you just ate a 500-calorie candy bar with half your daily recommended amount of salt and sugar in it,” said one user.
People who don’t work out often shouldn’t swap a healthy breakfast with a sports bar.
Complaining
One user said far too many people think complaining and venting are the same thing. It’s OK (albeit possibly unhealthy) to vent occasionally, but complaining about every aspect of your life and calling it “venting” isn’t healthy.
Another user added that preliminary studies show that venting actually isn’t healthy. “Studies have given very strong indications that venting can just make you feel worse for a while now,” they shared.
Health Obsession
Caring about your health is good, but it can be dangerous when taken too far.
One user said that “anything that becomes extreme and isolates you from society or impairs your relationships,” even obsession with health, can become unhealthy.
“Also, most of the time, you’ll not be able to keep it up, and when you fall, you’ll binge and end up in a worse place than you started,” added another.
Healthy Pregnancy
When we hear “healthy pregnancy,” we typically think that the mother is fine and healthy, but as one user pointed out, that’s not the case.
“A “healthy pregnancy” simply means the fetus will gestate to term and likely not suffer any medical issues during gestation,” they explained. “It is NOT referring to a pregnancy’s impact on the body, as that is not healthy at all.”
A healthy pregnancy means the fetus is healthy. Even the healthiest pregnancies still have drastic and often negative impacts on the pregnant person’s body and health.
Not Better Than the Alternative
Vaping is healthier than smoking, but that doesn’t make it healthy. It’s still a bad habit that’s harmful to your health.
“A lot of people, especially youngers, start vaping even though they never smoke cigarettes because it’s “comparatively healthy,” said one user, adding that the habit still impacts your longs, and no one knows the potential long-term health effects.
Sports Drinks
Sports drinks may have electrolytes, but they’re also jam-packed with sugars.
“They are healthy enough when used only for their intended purpose,” said one user, adding, “If you’re not dehydrated, it’s excess salt and sugar that you don’t need.”
Fat-Free
The fat-free tag on most food items is misleading at best. It doesn’t mean healthy.
“Usually means fat is removed, and sugar is putt in, making it worse for everyone,” said one user.
“I think what you really mean is “We took the fat out of this product, so it tastes bad. To counter this, we’ve put enough sugar in this product to kill a small Victorian child,” joked another.
Natural
Many people confuse the term “natural” with “healthy.” Plenty of natural things are highly dangerous, while several synthetic things offer health benefits.
“Nature has no notion of healthy or not. Uranium or cyanide are 100% natural, doesn’t mean that they are healthy,” said one user.
Meanwhile, surgery is unnatural, yet it saves lives every day.
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Source: Reddit
Keep in mind we don’t know who is posting on Reddit, and these responses are typically not backed by science or research. Ask a doctor or nutritionist before making any drastic lifestyle changes.