Foods marketed as healthy that may be misleading -

Do you think your diet is healthy? Think again. Consumers are now more health-conscious then ever, so the food industry had to adapt. How to keep selling unhealthy products to the masses? Easy, just brand them as healthy! 

Browse through the gallery and check if you're consuming any of these products.

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Diet soda - It's easy to see how sugar-free versions of popular sodas can be attractive to consumers—most have virtually no calories. But these are full of unhealthy ingredients, including the artificial sweetener aspartame.

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Fruit juices -

These are essentially soda. Fruit juices are high in sugar, water, and not much else.

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Breakfast cereal - Despite many breakfast cereal having bold health claims printed on their packaging, most are full of sugar and additives. This includes the wholegrain versions.

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Breakfast cookies -

This is yet another marketing strategy. Breakfast cookies are, well, cookies. There's nothing "healthy" about them.

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Low-fat and fat-free products - What if you could indulge in your favorite fatty foods without feeling guilty for eating lots of calories? This sounds better than it actually is.

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Low-fat and fat-free products - Take your average low-fat yogurt for instance. Fat does give a lot of flavor to food. How do you compensate for the lack of flavor? You add lots of sugar instead.

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Margarine - Margarine is nothing like butter, which despite being rich in saturated animal fat, is actually real food. Margarine is a a mix of vegetable oils and other chemical compounds that, for many years, was rich in trans fats. It is far from being a healthier alternative to butter.

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Whole grain - The idea of eating whole grain as opposed to processed cereal grains sounds like a good one. These have higher levels of fiber, a lower glycemic index (GI) value, and must therefore be healthier, right?

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Whole grain - Not necessarily. Modern wheat for instance, is much poorer in nutrients, when compared to the wheat we used to consume in the past.

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Whole grain - As for the GI, whole wheat bread will give you a spike in insulin similar to that of white bread.

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Organic processed foods - What better way to sell an unhealthy product than branding it as "organic." Is raw cane sugar much better than regular sugar?

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Organic processed foods - The answer is no. It is essentially the same as regular sugar: fructose and glucose. Organic processed food is still processed food.

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Sports drinks -

Drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade can be beneficial for athletes in certain circumstances. Most people however do not need the added sugar, minerals, and artificial dyes.

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Gluten-free - Unless you suffer from gluten intolerance, there is no reason to chose gluten-free alternatives under the false premise that they are healthier.

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Gluten-free - Gluten can trigger an inflammatory response in our bodies, but this doesn't necessarily mean that gluten-free alternatives of a specific food are healthier.

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Sugar-free chocolate - Instead of sugar, manufacturers add artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols, like maltitol, which can have a laxative effect when consumed excessively.

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Salad dressing - Many salad dressings are packed with sugar, vegetable oils, and trans fats. Fat-free versions are usually full of additives, which don't necessarily make them better alternatives.

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Salad dressings - Opt for natural dressings such as extra-virgin olive oil and cider vinegar instead. 

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Diet ice cream - Diet ice cream has polysorbate 80, an additive that helps give ice cream a creamy texture and increases resistance to melting, that can be harmful to health.

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Diet cookies - We know how tempting these are. All the pleasure without the guilt. They sound like the perfect alternative, but these are usually packed with artificial sweeteners and refined oils.

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Vegan snacks - Some people believe that, because something is vegetarian or vegan, it is automatically healthier. This could not be further from the truth. Processed vegan food is still junk food.

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Agave nectar - Agave nectar is a known "natural" sweetener. The problem is that it has huge amounts of fructose, which can be more harmful than regular sugar.

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Vegetable oils - Vegetable oils gained popularity as some can potentially lower blood cholesterol levels in the short term.

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Vegetable oils -

However some studies have found that these can actually increase risk of developing both heart disease and cancer.

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Cereal/Granola bars - These sound like a healthy snack, right? Well, not quite. These are basically candy bars disguised as healthy alternatives. You can commonly find ingredients such as sugar, sorbitol, and soybean oil in them.

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Protein bars - Protein bars can be a convenient way to consume protein on the go, but many of these bars are actually full of sugar, artificial sweeteners, and a low biological value protein.

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Sugarless Jello -

The sugar-free version is usually packed with artificial flavors, aspartame and acesulfame potassium.

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Brown rice syrup -

Also known as rice malt syrup, this sweetener is not as healthy as it sounds. Despite containing virtually no fructose, it has a  glycemic index of 98, which will give you a huge insulin spike really fast!

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Brown rice syrup -

But there's more. Arsenic contamination has also been a concern in this sweetener.

See also: Accidental food inventions: History's most delicious mistakes

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