By Grace Wang and Dr. Chris E. Stout for ATI Physical Therapy
If you�??ve been inside a grocery store lately, chances are you�??ve been barraged by labelsgranola-bars like, �??Made with All Natural Ingredients!�?� or �??Made with Whole Grains!�?� You�??ve seen ice cream claiming to be a great source of calcium or gummy snacks exclaiming in bright colors that they are �??Made with REAL Fruit!�?�
The sad truth is, potato chips that come in earth-toned, papery bags are still potato chips. The FDA considers high-fructose corn syrup to be �??natural�?�, and nutrition labels don�??t have to be accurate in order to be compliant with national regulations. We�??ve been tricked over and over, and it�??s time to put an end to it. Here are a few foods you may have thought were healthy that really aren�??t:

Dave Ensign, the Director of Workers�?? Compensation Case Management at ATI Physical Therapy says, �??You can�??t expect your body to stay healthy when what you put into it is unhealthy.�?� His wife�??s blog, �??Good Food and Gratitude�?� is an excellent source of nutritious recipes.

  • Frozen Veggie Burgers. Most frozen veggie burgers don�??t contain vegetables at all. Instead, they are made from highly-processed soy or a mysterious-sounding product called �??textured vegetable protein�?�. Seriously, if Dickens had written a dystopian novel, �??textured vegetable protein�?� would be eaten for every meal.

If you need your frozen veggie burger fix, try to find one that�??s actually made of vegetables. That�??s kind of the point, isn�??t it? Prevention.com recommends Hilary’s Eat Well Adzuki Bean Burger.

Healthy eating can be a complicated business. Before your next shopping trip, ATI 300x250remember these three rules that will help you navigate through all the lies. First, companies aren�??t trying to keep you healthy �?? they are trying to sell their products. Second, if they have to convince you that their products are healthy, they probably aren�??t. Thirdly, and most importantly, instead of agonizing over whether or not the gummy snacks are really, truly made of real fruit�??just put down the box and buy some real fruit.

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