List of Snacks that do more Harm than Good

13 Snack Foods That Are Doing You More Harm Than Good:

1. Granola Bars
Marketed Benefit: Touted as a great snack made from whole grain oats.
Reality: Almost 50% of the carbohydrates of most granola bars come
from sugar and contain 1 gram or less of fiber, usually in the form
of high fructose corn syrup.

2. NutriGrain Bars
Marketed Benefit: Multi-grain snack
Reality: The first ingredient listed is high fructose corn syrup!
It also contains less than 1 gram of fiber. Plus, it's processed to
have a longer shelf life.

3. Prepackaged Fruit Cup
Marketed Benefit: It's fruit!
Reality: These products usually add lots of preservatives to keep
the fruit fresh. They also list "added sugar" or syrup as one of
their first three ingredients.

4. Pretzels:
Marketed Benefit: A light snack made from wheat.
Reality: Sodium aside, pretzels are an enriched snack with little,
if any nutritional value. They are very high glycemic and get
digested almost as fast as table sugar!

5. Wheat Thins
Marketed Benefit: They are made from wheat, which is a grain
Reality: While it's true that wheat thins started out as a whole
grain, the end product doesn't even remotely resemble its former
self. Wheat thins are enriched, contain high-fructose corn syrup,
oils, and artificial additives. Also, there's hardly any fiber, so
they are digested quickly and will definitely spike your sugar
levels.

6. Saltines
Marketed Benefit: A quick, low calorie, light snack
Reality: No nutritional value. They are digested faster than
spooning sugar into your mouth! Did I mention they are enriched,
contain high-fructose corn syrup and have hydrogenated oils in them?

Trail Mix
7. Marketed Benefit: Nuts and other healthy treats all mixed together
Reality: Unless you are making the trail mix yourself (which would
be a great choice!), most store bought varieties contain candy
pieces and are loaded with sodium and even added sugar for taste.
They also tend to have hydrogenated oils and food coloring dyes
added to the m&m's, or other candy inside. Also, just 1 small
handful contains 160-210 calories... and most people eat at least 4
handfuls.

8. Graham Crackers
Marketed Benefit: Light, whole grain snack
Reality: This enriched cracker contains little if any fiber and
also lists hydrogenated oil as one of its ingredients.

9. Fruit Yogurt
Marketed Benefit: Yogurt is good for you!
Reality: While plain yogurt and other low fat/sugar varieties are
healthy, most fruit ones are not. More than 75% of the calories
come from sugar.

10. Energy Drinks!
Marketed Benefit: Quick energy boost.
Reality: You can purchase either the regular or sugar-free
versions, which both contain the same amounts of caffeine. They
usually pack 28-56 grams of sugar in a bottle if you opt for the
regular version. When you add the 120 - 300 grams of caffeine
(equal to 1-3 cups of coffee) to the mix, you send your adrenal
glands on overdrive, which can not only lead to crashes later in
the day but constant use can lead to adrenal deficiency, as well as
other fatigue and hormonal issues.

11. Fruit Juice
Marketed Benefit: It's made from fruit... isn't it?
Reality: Most fruit juices contain less than 100% juice. Even those
that do still cause an insulin spike from ingesting a liquid packed
with over 40 grams of sugar. The difference between real fruit and
juice is that the fiber has been removed during the juicing
process... along with a lot of the natural vitamins. Plus, it's
usually heated somewhere during the processing, thus destroying
most of the nutritional value.

12. SnackWell Cookies
Marketed Benefit: A healthy cookie treat!
Reality: Everybody loves cookies, so we try to justify ways of
sneaking them into our diet without feeling any guilt. These
SnackWell crème sandwich cookies are no different. They still
contain 38 enriched grams of carbs with 18 grams of high-fructose
corn syrup spiked sugars. Top that off with the added hydrogenated
oil and this healthy snack becomes an artery clogger.

13. Pre-Packaged Peanut Butter Crackers
Marketed Benefit: Healthy benefits of peanut butter in an on-the-go
package.
Reality: Yes, peanuts are pretty good for you, but when they are
transformed into peanut butter most companies use hydrogenated oils
and high-fructose corn syrup.

I hope I didn't ruin anyone's favorite snack-time treat, but it is
better to be in the know. This way you are now able to make more
informed decisions when it comes time to getting in shape once and
for all.