Healthy Foods, Unhealthy Weight
Healthy foods that may be adding unhealthy pounds - by Sarah Mirkin, RD


Have you been eating a healthy diet and exercising but are still gaining weight? Unfortunately, many of the "healthy" foods you're eating may not be as healthy as you think. Below are often misjudged foods. Some of them can be very healthy when eaten in moderation, while others are a dieter's nightmare.

Smoothies
These are terrific if you want to gain weight and don't have other health problems. The caloric and sugar content in smoothies is very high. Even for those of you who are interested in weight gain, if your triglycerides are high or if you have diabetes, it would be best for you to avoid these drinks.

Olive Oil
This is a heart-healthy oil that may be beneficial for lowering cholesterol and triglycerides when replacing other fats in the diet. However, olive oil contains a high percentage of fat and is 120 calories per tablespoon. The key here is moderation.

Bagels
Fat free and cholesterol free, are bagels the perfect health food? No. Bagels are usually processed and contain very little fiber, vitamins and minerals. When you're buying a bagel at the bagel shop, watch out. They typically contain anywhere from 400 to 600 calories, and that's before you add the cream cheese.

Nuts
They are portable and very heart healthy, and they are high in fiber, protein, vitamin E, B vitamins, zinc and iron. The monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat in nuts also helps lower cholesterol, and the sterols they contain may inhibit cholesterol absorption. Although there are many benefits to eating nuts, overdoing it can easily lead to weight gain. Just one (1) ounce has 200 calories, so make sure you eat them in moderation and replace unhealthy fats in your diet

Reduced-Fat Peanut Butter
Believe it or not, peanut butter is good for you. The fat in peanut butter comes from nuts and is very heart healthy, as mentioned above. However, just like nuts, moderation is key because it is still very calorie dense and high in fat. Unfortunately, the reduced fat variety has the same number of calories because some of the fat is replaced with sugar. Stick with regular peanut butter, and limit it to one to two tablespoons per serving.

Bran Muffins
Unfortunately, most commercially bought bran muffins contain very little, if any, bran. But they typically contain a lot of fat, sugar, processed flour and calories. So unless the nutritional information is available to you, don't assume this is a healthy choice.

Fat-Free Cookies
They are usually better for your heart than the full-fat variety, but there is little, if any, difference in calories. The fat is replaced with sugar, which is why they still taste good. And because they're fat free most people think it's OK to eat more cookies than they normally would. Your best bet is to have a few regular cookies that taste good.

Salad
A salad is the perfect diet food. Right? It could be, but not if you pour on a 1/2 cup of caesar dressing to go with the cheese that the salad already has on it. A chicken caesar salad entree could weigh in at 800 calories - not to mention all the artery-clogging saturated fat in cheese. The taco salad at some fast-food restaurants contains 850 calories and 52 grams of fat, most of which is artery-clogging trans- or saturated fat. Skip the shell, and you'll save 400 calories, but this is still not a low-cal lunch. What's your best bet? Have a grilled chicken salad, and top it with one to two teaspoons of oil and one to two tablespoons of vinegar, or order dressing on the side and limit yourself to one to two spoonfuls.



SOURCE: Cedars-Sinai Medical Group