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The key to maintaining a healthy weight is to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet with plenty of foods known to increase your metabolism. Boosting your metabolism can help you digest faster and take as much energy as possible from the foods you eat. Unfortunately, there are some foods that have been known to slow down your metabolism, and we’re not just talking about sugar and sweets. There are some healthy foods that aren’t beneficial to your metabolism.
Apples
While fruit might seem like an obvious choice when trying to lose weight, it turns out that apples might be counterintuitive to your goals, due to a chemical used when growing them. Some studies have determined that a type of fungicide used on apples and other fruits has caused weight gain in mice. “Try to limit your exposure to pesticides by buying organic versions of the Dirty Dozen, the fruits and vegetables which are most likely to soak up pesticides and bad bacteria,” advises Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, explained to Runner’s World.
Fruit Juice
Another thing to keep in mind with fruit is the levels of sugar added to it when it is put into juice. While fruit juice can offer some health benefits and nutrients from the fruits they contain, most also include a ton of added sugar. Research has determined that high levels of sugar in fruit juice can be just as harmful for your health as soda. If you do want to keep drinking fruit juice, either make it yourself or read nutrition labels on store-bought fruit juices to find the options with the lowest amounts of added sugar.
Granola Bars
If you consider granola bars a healthy snack, you are not alone. According to a survey conducted by the New York Times, 70% off Americans consider granola healthy, while less than 30% off nutritionists agree. Like with fruit juice, this is because of added sugars. Most granola bars contain high amounts of unnecessary added sugars, which cause more damage to your metabolism than the benefits of granola, such as protein, fiber and nutrients, are worth.
Next time you’re craving a snack, opt for something that is not only healthy and nutrient-dense, but also low in sugar and known to speed your metabolism. Nuts are always a safe bet because they are rich in beneficial fiber protein, plus they contain essential fatty acids that boost the metabolism.
