Have you ever wondered about how healthy those food items in your pantry are? Let’s take a look and find out.

There are are three foods that we tend to think are nutritious and healthy, but in reality, they are not. So, what should we avoid?

• Wholemeal cookies: If they are not handmade, having followed a recipe with really healthy ingredients: no refined sugars, with wholemeal flour, then avoid them as they can be full of sugar and fat. Most of them are not truly integral because they have been made with refined flour, with bran added. That’s integral? Absolutely not.

• Light products: a light product, as marked by food legislation must have at least 30% fewer calories than the regular version. This does not mean that it is healthy to eat as much as we like of these products because this can result in us ingesting the same amount of calories as if we were eating the regular version.

• Brown and white sugar: It is a product found in almost every home, and it is about time that we change this habit. The sugar level spikes that follow foods high in sugar are bad for our bodies and leave us feeling hungry up to two hours after. Don’t be fooled by agave syrup either. It may originate from a natural source but one tablespoon contains 20 calories more than a spoon of sugar. It is increasingly targeted towards diabetics, because it has a lower glycemic index, however it is high in fructose which is just as bad in the long term, so it’s consumption should be limited to small amounts.

Now you know that not everything natural and light is good for your health. We recommend that if you use a lot of sugar, to cut back or try to eliminate it altogether. It is just a matter of re-educating the taste buds ;)