READ TIME: 1 x Piccolo Latte
KEY POINTS:
In the past 5 years there’s been a rise in “healthy treats” or “healthified” junk food as we try to create the same pleasurable experience without the ill effects or to feel less guilty.
However, these foods aren’t without their issues and can sabotage our fat loss goals if we’re not careful.
By placing an undue focus on quality over quantity, replicating what we’re trying to reduce and “health halos” are ways in which “healthy” snacks can negatively affect our results.
We should avoid putting “healthy” treats or desserts on a pedestal and treat them like they’re “unhealthy” counterparts. Both are energy and dense and easy to over consume making them just as likely to lead to a calorie surplus and fat gain.
Over the last few years, the healthy eating trend has grown more than Zac Efron in his role in Bay Watch, and I love it! The healthy food I mean….Okay maybe Zac a little too.
The more minimally processed, nutrient dense, protein rich, quick food options, the better. While traipsing through London earlier this year I was amazed at the amount of healthy fast food options. I was also amazed at the state of my bank account after eating at them but that’s got nothing to do with this article.
During this time there has also been a rise in “healthy” junk food-esque options. You know, the bars/balls/cookies/slices that are typically made from a mix of minimally processed, natural ingredients such as dates, cacao, coconut (plus all its by-products), nuts, seeds, natural sugars/syrups, superfoods etc. and then slapped with a rousing name such as ‘All Natural Heavenly Super Bliss Bites’. Or recipes for cheesecake, slices and cakes made from raw, whole-food ingredients.
There are recipes for every dietary method you could think of. Even our paleo caveman brethren were apparently pounding ingredients with a bone and then rolling them into healthy morsels to be carried in their animal skin pouch.
And I get it. We love “junk food”. Literally, our brains froth on it. Foods rich in concentrated sugar and fat result in spikes of dopamine which is tied into the reward response in the brain, motivating us to seek more.
Therefore it’s only natural that as humans we try to find a way to have the best of both worlds. To eat healthy but also give ourselves that same pleasurable experience.
However, with this growing trend of “healthy” junk-type foods comes a few issues that may have been overlooked in the current health haze. These issues have the potential to sabotage those with fat loss goals and as a consequence their health too.
What the keto fudge am I talking about?
1. AN UNDUE FOCUS ON QUALITY RATHER THAN QUANTITY.
“I don’t understand it! My diet isn’t bad. I eat mostly “clean” foods and rarely eat junk, yet I can’t lose weight!”.
Sound familiar?
This is the battle cry of those lacking an awareness of how much energy they’re consuming. It’s not completely their fault though, its likely due to the contrasting information being broadcast in the media or over the internet. Many popular guru’s or fad diets, down play the role of calories, or more frequently, don’t mention them at all when it comes fat loss. This is despite knowing (I hope) that calorie balance dictates bodyweight gains or losses.
Why?
Because they’re banking on food quality inadvertently reducing calorie intake. Which often it does. It’s how most popular diet methods work.
I’m not stating that the quality of food in someone’s diet isn’t important or doesn’t play a role in body composition, it does, BUT, it’s not the greatest influence. Calorie balance is.
Many ‘healthy snacks’ contain just as much and sometimes greater calories than so called “un-healthy” snacks.
This was the calorie and macro breakdown of a popular celebrity chef’s “healthy” Twix bar compared to a regular Twix bar…
You can consume a diet from 100% whole food, sugar free, low carb, paleo, vegan etc. but if you’re taking in more energy than you expend you’re going to gain weight!
2. REPLICATING WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO REPLACE
One of the reasons we advocate having a diet rich in whole foods is because they tend to be more satiating and harder to overeat, thereby naturally helping us to regulate our calorie intake.
There is a reason you have never heard anyone say “Dude! I had the biggest bowl of cacao powder last night! Probably why I’m looking a little flabby!”
One of the reasons it’s easier to regulate our intake of minimally processed foods is because they’re less rewarding to our brain. We’re not as motivated to eat these foods because they don’t result in as intense pleasure.
However, once we start mixing certain food properties and flavours, adding fat here, something sweet there, a dash of salt, letting our inner Jamie O take over and TADAH! That bowel of cacao powder is now a mug cake or a neatly rolled raw ball.
While we probably wouldn’t have much of a problem limiting our intake of the ingredients on their own, when we PROCESS them together the palatability and therefore the reward to our brain is substantially kicked up. As is the calorie content.
When we process individual ingredients that aren’t super palatable together we get a compound effect that often results in a food that’s just as calorie dense and palatable as the foods we’re trying to avoid.
Concentrated forms of fat and sugar makes food taste delicious! It’s a fact that chefs, food scientists and food manufacturers have known and profited from for centuries. When we toss all these minimally processed foods such as nuts, dates, seeds, syrups, butters, fruits etc. into our food processor, blend them until they’re a thick, sticky batter, and then roll them into individual bite size pieces, we are creating an energy dense, easily consumable, delicious snack!
But hang on a second…
Isn’t that exactly the problem with the processed foods we so love to hate?
Aren’t I pretty much describing a Snickers in the last line of the above description?
Often the only real difference between the two is the nutrient content which in the grand scheme of things may not be such a big deal because:
1) These foods shouldn’t be making up a large part of your diet as a whole and thus shouldn’t be relied upon for nutrients.
2) The people who tend to eat more of these foods are typically health conscious individuals who are likely already eating a more nutritious diet than the gen. pop.
3. THE ‘GET OUT OF JAIL FREE CARD’ EFFECT.
Studies have shown that when compared to the actual energy content of a food, “healthy” foods are perceived as having lower energy content.
We also know that people are prone to consume more of a given food when it is advertised or seen as “healthy”.
This can contribute to increased consumption during the actual feeding period with justification along the lines of “well it’s healthy so I can consume more” or later during the day; “well I’ve eaten well all day, because I had those healthy snacks earlier. I can afford to eat more/treat myself now”.
Due to the perceptions of these foods as being “healthy” there is also the possibility of increased consumption because it is seen as conducive to health or void of negative consequences.
I’m not telling anyone to eat one way or another but trying to bring attention to some of the potential issue with “healthy” junk-type foods. Aiming to have a diet as nutrient dense as possible is a great goal and if you enjoy making healthy treats and feel better consuming them then that’s perfectly fine.
But guess what.
Consuming the real deal treats you’ve been avoiding is also perfectly fine if it doesn’t make up a large proportion of your diet and when accounted for in your daily or weekly calorie intake.
So what do I recommend?
Don’t place them on a pedestal.
Treat them like every other processed snack and regulate your consumption of them because just like they’re “junk” food counterparts, they’ll lead to just as much fat gain if their consumption leads you into a calorie surplus.