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Protein-rich foods, vegan ice cream or wraps: Are the new trends healthier, too?
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When you walk into a store, you often see a lot of new products and trends. You are also inundated with new products through advertisements on TV, social media, newspapers… Do these new products bring many benefits? And are these trends actually healthy? Below we discuss some very popular products and trends from the supermarket and their impact on your health.
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Protein rich foods
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You see “extra proteins” on packages quite often, do we really need them? Proteins are a real buzz brought from the gym to our homes. People who exercise normally or do light exercise do not need additional proteins in their diet. The recommendation tells us that 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight per day is enough. With a normal diet you will definitely achieve this and often exceed it, because people in Belgium still like to eat dairy products, meat, fish and eggs. People who follow a varied vegetarian diet also do not need additional proteins. People who participate in strength training and/or endurance sports have a higher protein requirement, but they do not usually need a protein-rich diet. Due to the high energy intake they usually consume, the additional protein requirement is automatically covered.
Read also: Are protein bars healthy snacks?
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Diet with extra vegetables
In addition to products with added proteins, there are also many products that feature added vegetables. For example, you have vegetable chips, pasta, ice cream, wraps, etc. Just like with protein products, adding vegetables does not automatically make the product healthier. For example, vegan ice cream is still loaded with sugar, even though it has significantly fewer calories than classic ice cream. Veggie chips still have a lot of fat and energy, so they remain part of the rest of the group.
Pasta, wraps or pizza with vegetables… always the healthiest option? Unfortunately not. White flour is often used, and in practice the vegetables are essentially “vegetable powder”. This keeps the product (relatively) low in fibre content and the whole wheat variety is often the best choice. Of course there are exceptions. Always look carefully at the whole package and compare it to other products. A “regular” vegetable wrapper has more fibre than a “regular” wrapper, but the wrapper with the most fibre is the whole wheat wrapper. A whole wheat (vegetable) wrapper is a good choice here.
It’s also good to know that vegetable-based products don’t count towards the daily recommendation of 300 grams of vegetables per day. So, opt for fries with raw vegetables as a dip instead of vegetable chips, make your own watery ice cream based on vegetable puree or add more vegetables to a sauce with whole wheat pasta.
Read also: Vegetable chips, shrimp crackers, oven-baked or natural: which potato chips are the healthiest?
Vitamin water
Vitamin water, you have probably seen it in the supermarket. Colorful drinks, low in sugar with added extra vitamins, but also often containing preservatives, flavors and in some cases dyes. At first glance it may seem like a healthy and refreshing drink. But do the vitamins in the water make this drink healthier? Actually no. With a healthy lifestyle you don’t need extra vitamins. Moreover, they are usually rich in vitamins that we already get more than enough of and which we simply drain away the “excess”. Furthermore, not all vitamin waters are completely low in sugar. So always check the packaging carefully. Even if they do not contain sugars, the sweetener in the drinks can help keep the cravings for something sweet at bay. These drinks certainly cannot replace plain water and can only be used once for a change. Please pay attention to the sugar content.
Read also: How to give water a nice taste?
New packages
More and more supermarkets are also offering the option of buying meal kits. These contain almost all the ingredients you need to make the recipe included. You don’t have to weigh anything anymore, because everything is there in the right amount. These are often very simple recipes with a large portion of vegetables, which usually need to be supplemented with a protein source and/or a carbohydrate source. Ideal for creating a healthy meal.
- Then try to use whole grain carbohydrates as much as possible, such as whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, etc.
- Additionally, use liquid cooking fats such as olive oil, corn oil, and margarine as much as possible… Minimize the use of solid fats such as butter, shortening, and coconut oil… Coconut oil may seem like a healthy source of fat, but it is made up of at least 85% saturated (= unhealthy) fat.
- A third option to make your fresh package even healthier is to add extra vegetables to your meal. It is recommended to eat at least 300 grams of vegetables per day. So, add at least 200 grams of vegetables per person with a hot meal, and at least 100 grams of raw vegetables with lunch or as a snack. Do you want to eat soup as part of your vegetables? Then definitely add 40 grams of vegetables to 100 grams of soup.
Read also: Are fresh vegetables healthier than canned or frozen vegetables?
When buying a new product at the supermarket, take a look at the ingredient list. Don’t you know what half of the products on that list are used? Then the product is likely highly processed and usually not as healthy as it seems. Be critical and don’t be fooled by any claims on the packaging.
