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10 Foods That Look Healthy But Aren't

Marketing says yes. The data says no.

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#10

Veggie chips

Score3.1/10

Vegan

5Low-FODMAP

5Zone

4Anti-Inflammatory

4GLP-1 Friendly

4DASH

3Keto

2Paleo

2Mediterranean

2Whole30

2Carnivore

Potato chips with a vegetable on the bag.

Usually potato starch with vegetable powder coloring. The veggie content is marketing, not nutrition.

Bread (gluten-free)

Score3.1/10

Low-FODMAP

6Vegan

5Mediterranean

5DASH

4Anti-Inflammatory

4Keto

2Paleo

2Zone

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Carnivore

1Whole30

Gluten-free doesn't mean healthy. It often means worse.

Take the wheat out, and manufacturers replace it with rice flour and sugar. Diabetics do worse on it.

Protein bar (Quest)

Score5.3/10

Keto

8GLP-1 Friendly

8Zone

6Vegan

5Paleo

5Carnivore

5Low-FODMAP

5DASH

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Mediterranean

4Whole30

Candy bars with a gym membership.

Most are glorified chocolate bars with added protein powder. The ingredient lists are brutal.

Low-fat yogurt (flavored)

Score2.5/10

DASH

5GLP-1 Friendly

5Mediterranean

4Keto

2Paleo

2Carnivore

2Low-FODMAP

2Zone

2Anti-Inflammatory

2Vegan

1Whole30

Dessert sold in the dairy aisle.

A single cup can have 25g of sugar — more than a Snickers. The protein doesn't cancel it out.

Dried cranberries

Score3.0/10

Vegan

6Paleo

5DASH

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Mediterranean

2Whole30

2Low-FODMAP

2Zone

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Keto

1Carnivore

Candy the wellness industry convinced you is fruit.

Sugar content rivals jellybeans. Most commercial versions add more.

Smoothie bowl

Score4.3/10

Vegan

6Paleo

5Mediterranean

5Whole30

5DASH

5Zone

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Low-FODMAP

4GLP-1 Friendly

4Keto

2Carnivore

Instagram's favorite 800-calorie sugar bomb.

Topped with granola, honey, and dried fruit, the average smoothie bowl has more sugar than two donuts — served in a coconut for aesthetics.

Agave nectar

Score2.5/10

Vegan

9Anti-Inflammatory

3Keto

2Paleo

2Mediterranean

2DASH

2Zone

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Carnivore

1Whole30

1Low-FODMAP

Fructose in a fancy bottle.

Diabetic-friendly on the label. Liver-destroying in reality. The 'natural' branding is doing heavy lifting.

Coconut oil

Score6.2/10

Keto

10Whole30

10Low-FODMAP

10Paleo

9Vegan

8DASH

5Zone

5Anti-Inflammatory

5Mediterranean

2Carnivore

2GLP-1 Friendly

86% saturated fat, sold as a superfood.

The marketing miracle of the 2010s. The science never agreed.

Orange juice

Score3.3/10

Vegan

9Mediterranean

5Whole30

5DASH

4Anti-Inflammatory

3Paleo

2Low-FODMAP

2Zone

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Keto

1Carnivore

All the sugar of soda. None of the fiber of fruit.

Marketed to parents. Rejected by diabetes researchers. Low-scoring across nearly every framework.

Granola

Score1.9/10

Vegan

5Mediterranean

2Low-FODMAP

2DASH

2Zone

2Anti-Inflammatory

2GLP-1 Friendly

2Keto

1Paleo

1Carnivore

1Whole30

Breakfast cereal cosplaying as health food.

Most commercial granola has more sugar per cup than ice cream. Every diet except maybe a kid's birthday party says no.

All 10 Fake-Healthy Foods

See scores for 1,000+ foods →

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The 10 Foods That Look Healthy But Aren't

They're marketed as health food. They score badly across almost every diet we measured. Here are the 10 biggest gaps between what marketing tells you and what the data says.

Health halos are expensive. Granola has more sugar than ice cream. Coconut oil is 86% saturated fat. Smoothies are candy in a cup. Here's what the 11 diets actually say.