Many plant-based foods are often mistakenly considered healthy, since a vegan product is not always healthier. Therefore, we show you what they are the nine unhealthiest vegan foods in the supermarket.
Organic sugar, syrups and vegetable syrups
While these alternatives to white or refined table sugar may be sources of certain vitamins and minerals, they are still free sugars or hydrates of easy assimilation for our organism.
For this reason, we recommend minimize your consumption being able to use artificial or natural sweeteners such as stevia or dates or other foods with intrinsic or natural sugars inside.
Fruit juices, soft drinks and other sugary drinks
The Fruit juiceeven those 100% natural, are a source of free sugars for our body just like soft drinks and other sugary drinks.
For this reason, we advise avoid these products in the daily diet or reserve them for occasional consumption, always in moderation, if we want to achieve a quality diet with vegan foods.
Potato chips and corn snacks, fried and salty
The potato chips as well as fried and salty corn-based snacks, are products concentrated in calories, derived from fats and starches or refined flour.
Likewise, they are poor in quality nutrients, do not fill easily and have a high sodium content.
For this reason, even if they are vegan products, they are not quality foods to add to the daily diet.
Mayonnaise and other vegan sauces
Mayonnaises that usually include eggs and milk, in their vegan version are products very low in protein but concentrated in fat often of poor nutritional quality, because they may include palm oil.
Similarly, sauces in general can include starches as stabilizers, a variety of additives, sugars and salt in appreciable proportions. For this reason, both vegan mayonnaise and other plant-based sauces are not exactly healthy products compared to their traditional version.
For this reason, we advise avoid industrial options and instead, prepare vegan sauces at home, with quality ingredients.
Vegan cheeses and yogurts
The calls vegan cheeses and yogurts which of course do not derive from the milk of any animal but are made from nuts, seeds and legumes, are on many occasions one more ultraprocessed what we should avoid.
Except for alternatives with a high proportion of the vegetable ingredient that gives rise to it, these products that are used as substitutes for dairy products in vegan diets can offer refined starches or flours in high proportions Palm oil, trans fats and sodium as well as sugars in the case of yogurts, in appreciable proportions.
For this reason, we recommend making cheeses at home as well as alternatives to these products of animal origin with our own hands.
Neutral or flavored vegetable drinks
In replacement of milk, many vegetable drinks are available in the supermarket and can be concentrated sources of free or added sugars, even if they are not flavored options.
It is recommended opt for drinks without additives and without added sugars, in order to obtain a product that is as natural as possible, being able of course to make our own drinks or vegetable milks at home.
Cookies, cakes or other industrial pastry alternatives
The industrial bakery in all its versions, from cookies to pastries, cakes and others, they are an unhealthy option even though their ingredients are 100% plant-based.
That is to say that the vegan cookies that we can find in a supermarket are not always a healthy alternative, but they can offer a high proportion of fats, some of them hydrogenated or Trans fat as well as refined flours, sugars and sodium in appreciable quantities.
Burgers, pizzas and other ready-to-eat dishes
In the supermarket we find a variety of vegan alternatives that can be part of our usual diet, many of them being ultra-processed poor nutritional quality.
This is the case of vegan hamburgers, pizzas and other ready-to-eat meals based on vegetable ingredients only, which may be low in fiber and protein but rich in fat, refined flour, sugar and sodium that it is recommended to moderate in the usual diet.
Vegan ice cream and treats
The ice creams and sweets that we usually find in the supermarket are ultra-processed rich in added and free sugars that should be avoided in the usual diet.
These options are alternatives to poor nutritional quality compared to homemade preparations that we can create at home based on fruits only, more satiating and light.
These are the nine unhealthiest vegan foods in the supermarketwhich show that not everything of plant origin is always more nutritious, light and healthy.
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