Think these 8 foods are healthy? Wrong!

Skip the diet soda and potato chips and have seltzer and popcorn instead


By Nicole Ferring, MS, RD
Prevention Magazine
updated 9:55 a.m. ET, Wed., Dec. 31, 2008

Even if you haven't bought full-fat mayo or sugary soda since blue eye shadow was in style (the first time), you may be getting duped into less-than-stellar food choices at the supermarket. The culprit? The "health halo." "From a distance, some foods seem like healthful choices because of the way they're packaged or labeled," says Janel Ovrut, MS, RD, a Boston-based dietitian. "But just because a product's marketing gives it an aura of health doesn't necessarily mean it's good for you." Here, eight notorious health food impostors, plus smarter swaps that up the nutritional ante and still give you the flavor you crave.