“What Is Actually Healthy But People Think It Is Not?” (30 Answers)

Bored Panda contacted Soren-J, the person who started this discussion in the first place, who kindly agreed to share the inspiration behind it.

They told us they saw another thread where the opposite was asked. However, as interesting as the topic was, they were more curious to know what healthy things were labeled as harmful.

When asked what makes people believe something is bad for them when it actually isn't, they told us that it all comes down to each person. "Things that seem healthy or unhealthy to us will initially be seen from a subjective point of view based on what we already know and believe about the world. 

Access to information is not the same for everyone, and neither is its processing. We all grew up in different contexts and have different ways of seeing the world. This means that two people can think differently about the same thing, with one seeing it as healthy and the other as unhealthy."

Their advice on navigating misleading health information is to go to a professional when a person has any serious questions. "If you feel saturated with information, there is nothing like a doctor to clear up doubts, and although each doctor has their own opinions and approaches, at the end of the day, they look after the patient's well-being and will give their answer based on that.

But since we cannot take a doctor as a private consultant for any question of the day, we must look for reliable sources of information.

Using Google Scholar is a good option because it will take you to at least two official publications from scientific media, magazine articles, theses, and publications from universities that have been published on their websites."

They concluded by saying, "To be able to navigate contradictory information... you have to do a very honest job of research, not take anything for granted, and have a healthy minimum of disbelief in the face of new information, to question and verify it."

We also reached out to Uta Boellinger, a BANT registered nutritionist, who kindly agreed to tell us more about what leads us to believe some things are unhealthy when they are good for us.

She explained, "Over the years the food and diet industries have spread so much misinformation in an attempt to sell their products. This coupled with false information spread by fitness influencers and the media has left people brainwashed and confused."

One example of this is fat. "Far too many people still believe that anything high in fat is automatically unhealthy. This could not be further from the truth. In reality, we all need fat as our body is literally made from fat (cell membranes, our brain, hormones, etc. are all made from fat!).

There are of course good and bad fats and some fats can become unhealthy if they are heated at high temperatures but at the end of the day, high-fat foods such as avocado, oily fish, nuts & seeds are good for us. 

Another reason foods can be seen as unhealthy is if they are naturally high in sugar (such as the poor old banana). The issue here is that statements are often taken out of context! Whether something is healthy or unhealthy depends a lot on when you are eating it, how big a portion is, and whether you are combining it with other foods or not. "

In order to help people be more cautious about conflicting information online and make the right decisions for their health, Boellinger emphasizes the difference between whole foods and highly processed foods, and how important it's to listen to your body and find reputable sources.

"For example, a banana may technically have the same amount of sugar as a chocolate bar but in reality, it is still healthier because it also contains fibre and vitamins and minerals.

Secondly, listen to your body. If you feel well, have great energy levels, good sleep, and balanced moods you are likely doing the right thing. Don’t let anyone tell you something is unhealthy just because it didn’t work for them.

Finally, find reputable sources! Follow the advice of registered nutritionists over that of a fitness influencer and don’t listen to anyone who is trying to also sell you products (such as weight loss shakes etc)."