17 Shocking Food Facts That Will Make You Question Hunger
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Food, glorious food! What’s to hate about it? While we assure you these facts may not stop you from eating, some of them may make you question your hunger!
1. Fizzy Water Keeps You Warm
Before you start imagining fizzy water to be like a cuddly sweater, know that it keeps you warm by adding extra rolls of fat to your belly. Yes, of course, it’s important to stay hydrated. But, by swapping your mineral water with fizzy water, you’re probably consuming as much sugar as you would by drinking a can of coke. High in calories and sugar, a bottle of flavored, fizzy water can contain up to seven teaspoons of sugar. Stick to normal water with a squeeze of lemon for low-calorie hydration.
2. Honey’s Hidden Sugars
You may think of adding a dollop of honey to your green tea. Beware! Honey sold in supermarkets is far from healthy. To lengthen the shelf life, honey may be stocked full of preservatives. In fact, honey is often made of 75 percent sugar and 25 percent water, with tiny amounts of vitamins and minerals. All is not lost, though. When shopping for honey, opt for darker colored and more expensive variations. These, reportedly, have more antioxidants like flavonoids, and more antibacterial and antimicrobial properties.
3. Hold The Salad
Remember throwing those temper tantrums over not eating your vegetables when you were a kid? Turns out that while greens are good for you (and we still say, mom was right – eat them!), having a salad over a full meal may not necessarily keep you slimmer. Salad dressings are filled with salt, sugar, and other preservatives that add to your waistline. You could, of course, choose to still have a salad minus the dressing. But you’re an adult now! With no one to nag you to finish your veggies, you may as well have a small portion of grilled chicken. It is full of protein and will keep you full for long. The best part is, it’s good for you too!
4. Ice Cream Over Yogurt? Really?
No, you are not in a parallel universe. When it comes to saturated fat, ice cream is a better choice than yogurt. Three tablespoons of supermarket-variety yogurt contain a whopping 8.5 grams of saturated fat. That’s a massive 43 percent of the recommended daily intake. Unbelievably, two scoops of vanilla ice cream contain just 2.5 grams of saturated fat. Before you put away those yogurts and fruits for ice cream, remember ice cream contains tons of added sugar. The best bet would be to choose a low-fat or fat-free variety of yogurt, and top it with fresh fruit – the best of both worlds!
5. Carrots Don’t Give You 20/20 Vision
After years of being cajoled into eating carrots to get better eyesight, imagine how heartbroken we were when we found out that there’s little they can do to give you a perfect vision. Though carrots are a major source of vitamin A (that is important for healthy eyesight), they don’t actually do anything to improve an already deteriorated vision.
6. Speaking of Carrots…
There’s something slightly less guilty about indulging in a dessert that contains vegetables. Carrot cake, with its delicious cream cheese frosting, is not just yummy, but hey, we’re also getting some of our daily intake of vegetables, aren’t we? But in terms of calories, all those taste-enhancing walnuts and frosting do add up. At up to even 560 calories a slice, you may as well give in to your chocolate craving.
7. Chocolate And Good News
If some researches were to be believed, your chocolate indulgence might not be so bad. Some tests have proven that when compared to the juices of super fruits such as blueberries and pomegranate, dark chocolate was found to be higher in antioxidants that are essential for fighting diseases and preventing wrinkles. Of course, dark chocolate is the best since milk, sugar, and processing may reduce the health benefits.
8. Hold Those Chopsticks
Sushi has a cult following, and those bite-sized portions often mean we don’t keep track of how much we are actually eating. Unfortunately, delicious sushi is nothing more than processed carbs and tons of salt. From the soya dip to the fish and even the seaweed around it, there’s a ton of hidden salt, so indulge in moderation.
9. Expensive Saliva
A Chinese delicacy, bird’s nest soup is made from a particular kind of nest that is built with bird saliva. Rumor has it that this nest is hard to find and is loaded with nutritional goodness, hence the price. We don’t know about that, but we’d surely feel bad shelling out money for saliva.
10. Oranges Aren’t Always Orange
You would assume that if a fruit is named after a color, it would be that color. Funnily enough, that’s not the case with the orange fruit. In warmer tropical countries, it’s never cold enough to break down the chlorophyll in the fruit’s skin, which leaves the orange yellow or green when ripe.
11. Peanuts Aren’t Actually a Nut
Speaking of deceptive foods, the peanut is, despite its name, not actually a nut but a legume.
Fun Fact: Peanuts can also be used to make dynamite.
12. Ketchup’s Not So Humble Origins
Any humble ketchup lover can tell you – ketchup goes with EVERYTHING. From fries to burgers to even Chinese take-out, ketchup is awesome. Apparently, we’re not the only ones who think so. In the 1800s, ketchup was used as a medicine to treat various ailments including diarrhea.
13. Feeling Sad? Have a Banana
There’s a reason monkeys are so chirpy. Research has proven that bananas contain high levels of tryptophan that is converted into serotonin – the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter. So, the next time you’re feeling blue, grab a banana.
14. Chocolate = Money
Chocolate is definitely a priced commodity. Whether in a child’s hand or our kitchen cupboard, no one likes sharing that bar of silky goodness. It’s no surprise then that in 250 A.D., the Mayans and Aztecs used cocoa beans as a system of money. Show us the chocolate!
15. Fruit Loops Have No Flavor
We’re sorry to break a childhood belief, but in spite of the rainbow of colors in a box of fruit loops, they all taste the same.
16. Berry Funny
Here’s another one on deceptive names – neither the raspberry, strawberry, nor blackberry are actual berries. What are berries then? *Drumroll please* Berries are bananas, tomatoes, pumpkin, avocado, and watermelon.
17. Shiny Dung Anyone?
Know the secret ingredient that keeps your jelly beans shiny? Shellac, made from the excretion of an Asian beetle, is what keeps those candies gleaming. Enough said.
Love it or hate it, you can’t live without food. So turn a blind eye, and dig in. Bon Appetit!
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