Gluten Free Does Not Equal Healthy: 5 Worst Gluten Free Foods

Oh, those sneaky food marketers. Every time we think we’ve found an easy way to tell if a food is healthy or not, they slap that name on all kinds of unhealthy foods! They did it with organic (organic toaster pastries are not that healthy, no matter what they’d want us to believe). Now they’re doing it with gluten-free; and while some people with a gluten intolerance may look forward to these foods as an allergy-friendly treat, many people go off gluten for weight loss and other health reasons—and these foods won’t help one bit.

Take note of these top five unhealthiest gluten-free foods and fight back against misleading marketing:

  1. Amy’s Kitchen Gluten-Free Dairy Free Rice Macaroni & Cheeze
    This creamy frozen pasta may not contain any wheat or dairy, but it packs in as much fat as nine chocolate chip cookies! Good if you’re craving cheezey comfort food; not so good if you’re looking for healthy fare.
  2. Glow Gluten-Free Gingersnap Cookies
    You’d think gingersnaps would be relatively safe, since they don’t have any nuts or fruit or chocolate to mess up the works, but two of these puppies (a single serving) have as much fat as 10 chicken McNuggets! Even for a cookie, that’s pretty ridiculous.
  3. Aleia’s Gluten-Free Farmhouse White Bread
    This particular brand of GF bread uses canola oil and eggs to bind is loaves, which results in a lot more fat and calories than most bread. Try Udi’s for a healthier slice. 
  4. Dunkin’ Donuts Gluten Free Doughnut
    Dunkin’ Donuts has announced that they’re working on a gluten-free doughnut, which—OK, once again, if you have Celiac disease and you can’t eat doughnuts this could be a lifesaver. But if you’re trying to go gluten free for weight loss or general health, this won’t do you any favors.
  5. Tia’s Scrumptious & Totally Healthy Gluten-Free Grandma’s Chocolate Cake
    First, let’s pause for a moment and take note of the “Totally Healthy” moniker in the name of this cake. Now compare that with the 510 calories and 33 grams of fat in Tia’s cake. YIKES! I’m not sure on what planet that counts as “totally healthy,” but it ain’t here.

The bottom line: If you’re on a gluten-free diet for reasons other than an allergy or intolerance, stay AWAY from the packaged foods. The healthiest options are naturally gluten-free: fruits and vegetables.

Photo Credit: Whatsername? via Compfightcc

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