50 of the unhealthiest foods at the supermarket

Don’t be fooled by what seems like a healthier option. “Reduced fat peanut butter may save you a few grams of fat, but the multiple types of added sugar and unnecessary fillers make it a very poor choice,” Pine says. “The monounsaturated fat found naturally in peanut butter is actually very good for you, so choose real, natural style peanut butter instead of the laboratory concoction.”

“Buying certain brands of ‘wheat’ bread is a misnomer, as many times the wheat comes from enriched flour and not whole wheat,” says physician nutrition specialist, Dr Adrienne Youdim. “Whole wheat contains the whole kernel including the fibre and other nutrients, whereas enriched flour has nutrients stripped when processed as flour, and only some of the nutrients are replaced in the enrichment process.” To make sure you’re buying true whole wheat bread, check that “whole wheat” is the first ingredient listed on the nutrition label.

“Cold cuts like honeyed ham are highly processed meats with many additives including sodium, artificial additives and nitrates,” says Dr Youdim. “The long-term effects of ingesting these additives can lead to high blood pressure, digestive issues and even colon cancer.”

Just one serving of a popular tomato sauce brand has 12g of sugar and 1/5 of your sodium cap for the day. Always read labels. It’s near impossible to find bottled pasta sauce that’s free from sugar and sodium but, at the very least, look for a low-sugar option made only with ingredients you recognise.

“You may see trading your can of soft drink for a bottled tea as a healthy swap, but often bottled teas are high in sugar and even fructose corn syrup,” says Dr Youdim. “Bottled green tea is essentially like drinking that can of soft drink you just gave up. I suggest making your own tea and putting it in a large bottle to keep in the fridge.” That way you can avoid artificial flavours or additives.

“This is one of the best examples of deceptive packaging in the grocery store,” says Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD, author of Eat Your Way to Happiness. The first two ingredients in a leading brand of veggie snacks are potato starch and potato flour, which are glorified potato chips. “While a serving of vegetables supplies 80 to 160 kilojoules and virtually no sodium, a full serving of these snacks will cost you 540 kilojoules and 210mg of sodium.” Again, read the labels to ensure you’re choosing a healthy option.

Butter isn’t great for your diet, but margarine is the absolute worst. “Margarine is high in trans fat, which has been shown to lower ‘good’ HDL cholesterol and raise ‘bad’ LDL (and total) cholesterol,” says Paul Salter RD, MS and nutrition editor at bodybuilding.com. Better options would be unsalted plain butter, olive oil or ghee, which is clarified butter.

“Powdered non-dairy contains a hodge-podge of trans fats, added sugars and a plethora of artificial flavours, colourings and more!” Salter says. Instead, opt for unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, or an oat-based milk.

“The deceptive word here is wheat,” says Somer. “In this case, it just means that these crackers are made with refined wheat flour, the first ingredient listed. Five crackers packs almost a teaspoon of fat, 3.5g, too. Always read the label and assume nothing.”

“Many premade salad kits are fat, salt and kilojoule landmines,” says Somer. “One leading brand, for example, says that there are three servings in a bag. Each little serving (1.5 cups) is over 700 kilojoules and 15g of fat! Use the entire salad dressing pouch and croutons on your salad, and you’re consuming more kilojoules than you’d get in a Quarter Pounder with Cheese.”