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Not all "healthy" foods are what they claim to be. In this episode, Dr. Barrett breaks down the top five foods marketed as health-conscious choices that are quietly wrecking your metabolism and gut: protein bars and whey shakes, nut milks, juices, gluten-free products, and "healthy" sparkling sodas. He explains what's actually in them (sugar alcohols, glyphosate, oxalates, artificial sweeteners), why the labels are misleading, and what real alternatives to reach for instead.
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Watch the episode on YouTube here!
DISCLAIMER
This content is strictly the opinion of Dr. Barrett Deubert and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to replace medical advice or treatment from a physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding health questions and concerns. Neither Dr. Deubert nor the Real Health Co. takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All audience members, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.
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Watch the episode on YouTube here!
- (00:00) - Intro
- (01:59) - #1: Protein Bars & Shakes
- (04:09) - Better Protein Alternatives
- (04:40) - #2: Nut milks (Almond & Oat)
- (06:31) - #3: Juices vs. Smoothies
- (08:20) - #4: Gluten-Free Foods
- (09:53) - #5: "Healthy" Sodas & Sparkling Drinks
- (12:31) - Closing Thoughts
DISCLAIMER
This content is strictly the opinion of Dr. Barrett Deubert and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to replace medical advice or treatment from a physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding health questions and concerns. Neither Dr. Deubert nor the Real Health Co. takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All audience members, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.
Creators and Guests
What is The Real Health Podcast?
On a mission to share practical solutions to improve your wellbeing, The Real Health Podcast will equip you with evidence-based recommendations essential to achieving a healthy lifestyle. Join Dr. Barrett Deubert as he shares his passion for educating, inspiring, and empowering individuals to achieve “real health for real people”. Breaking down health topics such as: immunity, stress, real food, natural living, and much more to provide you with actionable steps to improving your family’s health.
And the promise is that, hey, these bars and these shakes are high protein. They're a meal replacement. They're, supportive to recovery and weight loss. But the reality is when we consume these protein shakes and bars, they are full of sugar or sugar alcohols. They are artificially sweetened, typically with sucralose and aspartame.
Dr. Barrett:There's tons of emulsifiers gums, guar gums in them. They're heavily processed, protein isolates, and they're really just wreaking havoc on your metabolic system. Welcome back to another episode of The Real Health Podcast. Today, we're talking about the top five healthy foods that are actually fooling you. Which of the top five foods here that I'm listed are actually not healthy at all?
Dr. Barrett:And one of the biggest problems in nutrition today isn't junk food. We know what junk food is. I think we're more educated than before. The real problem is food that's being labeled as healthy, but in truth, it's junk food in disguise. So I'm just going to break down the top five that you're probably consuming one of these.
Dr. Barrett:The reality is you're maybe consuming two to three, and some of you are consuming all five. I have consumed all five at some point in my life. And even recently, these are things I'm intentional about, I'm mindful of. You need to be mindful of these top five. It can literally change your health for the better.
Dr. Barrett:It can improve your gut. It might be one of the missing links behind your digestive symptoms or even a reason why you've had a recent kidney stone. So today we're talking all about the top five foods that are labeled healthy, but in truth, they are not. The number one, and number five is gonna surprise you, I think the most, but number one, we're coming out of the gates hard with protein bars and whey protein shakes. You know me, I'm a big fan of protein.
Dr. Barrett:I think it's important, it's vital, it is essential, and most people are deficient in it. And the promise is that, hey, these bars and these shakes are high protein, they're a meal replacement, they're supportive to recovery and weight loss. But the reality is, when we consume these protein shakes and bars, they are full of sugar or sugar alcohols. They are artificially sweetened, typically with sucralose and aspartame. There's tons of emulsifiers in gums, guaiar gums in them.
Dr. Barrett:They're heavily processed, protein isolates, and they're really just wreaking havoc on your metabolic system. You know, the issue is that a lot of it lacks fiber. It digests quickly, and so it really just spikes your blood sugar, especially whey protein. So last episode, we talked about supplements that can move the needle in your health journey, and I mentioned amino acids. Free form amino acids or essential amino acids don't alter blood sugar levels.
Dr. Barrett:These, these protein bars, whey protein, it absolutely does. It alters your blood sugar. It spikes it. Is there a proper timing to utilize things like this? Yes.
Dr. Barrett:But if you're trying to lose weight, like lose fat, gain muscle, if you're trying to live healthy, you're trying to think about your health for longevity purposes, Eliminate protein bars and protein shakes. They are not doing you any really benefit if you're really trying to make a massive shift in your metabolic system. Now, for some that are elite athletes or training hard or healthy metabolics, right? Like, yeah, sure. I think that you can get away with it.
Dr. Barrett:But again, if we're labeling these as healthy and we're just giving them to our kids and we're taking them as adults, I'm just here to tell you they're not healthy. They are spiking your blood sugar, they're wreaking havoc on your gut. A lot of them contain, even if they're gluten free, grains that are destroying your gut, a lot of packed full artificial sweeteners that are causing neurological inflammation. We need to be mindful of how much we're consuming. What are some alternatives?
Dr. Barrett:I think there's an alternative from a protein standpoint of just taking free form amino acids. But if you're looking for healthy protein options, right, like grass fed dairy, eggs can be really beneficial for you. And obviously, you can make your own smoothie, quote unquote, at home and potentially get away with it. But we're gonna talk about that here in just a minute. Number two, this may surprise you, but nut milks.
Dr. Barrett:You've heard me talk about before, we're coming back to it. Most people label them as dairy free, plant based, healthy alternative to dairy. Are they? Well, my suggestion if you're dairy tolerant, is typically grass fedates you dairy. And so what we're doing is we're consuming a bunch of nut milks like almond milks and oat milks that are full of glyphosate, that are full of oxalates that are causing increased risk of kidney stones.
Dr. Barrett:Almonds are full of oxalates. When we look at oats, it's full of glyphosate. And there's usually added oils, added artificial sweeteners or sugars to these nut milks that are wreaking havoc on your metabolism. So, when we look at oats and almonds especially, because that's what most people consume, and even the glyphosate discussion, almonds, oats, they're exposed to glyphosate, which is a forever chemical that's wreaking havoc on most people's cellular health and driving a major chronic inflammatory issue that needs to be addressed. A lot of us have way too much plastic and glyphosate in our body, and so we want to minimize that and mitigate that by removing nut milks.
Dr. Barrett:So I think honestly a grass fed A2 dairy fits most people's needs. And when you're looking at better options, I do think like a macadamia nut is probably a better option for a lot of people. And maybe just look at adding whole grass fed A2 dairy back into your latte. Number three, I think juices are a health alternative. Like we go to the store and buy a juice, we feel good about ourselves.
Dr. Barrett:Or we go to a juice bar and we get a juice and we feel good about it. But you got to remember, you've just removed fiber, which stabilizes blood sugar. You just slammed a bunch of orange juice or orange ginger lemon juice or whatever, beet juice, you're like, oh, I'm so healthy, but you just spiked your blood sugar. You consumed a ton of potentially chemicals because it probably wasn't organic juice. So a bunch of glyphosate was just put into the body.
Dr. Barrett:And your body doesn't know the difference between that, and truthfully, it doesn't know the difference between that and cane sugar. It spikes your blood sugar the same. I mean, you're getting forty, fifty, 60 grams of sugar from that juice. And so we've got to be mindful that you just unnecessarily spiked your blood sugar and you really didn't create any satiation, like you're hungry, so you're going go and grab other foods and your blood sugar crashes and now we're in a world of harm. Juices are an issue.
Dr. Barrett:Smoothies, though, can be beneficial, especially when you add protein to it, right? If we add certain fibers to it, especially when we get into chia seeds and flaxseed, I think there can be some benefit there. Some whole milk dairy can be beneficial. You add some low glycemic fruits like berries to the mix, and we create more of a fibrous, protein, fat rich smoothie, and we sip on that, I think that's a better alternative to juices and can be a much healthier option for you and for your family. All right, so that was number three.
Dr. Barrett:Number four, gluten free foods. Right? So I see it all the time. It's like, all right, I'm going gluten free. That was a big shift a couple decades ago, last ten years for sure.
Dr. Barrett:And so a lot of you guys, man, we've been gluten free for years. So there's a ton of gluten free options out there. But then when you look at the back, realize, man, it's just rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cornstarch, sugar, gums, and oils that are heavily processed. And is healthier than the alternative? Like last night, I had a gluten based pasta that's from Europe.
Dr. Barrett:And to me, I think that European pasta, that European grain, was is significantly healthier than a gluten free pasta option that I could have gotten in the store. Alright? Because there's like, there was literally a three three ingredients to it. So if you're gluten free for the purpose of celiac and allergies, I get it. But if you're gluten free because you think it's healthier, I just want to check you, it's not.
Dr. Barrett:It's not healthier. People assume gluten free is healthy. It's not even close. Gluten free doesn't equate to health. We can't just trust the label and expect it to be a healthy item.
Dr. Barrett:So gluten free is not necessarily a healthier option. If you're celiac or wheat allergy, sure. But for most people, they probably would benefit from a cleaner source of grain, European grain, than they would benefit from a gluten free option. And the last one, number five, which, listen, I'm coming at you. It's been a big craze over the last couple years, but I mean, we're talking about all the healthy sparkling drinks, probiotic rich sodas, Zevias.
Dr. Barrett:I've consumed my fair share of Zevia or poppy or whatever they're called. We've got to look at what's in it. We've got to understand that. So for a lot of people, we're consuming way too much of it. And when you look at the label, you see sugar alcohols.
Dr. Barrett:You see like chicory root, inulin, large amounts of added fiber, artificial sweeteners sometimes. And these are going to feed specific bacteria in the gut that can lead to a SIBO issue or a small intestinal bacterial over This can lead to gas, bloating, loose stools, headaches, feeling of yuckiness. If you have those symptoms, if your digestive system is not healthy, I usually do not suggest you consume any sort of Zevia, poppy, sparkling drink alternative at all whatsoever. I do think that there's obviously not just artificial or healthy alternative sweeteners in there, but there's a lot of fibrous type and even xylitol is very disruptive to our gut microbiome and can lead to potentially some fermentation of our gut that's leading to bloating and abdominal discomfort. There's also oxalates in there that can increase kidney stone risks.
Dr. Barrett:So we want to be mindful of how much of this we're consuming, and if you're a right candidate, be consuming these to a degree. Are they better than soda? Sure. Yes. But are they healthy?
Dr. Barrett:No, they are not healthy. So healthy sodas are not healthy. Water's healthy, right? And I'm not saying drink water all the time for the rest of your life. Have your Zevia, have your Papia, but do not consume them on a regular basis, expecting them to actually be driving health.
Dr. Barrett:Drinking three poppies a day is not good. Is overdriving and creating a massive growth of certain bacterial species in the gut that we do not want that can lead to SIBO and gastrointestinal issues in the future. We want to be mindful. And the same thing is true about kombucha. If you're consuming a large amount of kombucha every day, the same amount, you hyperpolar colonizing a certain organism in the gut that we want to avoid.
Dr. Barrett:So don't consume three kombuchas a day of the same variety. Don't consume three poppies a day. Don't consume three zeebies a day. I would even recommend only consuming a couple a week in a healthy, balanced way. And this, for me, is my top five that I would call healthy on the market yet they're not healthy for you.
Dr. Barrett:As always, pray that we added value to you and your health journey. That this has been valuable for you. If it is, make sure you share it. Give it to a friend, to a family member. It could potentially uncover some mysteries in their health journey that could save their life, change their life.
Dr. Barrett:Thanks for listening to another episode of The Real Health Podcast.