With so many food options at our fingertips, it can be hard for even the most disciplined of us to practice healthy eating and moderation.
With that said, there is a definite push, especially in the food industry for things to be perceived as healthy.
We obviously know that a french fry is worse for you than a piece of broccoli, but that leaves a whole lot of options in between.
In fact, there are a whole host of health foods and health food trends that could actually be doing you more harm than good if you don't know the right way they should be consumed.
For instance, we all benefit from the healthy fat in an avocado, but even enough healthy fat can turn into unhealthy fat.
One woman took a liking to a health food trend that she had every reason to think was good for her — until she gained 30 pounds.
Thumbnail Photo: Flickr / Walter Lim
[H/T: NBC News]
Rebecca Norris, a beauty editor, admits that she's been more aware of her body lately, because she's been gaining weight.
As part of her effort to have a healthy lifestyle, she has been enjoying matcha green tea lattes with coconut milk on a daily basis.
Matcha is a fancy kind of green tea.
According to Oxford English Dictionary it's, "Powdered green tea leaves, dissolved in hot water to make tea or used as flavoring."
Drinks with Matcha in them have become very popular and are available at places like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.
Drinking matcha on its own isn't what caused Rebecca's rapid weight gain. Matcha powder has 0 calories per 2 grams according to Nutritionix.
The issue was with what she took her matcha tea latte with coconut milk. Often thought to be a healthy alternative to cows milk, coconut milk is actually extremely high in fat and calories.
Coconut milk is rendered from the grated meat of a coconut and has 3.6 grams of fat per tablespoon according to the USDA, whereas cows milk, even whole milk only has 2.4 grams.
Obviously, Rebecca, who had always maintained her weight and been a healthy eater, was taken aback by her changing body.
Finally, she stepped on the scale and discovered that she had gained about 30 pounds in just a few months.
Unsure of what could have caused this, she called her mom, who asked, "Haven't you been drinking your matcha with coconut milk everyday?"
When Rebecca did her research, she was horrified to find out that what she thought was a healthy substitute was actually tipping the scale.
She realized that the 16 oz of matcha and coconut milk was actually taking up half of the recommended daily dose of saturated fat.
We can all learn from her mistake that "healthy options" are often only healthy in moderation.
For example, the antioxidants in dark chocolate may be good for you, but that doesn't mean you should eat a whole bar every night.
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