15 'healthy' foods you've been tricked into buying that aren't actually that great by Erin Brodwin on Feb 3, 2016, 1:17 PM Advertisement
 Most Americans say they want to eat healthier. It's a beautiful (and fairly new) thing. The problem is, most of us don't know how. But the next time you take a stroll down your grocery's "health foods" aisle, take note: Most of what you're looking at likely doesn't belong there. Here are some of the most egregiously unhealthy products we've been tricked into buying: SEE ALSO: 17 'healthy habits' you're better off giving up UP NEXT: Most dietary supplements are useless, but here are the ones you should take Beef  The problem: We've been swindled into thinking that beef, which is high in fat and has been implicated in contributing to the California drought because of its large impact on land and water resources, is a healthy, go-to source of protein. Who's to blame: The National Beef Board How it happened: The Beef Checkoff Program, a research and advertising funding pool created by the National Beef Board to stimulate beef sales in the US, came up with the "Beef: It's What's For Dinner" campaign in 1992. The campaign featured TV, radio, and magazine ads with ator Robert Mitchum as the narrator, as well as catchy Western music from the "Rodeo" suite by Aaron Copland. The initial campaign ran for a year and a half and cost $42 million. Today, the program still owns and operates beefitswhatsfordinner.com, which features recipes and guides to picking out a cut of meat.
Milk  The problem: We were led to believe we need to drink milk to get calcium for strong bones, especially at a young age. In reality, there are a ton of veggies that are rich in calcium, including kale, collard greens, spinach, and peppers, just to name a few. Who's to blame: The California dairy industry How it happened: In 1993, California hired advertising consultant Jeff Manning to boost lagging dairy sales. He brought on ad agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, who used its $23-million budget to create "got milk?", a campaign that began around the idea that people only want milk when they run out. Later versions of the ads emphasized its importance for health, like the above ad featuring actor Frankie Muniz with the text: "Want strong kids?"
Peanut butter and jelly  The problem: The PB&J is a ubiquitous lunch item among American kids (there's a song about it, folks), but it's actually a less-healthy alternative to sandwiches made with hummus or lean meats. Peanut butter is high in fat; jelly is high in sugar. Slap those ingredients between 2 slices of white bread and you've got a sandwich that packs 20 grams of sugar, 14g fat (3.5g saturated) and 400 calories. Who's to blame: WWI rations officers, Welch's (who came out with Grapelade), and peanut companies that latched onto it. How it happened: The Great Depression popularized peanut butter on bread as a cheaper-than-meat substitute for protein. When it was combined with Welch's Grapelade — one of the first iterations of jelly — in the rations of WWI soldiers in the US, the PB&J became an official hit.
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