Weight loss guru and TV doctor Michael Mosley has shared the four foods you should avoid buying that claim to be good for you.

Many people have started the year by getting rid of junk foods in their homes and stocking on healthy ingredients – but you may be surprised to know that some of the ‘low fat’ and ‘healthy’ alternatives you’ve picked up at your local supermarkets won’t ‘provide you any real nutritional value’ and even ‘contain sugar’, according to the health expert.

Dr Mosley, who created the Fast 800 diet, says you should rethink your food choices, as you may be tricked into believing some products are better for you than others due to clever marketing tactics.

Writing on the Fast 800 blog in July, Mosley wrote: “In a world full of food manufacturers, with clever marketing and a lack of science behind their claims, it can often become confusing to know exactly which foods are healthy when you’re navigating the supermarket.

“With huge signs at the end of each aisle, telling you exactly why the latest products will turn your health around, it’s easy to fall into their well-set traps and spend a fortune on ‘healthy’ foods that are not so healthy.”

The first item on the list is vegetable crisps, an alternative to the potato variety. According to Dr Mosley, these thin slices of veggies aren’t big enough to provide any real nutritional value and aren’t any healthier than those made with spuds due to the amount of sunflower oil they’re fried in. As an alternative, the health guru recommends opting for raw vegetables, nuts, seeds, or gut-boosting sauerkraut and kimchi.

He also warns people against products sold as ‘low-fat’ alternatives’, which are supposedly better for you than your average crisps and drinks. But in reality, low-fat items are often stripped of their nutrients and crammed with sugar and additives to make up for the flavour loss by making them fat-free, and this can lead to blood sugar spikes, causing further cravings, the Daily Record reports.

Dr Mosley explained: “A study, carried out by researchers at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, tracked the diets of 20,000 women over a period of 20 years. The study found links between the consumption of full-fat dairy products (milk and cheese) and weight loss. Over a ten-year period, the women who regularly consumed full-fat milk saw a lower BMI.”

If you regularly buy porridge in sachets where you ‘just add water’, you may want to reconsider your choice. Morsley shockingly revealed that one bowl of instant oatmeal can have up to three spoonfuls of sugar, as some brands have a staggering 16g per serving.

The 66-year-old health expert also says you avoid purchasing bottled salad dressings. He added: “They’re also packed with additives, to extend their shelf life, thickeners, hidden and other nasties that simply don’t belong in your cupboard!” As an alternative, he recommends making your own with equal parts olive oil to balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.

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