contains all the food groups, so why is it not healthy? Again, it's in the way it's prepared. The best nutrients (such as vitamin A) are actually in the tomato sauce. However, pizza has been modernized from its original version, where it contained a lot of sauce and very little cheese and was loaded with vegetables.

Pizzas nowadays, in order to be profitable, are loaded with processed cheese (a cheap ingredient) to make you forget about the small amount of toppings they come with. Even if you order your pizza loaded, the individual amounts of vegetables are too small to contribute much to your daily fiber and vitamin requirements.

What about meat lovers pizzas, aren't they healthy because of the protein of the meat? Not really, as the meat toppings are processed with nitrates, sodium, and MSG, which pretty much neutralize any nutritional values they may contribute otherwise.

What if you don't want to stop eating pizza? You can always order your pizza without cheese (but be prepared for difficulties, questions, and stares), ask for heavy on the toppings (which will cost you extra), or simply make it at home.

* Cheese

Cheese has already been mentioned as generally not being healthy, but why is that so? Does it not contain a lot of Calcium and other nutrients, which are essential? It depends what type of cheese it is, but commercial grade cheese usually is processed with fillers and high in fat, which negates its benefits. The healthiest cheeses are the ones made from cow's milk, so simply check your labels when you purchase cheese for your own kitchen.

* Cereal

Most cereals have large amounts of vitamins, so they are thought of as healthy. The problem is they also contain high amounts of different types of sugars. Also, simply because a product is enriched with vitamins does not mean it is healthy. The body needs to be able to process the vitamins; simply eating them is not enough. The absorption of vitamins is a complex science, but the bottom line is that vitamins, which occur naturally in foods, are more likely to be processed by the human body. Without proper absorption and digestion, vitamins don't give health benefits.

* Foods that are Labeled Lite or Low-Fat

It's easy to see that foods such as cookies or ice cream aren't healthy, even with low-fat labels attached. However, people are still tricked into thinking that foods such as yogurt are even healthier in the low-fat versions. This is not true, as often they contain more sugar than their regular counter parts.

This list could go on and on. Modern technologies, the drive for profit, and the need to preserve foods for long shelf lives because of an explosion of earth's population has turned just about every food into an unhealthy alternative. In essence, if it's not grown out of the earth or raised on natural ingredients without chemicals it's not really healthy.

What are we to do then? We can become smarter consumers by reading labels, and using our customer power by buying the healthiest options available. These options include whole grain over white, fresh instead of frozen, naturally sweetened over artifical, non-processed versus processed, and skipping enriched products.

Even if our budgets or time frames don't allow us to shop exclusively at local farmer's markets (which are currently the healthiest resources for foods), we can still supplement our diets with those foods. This will send a message to the corporations and people in charge that they must truly address our desire for healthy living eventually.

Learn more about this author, Alexandra Heep.
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