--- title: 6 Ways Health Food Stores Make You Buy Unhealthy Foods description: Products from wellness stores may seem healthy, but an organic cookie is still a cookie. Here's how health food stores may be making us fat canonical: https://time.com/4036654/health-store-unhealthy-foods/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-18T17:15:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:47.625Z article:section: Health og:title: 6 Sneaky Ways Health Food Stores Make You Buy Unhealthy Food og:description: They obscure calorie counts og:url: https://time.com/4036654/health-store-unhealthy-foods/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 6 Sneaky Ways Health Food Stores Make You Buy Unhealthy Food twitter:description: They obscure calorie counts twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # 6 Sneaky Ways Health Food Stores Make You Buy Unhealthy Foods > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Should I Eat Almond Butter? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Almond Butter?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/78VnTN9O.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2015-08-19. All five of our experts say yes to almond butter._ by [Eat This, Not That!](https://time.com/author/eat-this-not-that/) ## Eat This, Not That! Sep 18, 2015 5:15 PM UTC by [Eat This, Not That!](https://time.com/author/eat-this-not-that/) ## Eat This, Not That! Sep 18, 2015 5:15 PM UTC You’re standing in the aisle of the local health store, scratching your head, trying to buy some cookies. Should you go with the certified-organic, fair-trade, extra-virgin selection? Or the hormone-free, non-GMO, ancient-grain option? Or should you just go across the street to the 7-Eleven and buy a box of Oreos? Health food stores, once the province of surfers, yogis, and people who say “man” a lot, have become as ubiquitous as downward dogs and sun salutations. Today, there are 300 Trader Joe’s and 279 Whole Foods stores across the U.S, plus countless mom-and-pop health-food shops; even traditional supermarkets like Safeway have begun pursuing a bite of the organic apple. But here’s a secret these stores don’t want you to know: Just because a dessert pops up in the health-food section doesn’t mean it’s good for you. “A lot of products in those stores have a ‘health halo,’ meaning we think because they’re there they must be healthy,” says Lisa Cimperman, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In other words, an organic cookie is still a cookie. Ditto for snack foods and some protein bars: A chip is a chip, whether it comes from a potato, sweet potato, or any other vegetable. The team at _Eat This, Not That!_ cruised the aisles of Whole Foods and similar chains to uncover just how health-food stores may be making us fat. ### 1\. They Drive Your Senses Senseless Those delicious in-store product samples that you find in every specialty supermarket? They not only whet your appetite for the product, but also encourage you to buy more food overall, according to a study from Arizona State University. In fact, the research indicates that even the smell of cooking food might contribute to this effect. The stores are well aware of this. In fact, Fresh Market invites you to “help yourself to a sample of freshly brewed coffee” and brags that “fragrant smells fill the atmosphere.” **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Rather than grazing on whatever snacks are on display, find a food with healthy nutritionals—and ask an employee to let you sample it. At Whole Foods, it’s company policy to let you try anything in the store. ### 2\. They Bulk You Up ‘in Bulk’ On the Fresh Market website, the store claims to have the largest bulk snack selection “in town.” But be careful what you buy in this bulk section: You may leave with a bulk of your own. Why? By filling your own bag with a big scoop, you’ll likely underestimate how much you’ve served yourself. Case in point: A Cornell University study found that nutritionists who were asked to serve themselves [ice cream](http://www.eatthis.com/these-ice-cream-toppings-can-help-you-lose-weight) with large bowls and spoons dished out about 57 percent more than those given smaller bowls and spoons. **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Buy basic staples like spices, legumes and grains in bulk—like amaranth, a high-protein, naturally gluten-free seed. Or fill your bag with green tea, available in many stores. ### 3\. They Obscure Calorie Counts When you buy a package of brand-name cookies, the complete nutrition information is listed. But when you buy cookies made at an in-store bakery, you won’t find calorie counts. That goes for all the bakery items, from the “gourmet muffins” at the Fresh Market, to the “bakery fresh chocolate chip cookies” at Trader Joe’s, to the “gluten-free vanilla cupcakes” at Whole Foods. For perspective, just one of those Whole Foods cupcakes packs 480 calories. Knowing those numbers is critical: University of Mississippi researchers found that unhappy people—who are more likely to overindulge in comfort foods—ate 69 percent fewer calories when they checked the calorie content before digging in. **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Ask an employee to look up the calorie count. ### 4\. They Make the Junk Look Gourmet Ever notice that more expensive products tend to come in fancier packages? Researchers at the University of Michigan recently found that food purveyors may actually use fancy fonts and labels to help justify higher prices. The scientists theorize that attractive fonts and labels give people the perception that they are getting more value for the higher cost. Think about it: Would you like a piece of cake—or a piece of _CAKE?_ **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Don’t be a sucker for seductive marketing. Instead, indulge in foods that look cool and _are_ cool. ### 5\. They Bask in the Health Halo Do you consider products from specialty supermarkets to be healthier than those from other grocery stores? If the answer is yes, you could be doing your waistline a disservice. When people guess the number of calories in a sandwich coming from a “healthy” restaurant, they estimate that it has, on average, 35 percent fewer calories than they do when it comes from an “unhealthy” restaurant, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research. **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Remember this the next time you reach for that package of Whole Foods’ Organic Fruit & Nut Granola. One cup of this “healthy” product contains almost 500 calories. A decent cup of cereal should have fewer than 200. ### 6\. They Buffet Your Belly With Buffets If you’re watching your weight, don’t step near the Whole Foods buffet. Cornell University researchers found heavier diners tend to overindulge in buffet settings. (Surprise!) Our real beef: While Whole Foods lists selections’ ingredients on the buffet’s ID labels, it doesn’t provide nutrition information for any of them. **_Eat This!_** **Tip:** Skip water-logged foods like tomatoes or grapes—because you’re charged by weight, they amp up the cost. _This_ [_article_](http://www.eatthis.com/how-whole-foods-is-making-you-gain-weight) _originally appeared on_ [_Eat This, Not That!_](http://www.eatthis.com) _More from Eat This, Not That!_ * [8 Workouts That Burn the Most Fat](http://www.eatthis.com/best-workouts-for-fat-loss-and-burning-calories) * [How Maria Menounos Dropped 40 Pounds](http://www.eatthis.com/maria-menounos-weight-loss) * [5 Things That Happen to Your Body When You Cut Back on Carbs](http://www.eatthis.com/health-benefits-of-cutting-back-on-simple-carbohydrates) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] All five of our experts are nuts for almond butter. A standard, two tablespoon serving of almond, butter has a hundred and ninety- six calories, seven grams of protein, and a whole bunch of fat. That's just fine with Kristin Kirkpatrick who says the lack of carbs and an abundance of protein and healthy fat make almond butter a dieter's best friend. It's a good source of fiber too. Most of us fall far short in the fiber department and a serving packs an impressive 3. 3 grams of fiber about 13 % of the FDA's daily recommended total. Keri Gans recommends Recommend spooning some into your morning smoothie or a bowl of oatmeal. But David Katz warns that you should buy the kind that's made from just nuts. Additions of salt, sugar and oils can make the butter less healthy. Research continues to mount that a diet that contains nuts may help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke. [ MUSIC ] Research by David Jenkins suggest that the more nuts you eat the lower your cholesterol. However, almonds don't have a great environmental reputation. Growing almonds requires a lot of water, as much as one gallon per nut. But David Zetland says that forfeiting almonds isn't the solution. Taking better care of our environment as a whole will allow us all to keep snacking on these delicious and healthy nuts. 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