You call that health food?

Take a moment and consider this logic: 1. Fat-free foods are healthy. 2. Skittles are fat-free. 3. Therefore, Skittles are healthy. Make sense? Of course not. But it's exactly the type of reasoning that food manufacturers want you to use.

You see, in our example, we started with a false premise. That's because the term "fat-free" is often code for "high-sugar" — an attribute that makes a product the opposite of healthy. Case in point: Johns Hopkins University researchers recently determined that high blood sugar is an independent risk factor for heart disease. So high-glycemic foods — those such as sugars and starches that raise your blood sugar dramatically — are inherently unhealthy. (See Skittles, above.)

Unfortunately, faulty food logic is far less obvious when you're shopping outside the candy aisle. Why? Because making healthy choices isn't as simple as knowing that beans are packed with fiber, or that fruits are loaded with disease-fighting antioxidants. After all, manufacturers often add ingredients, such as sugar, that can instantly turn a good snack bad. As a result, many of the products that you think are wholesome are anything but. And that's why we've created our list of the dirty dozen: 12 "healthy" foods that you can — and should — live without.

Yogurt with Fruit at the Bottom

The upside: Yogurt and fruit are two of the healthiest foods known to man.

The downside: Corn syrup is not. But that's exactly what's used to make these products super sweet. For example, a cup of Colombo blueberry yogurt contains 36 grams (g) of sugar, only about half of which is found naturally in the yogurt and fruit. The rest comes in the form of "added" sugar — or what we prefer to call "unnecessary."

The healthy alternative: Don't opt for light versions, they all contain artificial sweeteners. Instead combine non pasteurized organic plain or vanilla yogurt with fruit juice sweetened jam. If it still isn't as sweet as the commercial varieties, simply add one packet of stevia.

Baked Beans

The upside: Beans are packed with fiber, which helps keep you full and slows the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.

The downside: The baked kind are typically covered in a sauce made with sugars and /or corn syrup. And because the fiber is located inside the bean, it doesn't have a chance to interfere with the speed at which the sugary glaze is digested. Consider that 1 cup of baked beans contains 24 g sugar: That's about the same amount in 8 ounces of regular soda. They frequently contain nitrite filled pork.

The healthy alternative: Organic Pinto beans, packed in water. You get the nutritional benefits of legumes, but without the extra sugar. Spice them up with hot sauce, organic tomato paste, singing dog vanilla, stevia, honey or grade b maple syrup, onions, mix in other kinds of organic beans, molasses, and any other ingredient your heart desires.

California Roll

The upside: The seaweed it's wrapped in contains essential nutrients, such as iodine, selenium, calcium, and omega-3 fats.

The downside: It's basically a Japanese sugar cube. That's because its two other major components are white rice and imitation crab, both of which are packed with fast-digesting carbohydrates and almost no protein. It also may be loaded with mercury, pcb'c and toxins.

The healthy alternative: If you must eat sushi try to limit it to once an month to avoid the toxins. Make yours from safer sources, use organic brown rice. Avoid any shellfish, crab included.

Granola Bars

The upside: Granola is made with whole oats, a nutritious food that's high in fiber.

The downside: The oats are basically glued together with ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and barley malt — all of which quickly raise blood sugar.

The healthy alternative: Make your own with fruit juice concentrate, Include flax seeds, sunflower seeds, or your favorite seeds, nuts, coconut, cocoa nibs, dried fruit, and protein powders or powdered greens. Granola bars don't have to be sweet they can also be spicy! Trail mix is a great alternative.

Pasta Salad

The upside: Most pasta-salad recipes include a variety of fresh vegetables.

The downside: The main ingredient is white-flour pasta, a close relative of white bread; and of course a gluten filled food.

The healthy alternative: Egg salad has no impact on blood sugar, and a University of Connecticut review reports that there is no connection between egg consumption and heart disease. Food for life makes sprouted grain pasta containing no flour. If you must enjoy pasta use gluten free whole grain pasta.

English Muffins

The upside: One English muffin — two halves — has half as many calories as two slices of bread. So it's better for a breakfast sandwich.

The downside: Most English muffins not only raise blood sugar significantly but are nearly devoid of fiber, protein, and vitamins. This makes them a great example of a food that provides only empty calories. Lots of gluten and sometimes soy.

The healthy alternative: One hundred percent whole-wheat English muffins are a decent start, but we like the kind made from sprouted grains, which contain no flour and are packed with nutrients. For instance, Food for Life sprouted-grain English muffins have twice as much fiber and 30 percent more protein compared with the typical 100 percent whole-wheat version. My personal favorite is the cinnamon raisin.

Croutons

The upside: They're so small they contribute very few calories to your overall meal, yet they add a satisfying crunch.

The downside: Most croutons are made with the same refined flour that's used in white bread, a food with a higher glycemic index than sugar.

The healthy alternative: Sliced roasted almonds. They're crunchy, sugar-free, and high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of healthy fats found in olive oil. In fact, Harvard University researchers estimate that substituting nuts for an equivalent amount of carbohydrates results in a 30 percent reduction in heart-disease risk. Crunchy vegetables like water chestnuts.

Fat-Free Salad Dressing

The upside: There really isn't one.

The downside: Sugar is added to provide flavor. But perhaps more important is that the removal of fat reduces your body's ability to absorb many of the vitamins found in a salad's vegetables. Ohio State University researchers discovered that people who ate a salad dressing that contained fat absorbed 15 times more beta-carotene and five times more lutein — both powerful antioxidants — than when they downed a salad topped with fat-free dressing. Many are now sweetened with Splenda and all contain canola oil.

The healthy alternative: Choose a full-fat dressing that's made with either olive oil or and has less than 2 g carbs per serving. Regular fat dressing that contain olive oil are good for your heart.