We're often advised to avoid foods like white bread, salty snacks and chocolate. But, while eating too many of these foods has been linked with heart disease and obesity, they can form part of a balanced diet when consumed in moderation. In fact, some of these supposedly ‘bad’ foods sometimes have surprising health benefits.

Click or scroll through our gallery as we reveal the 29 nutritionist-approved ‘junk’ foods that might actually do you good, counting down to the most surprising of all.

We’ve based our ranking on how surprisingly healthy each food is, taking guidance from a registered nutritionist and official sources.

Chips, chocolate and other surprisingly healthy foods