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Without realizing it, modern humans eat unhealthy foods, aka foods that are bad for the body, such as junk food. That's why experts and nutritionists recently made a list of the worst foods for the body and even the potential for excessive weight gain or obesity, heart disease, and stroke.
Here are some of the worst foods that are popular but should be avoided by the body, as quoted from Eat This Not That, Thursday, May 19, 2022.
- Potato chips
Salt and vinegar chips provide 500 milligrams of sodium and about a quarter teaspoon of salt, or about a third of the total milligrams of sodium, which The American Heart Association says the average adult should achieve in a day. A New England Journal of Medicine study found that potato chips add more pounds to consumers than sugary drinks, processed meats, red meat, and other foods.
- Cheese fries
Everyone recognizes french fries as an example of bad food. It's no surprise that potatoes get even worse when drenched in cheese sauce. Cheese dip can contain 430 milligrams of sodium or 19 percent of the recommended daily value of sodium.
- Breaded fried chicken
Chicken is considered a healthier alternative to red meat. This is because chicken is lower in saturated fat than beef and is a good source of protein. However, coating chicken in flour and frying it in hot oil will turn the nutritious protein into one of the most unhealthy foods.
- Processed meat in sheet form
Processed meat in sheet form contains a preservative called sodium nitrate which can trigger chronic inflammation in the arteries, causing atherosclerosis or narrowing of the arteries. But if you want to make a sandwich, then you have to evaluate the list of the best packaged processed meats in the form of sheets.
- Canned soup
Even soups with lots of beans and vegetables can be very salty. For example, one would have difficulty finding a good pea soup for under 500 milligrams of sodium per serving. No wonder canned soup is included in the six forbidden salty foods according to the American Heart Association.
- Margarine
Eating one stick of margarine increases the risk of coronary heart disease because it contains trans fats. According to one study, the denser the margarine, the more trans fat.
- Non-dairy coffee creamer
Long-lasting coffee creamers are usually made from partially hydrogenated oils, in other words, trans fats. Remember, trans fats increase the risk of heart disease or stroke by increasing LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol.
- Donuts
Donut dough is made of white flour, sugar, and vegetable butter, then deep-fried. This means donuts also contain trans fat, the worst kind that raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol.
- Honey wheat bread
The name honey rye bread sounds healthy. However, this type of bread is included in the list of the worst breakfast candidates. Like deceptive, honey wheat bread is not much different from white bread. Like most white loaves of bread, the fiber has been removed despite the word wheat in the name.
- Hotdogs
According to the trade association of the National Hotdogs and Sausage Council in the United States, hotdogs are made from finer cuts of beef that are ground into ground beef, steak, and more, then mixed with nitrates to help the meat proteins bind together. But hot dogs are high in saturated fat, and sodium, and high in nitrates, a preservative linked to cancer.
- Veggie burgers
Adopting a plant-based diet is smart unless you choose products that swap other unhealthy ingredients for vegetables. Some plant-based burgers will add fat, and often, the added fat is saturated fat.
Saturated fat has been linked to an increase in bad cholesterol, and the concern is that it may increase the risk of heart disease.
- Sugar-coated cereal
Many of you may already know that cereal contains a lot of sugar and carbohydrates, and zero fiber. That's why cereal is considered the worst breakfast for weight loss. A better idea for breakfast is to add a little chocolate milk to warm oatmeal.