It's no secret that fatty, greasy, and sugary foods are terrible for your body. Always read nutrition labels to weed unhealthy foods from your grocery cart. Here are some of the absolute worst foods you can eat.
Processed Meat
No surprise here. Processed meat products are horrible for nearly every part of your body. Packed with salt, fat, and cholesterol, and with barely any nutrients at all, these now ubiquitous products are a main reason for weight and heart problems. Researchers have also linked their consumption to an increased risk of colon cancer.
Frozen Dinners
Please do not grab a frozen dinner because you don’t want to cook after a long day at the office. I know it’s tempting because they’re just so easy but don’t offer much in the way of nutritional value. They are pumped full of fat, calories, sodium, and sugar to make them taste good.
Toaster Pastries
Pop Tarts and Toaster Strudels are convenient but they are unhealthier than you probably realize. The crust is made out of flour, fat, and sugar and the filling is pure sugar. There is no actual fruit in them at all.
Packaged Cakes And Cookies
Very few foods contain more trans fat than these sweet treats. They add hydrogenated oils and preservatives to keep the food edible after being on a shelf for a few days. And we aren’t even going to start in the sugar and fat content.
Doughnuts
They may be your favorite breakfast snack, but these sweet treats are one of the least nutritious foods you can eat. Store-bought doughnuts contain the unholy trinity of unhealthiness: sugar, trans fat, and refined flour. Munching on these empty calories and unhealthy fats is the worst way to start your day.
Potato Chips
It’s no secret that these salty and greasy bad carbs are terrible for your health and your waistline, but they may be even more dangerous to your health than you think. Like french fries, potato chips contain acrylamide, which researchers say cause thousands of cancers a year.
Soda
One of the worst things you can do for your body is to consistently drink sodas. Even drinking as few as 2 soft drinks a week can nearly double your risk or pancreatic cancer, and chugging more than 2.5 per day significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Stick to water, people.
Popcorn
Popcorn by itself can be an okay snack — it’s high in carbs but low in fat — but getting it from a movie theater or a microwaveable bag makes the treat much less healthy. Movie theater popcorn is coated in oils and butter, and microwaveable bags contain added chemicals to make the bag microwave-safe that are not so safe for your health.
Bagels
Bagels are a prime example of refined white flour, which loads you with difficult-to-lose weight. In addition, bagels have a massive glycemic index, which can lead to inflammation in the body that can worsen acne and rosacea. For a healthier alternative, look for whole-grain bagels, or scoop out the bready insides.
Margarine
While it’s marketed as a healthy alternative to butter, stick margarine is filled with unhealthy saturated fats that raise your bad cholesterol levels (and lower your good cholesterol levels), expand your waistline, and raise your risk of heart disease and stroke. Some brands may also contain trans fats, which are even worse. Stick to olive oil instead.
Deep-Dish Pizza
Getting pizza with a thick, dense crust will up the calorie and carb count dramatically, and adding that to the fattening cheeses and greasy meat toppings, it’s clear that deep-dish pizzas are an absolute nutrition bomb. For a healthier alternative, order a thin crust pizza topped with veggies.
Sugary Cereals
Sugary cereals are one of the top cources of added sugar for young children, and they are still consumed by a fair share of teens and adults. These cereals are basically just like eating a bowl full of sugar — unhealthy and unsatisfying. Opt for cereals high in fiber instead, and add some fruit to sweeten it up in a healthy way.