Story by Emilie Richardson-Dupuis
- Processed Meats
Processed meats like hot dogs and deli meats are high in saturated fat and salt, which can raise your blood pressure. What’s more, processed meat consumption has been linked to an increased risk of cancer and even dementia.
2. Packaged Baked Goods: If you’re going to eat sugar, you’d be much better off picking something up at a local bakery or making it yourself than buying factory-made baked goods. These contain not only high quantities of sugar and processed carbs but also unhealthy fats, additives, and preservatives.
3. Sugary Breakfast Cereals: Contrary to what the commercials say, sugary breakfast cereals are not “part of a complete breakfast.” They’re so high in sugar, refined grains, preservatives, and void of any nutritional value that they play no part in a healthy breakfast.
4. Energy Drinks: Energy drinks are high in caffeine, sugar, and stimulants, which can pose heart and blood pressure risks. They contain more caffeine than coffee and more additives and preservatives that can pose health risks.
5. Processed Cheese & Cheese Products: Processed cheese, like American cheese, Velveeta, or Cheez Whiz, is far less healthy than natural cheese due to its high sodium and saturated fat content. It also contains additives and preservatives like emulsifiers and food coloring that could be harmful to your health.
6. Frozen Chicken Nuggets: Frozen chicken nuggets are made from questionable processed meat blends and are deep-fried before you cook them. They’re high in sodium, saturated fat, and preservatives, which can cause heart problems and even hormone disruption and inflammation.
7. Artificial Coffee Creamers: You may not feel like you’re adding a lot of sweetener to your coffee because you’re not counting the spoons, but the sugar content in artificial creamers like Coffee Mate is astonishingly high. What’s more, it’s full of preservatives and trans fat, which can cause heart problems, obesity, and inflammation.
8. Pop-Tarts: Beyond sugar, Pop-Tarts contain high fructose corn syrup, refined carbs, and unhealthy hydrogenated fats. They contain absolutely nothing nutritional and should not even be categorized as a “breakfast food.”
9. Instant Noodles: A single portion of instant noodles can easily contain more than your daily recommended sodium intake, leading ot high blood pressure. Instant noodles also contain a lot of fat, refined carbs, and processed ingredients. Frequent consumption of them has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
10. Soda: Soda can add a large amount of calories and added sugar to your daily diet, leading to weight gain. Its high sugar content has been linked to type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. Now that we’ve covered the most unhealthy processed foods you could possibly feed your body, let’s talk about the more nutritious choices you could be having instead.
Originally published at www.msn.com
