7 Foods to NEVER Eat!
 

7 Foods to NEVER Eat!
By Johnson Jaclyn
eDiets Contributor


There will always be those fattening foods that are easy to make, easy to get, and easy to crave. You think "OK, I know this is bad but it can't be that bad!" Think again. Here are the top seven foods you should never ever feed your family or yourself!

1. Doughnuts It's hard to resist the smell of a Krispy Kreme doughnut, which is why I never step foot in the store. Doughnuts are fried chock-full of sugar and white flour and loads of trans fat.

According to the Krispy Kreme Web site, an average 3.5-ounce sugar doughnut weighs in with about 400 calories and contains few other nutrients besides fat. These sugary treats may satisfy your craving but it won't satisfy your hunger as most of the calories come from fat.

"Eating a lot of refined sugar contributes to blood sugar 'swings' or extreme fluctuations," Nutritionist Susan Burke said.

2. Cheeseburger with fries The age-old classic may be delicious but think twice before sinking your teeth into that Whopper. The saturated fat found in cheese burgers has been linked to heart attacks, strokes and some types of cancer.

"In fact, fast-food portions are gargantuan, almost double the calories per meal compared to 20 years ago," Susan says. "Twenty years ago the average fast-food cheeseburger had about 300 calories. Today's BK Whopper with Cheese has 720. To burn the excess 420 calories, you'd have to run for 40 minutes. For example, in 1985 a medium French fry had 240 calories, 2.4 ounces. Today's "medium" is 6.9 ounces and 610 calories.

"This fast-food meal of cheeseburger and fries has way too many calories and fat grams, not to mention grams of saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol and sodium."

Let's break down this meal. First, take the white-flour bun (refined carbohydrates), then add some processed cheese (saturated fat and trans fat, plus lots of additives and preservatives) and then top off with fried red meat (cholesterol and saturated fats). And let's not forget about the condiments such as the always fattening mayonnaise.

Not sounding so appetizing anymore, huh? Oh, and let's not forget about the infamous side dish. Your cheeseburger will most likely come with a side of French fries, which is sadly the most popular vegetable dish in the U.S. Don't kid yourself, French fries are not vegetables, they are extremely high in fat and contain a tiny amount of nutrients.

3. Fried Chicken and Chicken Nuggets Foods cooked in highly heated oils (most notably partially hydrogenated oil) have been known to cause cancer, weight gain and other serious health risks if ingested regularly. A 10-piece chicken McNugget from McDonald's has 420 calories, 24 grams of fat and 1120 milligrams of sodium. One Extra Crispy Chicken Breast from KFC has around 420 calories and eight grams of saturated fat. So unless you want to super size yourself, it's best to make a clean break with fried foods.

4. Oscar Mayer's Lunchables Sure they are convenient and easy , but boy are they unhealthy! These kid-marketed lunches are loaded with saturated fat and sodium. They usually contain highly processed meats and cheeses, white flour crackers and sugary treats. Lunchables get two-thirds of their calories from fat and sugar. And they provide lopsided nutrition since they contain no fruits or vegetables.

"They insidiously promote obesity by making kids think that lunch normally comes in a cellophane-wrapped box," Susan says. "Parents are promoting their children's obesity by buying these items. They're expensive, too. Pack a sandwich and save dollars and health."

5. Sugary Cereal Not all cereals are created equally. And while your kids might beg for the latest cookie or marshmallow chocolate surprise cereals, it is a safe bet they are about as healthy as a dessert. Keywords to look out for are puffed, dyed and sweetened.

Most kids' cereals are so highly processed they no longer look like the grains they were originally made from. A healthy alternative is oatmeal. Although, if you are buying pre-packaged oatmeal make sure to check the label and see how much sugar it contains, you might be surprised.

"A little sugar isn't a problem but when the first ingredient on the box is sugar, then watch out," she said. "There is no fruit in Froot Loops. But the unsweetened original Cheerios or Rice Krispies are fine, and you can sweeten them naturally with blueberries and strawberries."

6. Processed Meats. What falls under the category of processed meats? Hot dogs, sausage, jerky, bacon, certain lunch meats and meats used in canned soup products. Almost all processed meats have sodium nitrite added as a preservative.

A recent study conducted at the University of Hawaii found that sodium nitrite can act as "a precursor to highly carcinogenic nitrosamines -- potent cancer-causing chemicals that accelerate the formation and growth of cancer cells throughout the body." So eliminate these meats from your diet before they eliminate you!

7. Canned soup. Sometimes regarded as a healthy food, soups can be very deceiving. You must stay on your guard because many canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives such as MSG. Just one serving (which is roughly one cup) can have almost 1,000 milligrams of salt. Also, steer clear of soups that are cream-based, they can be high in calories and fat.

Susan says it is important to "read labels from back to front. Ignore the health claims, and instead focus on the ingredients and serving size. Watch out for hydrogenated fat (trans fat) and sodium. If you're buying bread to go with you soup, the first ingredient should be whole grain -- either whole wheat, rye or other grain. If it just says 'wheat bread,' that doesn't mean whole wheat."

We all want our family to be healthy and happy, so steer clear of these foods. Think it's difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle? Think again!

7 Foods to NEVER Eat!

Processed meat is insidious, since it infiltrates so many people's diets. But the sodium nitrate content can become toxic if consumed regularly.

everthing eaten is mass quantity is bad for you! If you ocassionally have a cheeseburger, mexican food or even a doghnut, it's ok. It's the people (pretty much all the people i work with) who eat mexican food (breakfast tacos) or a hamburger every day for lunch that it's bad for.

I work with this lady who has high blood pressure (stoped taking her pills), and weighs about 300lbs (she is only about 5 feet tall) and says she is going to keep eating what she wants. she eat out for breakfast everyday and lunch and then goes home and cooks dinner for her equally overweight husband and kids. She has actually said she gets mad, because people stare at her and her family when they go out and eat! Duh! wonder why! Oh and every Sunday they eat Barbacoa!! I still have not figures out they are alive!! It's sad, because her kids look soooooo unhealthy!

I would pretty much agree. It's fine to indulge sometimes, especially if you are fairly active, but it is always best to avoid foods so high in fat, sodium, calories, etc as burgers (especially fast food) and doughnuts, among others. But you are right -- the people who get into real trouble are the ones eating crap food on a daily basis.

She's killing herself -- period. And if she wants to kill herself, she can go right ahead, but in my mind it's practically child abuse to make your children so unhealthy.

Wow, then what is there left to eat? :shrug


:D

Why cardboard of course. Yummy, yummy cardboard. :wink

I see barbacoa, menudo, enchiladas, juevos rancheros, brisket, and pork ribs are not on the list.

So carry on, San Antonio!

I'm amazed by the inability of most Americans to eat fruit and vegetables.

Orale pues!

:rockon :lol

Seriously. I think it's because Americans' taste buds are so used to the ultra-simple carbs they get from fast food that fruits and veggies don't taste good to them.

The best thing people can do is go on a food fast for 3 days. Clear your digestive system of all the crap in it and let your cells get rid of the toxins in them from all the crap you eat. Then, after three days, try and eat some fruits and veggies. They'll be the best things you've ever tasted.

Could be. I've found that since I changed my diet and have gotten into a healthier eating mode, I find fruits and vegetables and other health foods MUCH more palatable. It seems like practically half of my time in the supermarket these days is spent gathering produce.

I don't crave fast food nearly at all anymore. In the past I used to get cravings all the time, and I would rarely want fruit and veggies, because crap food sounded so much better. I think fast food seriously affects the pallet or brain, or something of the sorts.

I think breakfast cereals are one of the biggest shams in the American diet today. People delude themselves into thinking cereal is automatically a balanced breakfast -- most often it's not. It's easy to eat, and that's the pull, but like many things ultra fast, it's frequently not very healthy.

Obviously there are the egregious offenders like the sugary kids cereals (it's disgusting what we feed to our kids), but also many of the cereals marketed as healthy and wonderful are crap too. Their nutrients are extracted and sub-standard substitutes are pumped back in and they are often loaded with sugar.

And what a rip off! I cannot believe how expensive a box of cereal is these days.

most of the serving sizes for cereal is 3/4 cup! I think most people fill the bowl up to the top. (I use to do that) It was tough to switch like that, but that's what fruit is for. You get use to it.

If you put a bowl of fruit and a bowl of candy in front of my son, he would chose the fruit. Of course he would spend the rest of the night telling me he wanted the candy, but he would eat the fruit first!! :)

Nice. :hat