Establishing a healthier routine can be difficult. But eliminating some everyday food from your kitchen is a good way to start the process. Specifically, the food that is linked to unhealthy living habits. Below are the unhealthy foods to avoid at all costs.
White Bread
If you still have white bread in your kitchen, it is time to re-evaluate. It contains highly processed carbs, making it a huge barrier between you and a healthy diet. White bread also lacks fiber and leads to blood sugar spikes. It is a simple carbohydrate that can cause weight gain. It leads to higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and other lifestyle related chronic conditions.
Mayonnaise
Everyone loves mayonnaise on sandwiches, burgers, wraps and pizzas. What you do not realize is that you are loading your body with unwanted fat and calories. Just a quarter cup contains 360 calories and 40 grams of fat. Switch to low calorie condiments like mustard and salsa.
Soda/Aerated Drinks
Nearly 100% of the calories in regular soda and aerated drinks come from sugar or high fructose corn syrup. It is considered the real culprit behind obesity and thus, is one of the unhealthy foods to avoid at all costs. It also damages your teeth and leads to cavity formation. Studies have shown that cola drinks can weaken your bones.
Processed Meat
Processed meats have been modified to contain nitrates and other chemical additives to help preserve the meat for longer and enhance the color. Some of them like sausages are also made up of leftover, unwanted parts of animal, mixed up with high amounts of salt and fat. Eating processed meat can also cause health risks including high blood pressure, heart disease and some forms of cancer.
Frozen Meals
Although frozen ready meals might be a convenient choice, they offer little in the way of nutritional value. To turn something that sits in your freezer for months on end into an edible meal, manufacturers add-in high levels of preservatives and sodium to the food. Rather than filling your freezer with shop bought ready meals, make your own homemade alternatives and freeze the individual portions.
Candy Bars
Candy bars are another indulgence that can have serious ramifications on your health. With saturated fat, sugar and calories, these treats are best eaten once in a while. If they are part of your regular diet, they can lead to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease.
Packaged Fruit Juices
Fruit juice is often assumed to be healthy. While juice contains some antioxidants and Vitamin C, it also packs high amounts of liquid sugar. In fact, packaged fruit juice harbors just as much sugar as sugary drinks. If you do want juice, make it fresh at home rather than going for the packaged ones.
White Sugar
White sugar is one of the important unhealthy foods to avoid at all costs. This is because sugar is a far more serious cause of obesity than fat. It is very important that you keep your sugar levels under control. There are signs that can help you identify when your blood sugar is high. Please read our post on healthy alternatives for sugar.
Artificial Sweetener
Studies show that artificial sweeteners can actually lead to weight gain and make weight loss more difficult. This is because they do not activate your food rewards pathways in the brain like natural sugar does. Your brain never gets the signal that your craving has been satisfied. Not only will these sweeteners cause cravings since they are so sweet, but they also dull your taste for natural sugars like fruit or dairy.
Microwave Popcorn
Popcorn seems harmless enough but surprisingly, is one of the unhealthy foods to avoid at all costs. Air pop and stove top options can turn the movie staple into a decent source of satisfying fiber. But most times, it is overloaded with unhealthy fats, sky-high sodium levels, and in some cases, laced with carcinogens. Diacetyl is a cancer causing chemical found in popcorn’s artificial fat.
Processed Cheese
Cheese is healthy in moderation. It is loaded with nutrients, and a single slice packs all the nutrients as a glass of milk. Still, processed cheese products are nothing like regular cheese. They are mostly made with filler ingredients that are engineered to have a cheese-like appearance and texture. Eat real cheese instead.
Instant Noodles
Always remember, when something has the word instant in its name, it is likely that they are doing something to the food to make it instant. They have probably stripped it down and taken away a bit of the fiber and the stuff that you actually need. Plus, the amount of sodium in instant noodles is extremely high, and they contain what is called MSG. It is a flavor enhancer and is an addictive substance.
White Rice
White rice is refined and processed. This means it is generally more destructive to your health than alternatives like ancient grains or wild rice. This is because white rice has a negative impact on your blood sugar levels. In fact, because of that impact on blood sugar levels, eating it in excess has even been linked to increasing your risk of Type 2 diabetes.