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Top Foods to Avoid for Good Health
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Avoiding Heart Disease, Diabetes and More
Diet and exercise are two controllable variables in the equation to good health. Poor diet is a contributing factor to heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, obesity, an national epidemic, and diabetes, a medical condition of rapidly increasing incidence. The following 10 foods are ones you may wish to avoid in order to improve your health. Photo: Getty Images
Fast-Food Fried Chicken and Fries
Fried chicken, fries and other fast foods that are deep-fried in partially hydrogenated oil are top trans fat foods. Trans fat raises LDL or bad cholesterol and lowers HDL or good cholesterol. Trans fat is produced through hydrogenation, which is the process of adding hydrogen to vegetable oil. Restaurant fried foods are high in calories, cholesterol and sodium. Photo: Getty Images
Fast-Food Cheeseburgers
Here are the facts on that cheeseburger from your favorite national chain fast-food spot. A quarter pound cheeseburger has 310 calories, 6 grams of saturated fat and 740 mg of sodium. Do you really want to super-size that order? Photo: Getty Images
Vegetable Shortening
One tablespoon of vegetable shortening contains 4.2 grams of trans fat and 3.4 grams of saturated fat. Commercial baked goods, such as cookies, donuts and crackers, are made with partially hydrogenated oil or shortening. Trans fat increases triglyceride levels. High levels of triglycerides may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis which increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Photo: Getty Images
Potato chips
Any fried snack food, such as potato chips, is a source of saturated fat. It is the shortening that gives the product its crispy texture. Chips contain high amounts of salt, which acts as a preservative as well as adding taste to the snack. Plus, chips are loaded with calories. An eight ounce bag of potato chips contains 1,217 calories, 12 grams of saturate fat and 18 mg of sodium. Photo: Getty Images
Processed Deli Meats
The convenience of making a sandwich with processed deli meat comes with a price. One ounce of Italian pork salami contains 119 calories, 529 mg of sodium and 10 grams of total fat. One ounce of turkey salami contains only 41 calories and 3 grams of total fat. Though still high in salt, this serving portion of turkey salami has 281 mg of sodium. Photo: Getty Images
Bacon
If you are watching your intake of calories, sodium and fats, you will want to avoid bacon. This tasty pork product is high in all of these three categories. One slice of pan-fried, cured pork bacon has 41 calories, 188 mg of sodium and one gram of saturated fat. The breakdown of the fat in bacon is 14.6 mg of omega 3 fatty acids which are the good fats but 318 mg of omega 6 fatty acids which are the fats that need to be limited for good health. Photo: Getty Images
Restaurant Milkshakes
Rich, thick milkshakes from fast food restaurants or casual dining spots are laden with saturated fats, calories and sugar. A 12 ounce restaurant chocolate milkshake provides you with 560 calories, 80 percent of your daily value for saturated fat, 260 mg of sodium and 55 grams of sugar. Photo: Getty Images
Purchased Pizza
Take-out pizza and frozen pizza are convenient meal choices but are equally high in calories, fat and sodium content. One slice of a regular crust cheese pizza from a nationally advertised take-out restaurant has 260 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat and 658 mg of sodium. In comparison, one size of a popular frozen four cheese pizza contains 310 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat and 830 mg of sodium. Photo: Getty Images
Cola Soft Drinks
Cola soft drinks are high sources of empty calories. A 12 ounce serving of a classic cola drink delivers 110 calories with 30 grams of carbohydrates, 30 grams of sugar and 11 mg of sodium. Cola contains caffeine, which some individuals may need to avoid or limit. Photo: Getty Images
Canned Condensed Soup
Canned soups are convenient options for lunch or adding to a meal. Beware and read the nutritional facts on the label of the can. A one cup serving of a canned ready-to-serve chicken soup has 174 calories and 857 mg of sodium. One cup of canned chicken broth contains 776 mg of sodium. By choosing a reduced salt chicken broth, you can cut the amount of salt to 554 mg. Sources MayoClinic.com: High Cholesterol fastfoodnutrition.org: Nutrition Facts Meal Calculator upenn.edu: The Top 10 Foods to Beware nutritiondata.self.com: Nutrition Facts Photo: Getty Images
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