Fast food, processed snacks, sugary beverages, and sickly-sweet desserts can be found everywhere you look. And while they make you feel good, especially after a long day, that doesn’t mean that they’re good for you.
In a world inundated with tempting yet unhealthy food options, it’s crucial to be mindful of what we consume and its impact on our well-being. While indulging in fast food and sugary treats can provide instant gratification, it’s essential to prioritize our long-term health. One way to do so is by incorporating healthier alternatives into our diets, such as fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
Additionally, investing in tools like a poison test kit can help us make informed choices about the safety and quality of the foods we eat, ensuring that we nourish our bodies without compromising our health. By being proactive and selective about what we put on our plates, we can enjoy delicious meals guilt-free while supporting our overall health and vitality.
Go through this list to see which food items to avoid. You’d be surprised at just how unhealthy some of these are.
Deep Fried Onions
They are comforting and delicious, but the term “Bloomin’ Onions” shouldn’t bring up any lukewarm feelings. It is one of the most loved menu items at Outback Steakhouse. Hot? Yes. Fried? Of course.
Is it chock-full of empty calories and unhealthy fats? Absolutely. To spell out just how unhealthy bloomin’ onions are, one order of this appetizer contains a whole day’s worth of calories.
Yes, it’s a vegetable and veggies are good for you, but not when they’re fried like this.
McDonald’s Big Breakfast
McDonald’s is in itself medically inadvisable, especially that Big Breakfast meal.
There’s a healthy-sounding sausage patty and scrambled eggs, but you also get buttery hotcakes, syrup, and crispy hash browns that spoil a good start to your day.
This giant order exceeds the daily recommended amounts of fats, carbs, and sodium.
Starbucks Frappuccino
A Starbucks menu without Frappuccinos won’t ever happen, but these are a great example of a contemporary dessert fail.
This dessert drink is a collection of cheap ingredients, like supermarket-level whipped cream and excessive amounts of sugar.
Each slurp is high-caloric torture, including the extra caramel that makes the drink taste like diabetes.
French Fries
An entire order of french fries is not the healthiest meal option, but just how unhealthy are these?
They’re all deep-fried, so they are high in calories while being fast-digested carbs. Eating fries on a regular basis can negatively affect your artery function.
Minimal nutritional benefits means they’re empty calories.
Pop-tarts
Pop-tarts are conveniently packaged toast, perfect for when you’re short on time, but they are one of the worst ways to start your day.
These have been around since the 60s.
They feature a sweet filling and frosted glaze coming in a variety of flavors.
Pop-tarts are loaded with a combination of sugars, like refined white sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.
The In-N-Out Cheeseburger
There are times when a void in life can only be filled with a cheeseburger.
But cheeseburgers can fill much more than that stomach. Your arteries will be filled with trans-fats and sodium.
One cheeseburger has over 1000 calories, 70 grams of fat and a day’s worth of sodium.
Go for one of these and nothing else throughout the day or none then go for multiple well-balanced options.
Popeyes Chicken Tenders
Popeyes chicken tenders are more than carefully battered fried chicken pieces.
These bad boys are delicious harbingers of imminent doom.
A measly three-piece serving has 340 calories, which doesn’t sound a lot compared to other fast-food meals, but for three pieces, that’s a huge amount.
Burger King’s Oreo Shake
From a nostalgic perspective, milkshakes remind us of our childhood so they’re alright in that regard.
So now we’re complaining, including on behalf of milkshakes everywhere.
BK’s Oreo shake has 92 grams of sugar per serving.
That’s more than four times the recommended daily intake so it’s better to make your own if you’re in the mood for one.
Subway’s Chicken and Bacon Ranch Melt
At the risk of ruining Subway, you need to know that Subway sandwiches are not healthy.
Subway has been thought of as one of the healthier fast-food options, but that isn’t the case when it comes to its worst menu items.
The Chicken and Bacon Ranch Melt has 1,150 calories, 57 grams of fat and 87 grams of carbs.
Cinnabon Caramel Pecanbon
Cinnabon may be the Mack Daddy of baked treats but try to avoid Cinnabon’s Caramel Pecanbon.
A box of these at a brunch or party means gooey sugar neatly contained in baked dough.
If you see a tray of these, leave immediately.
Look for a place that serves quiches and carrot sticks.
880 calories per bun means you should be eating something else.
Sports drinks
Sports drinks are the fuel through which all things are made possible.
A burst of sugar and electrolytes will help athletes kick-start their workout, but are they really that beneficial? Nope.
These drinks are full of sugar and artificial colors, so you’re better off with coconut water or munching on a KIND bar.
Try the sugar-free Sports drinks. They may be healthier. Might be.
Frozen Yogurt
Frozen yogurts seems so harmless, reserved for that weekend or an outing on a warm summer’s day.
But think about what’s in this frozen dessert, and you realize just how indulgent it really is.
It is lower in fat than ice cream, but somehow higher in sugar.
In fact, frozen yogurt has six times more sugar than protein.
Margarine
Whether it’s butter or margarine, most of them are nutritional.
But the ingredients and processes involved in the production has margarine as the most sordid.
They are full of vegetable oils that convert to trans fats, so you’re better off sticking with butter.
It is more natural and less processed.
Or just swap either of them with olive oil when possible.
Corn Dogs
It’s the unofficial favorite of State Fairs across the US.
Corn dogs are delicious and satiating, and we’re all for unique approaches to hot dogs, but battering them in cornflour then deep-frying is just a step too far.
It’s difficult to be critical, but at some point, you realize that these are still unhealthy.
Oscar Mayer Smoked Ham
There’s a lot cardiologists hate about processed meats, like smoked ham.
These are packed with preservatives, saturated fat, and they’re even high in trans fat.
Oh and they are swimming in sodium.
Experts are never going to approve of something that’s been overly processed
We recommend going for meats that don’t have a list of harmful ingredients.
Chips
Chips are an ideal party snack, but they have a terrible reputation among health experts since the dawn of time.
The oil and the frying make them irresistible but we need to become better at resisting.
Chips are packed with carbs, and sodium, stuff proven to increase your risk of overconsumption, so it’s impossible to stick to just one serving.
KFC Famous Bowl
KFC is everywhere and there’s nothing you can do about it. People just love deep-fried food.
They have so many unhealthy options, but the famous bowl takes first prize, containing deep-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, and cheese.
This results in a total of 710 calories, 82 grams of carbs, and 31 grams of fat.
Baked Ziti and Sausage Pasta
Coming from the land of deep-dish pizza is a delicacy that has remained a localized Midwestern gem out of the reach for the rest of the country.
This monstrosity called Baked Ziti and Sausage pasta is not pasta.
It is disrespectful to the Italians, and it ruins what pasta is meant to be.
And while pasta can be deceptively unhealthy, this dish is by far the guiltier option of the two.
All Sodas
By now you know that that sugar is bad in our discussion.
But while candy and Cinnabon are full of sugar, people overlook another huge source of it. Soda.
Just one can contains 50 or 60 grams of sugar.
We’re often tricked by these sugar sneak attacks since just 10% of our sugar intake comes from the sugar bowl.
The other 90% is hidden in the sodas we drink.
White Bread
Bread has the distinct honor of being one of the few items here to really surprise us.
We all grew up eating this, and it was not one of the worst foods in America.
They may have had some semblance of nutrition back in the day but this loaf is nothing but added sugars and empty carbs today.
Cheesecake Factory’s Apple Crisp
Sometimes you feel like having an apple, or a piece of pie. But hopefully, it’s not Cheesecake Factory’s Apple Crisp Pie.
At 1,740 calories, the Apple Crisp packs a punch when it comes to dessert items.
One slice is equivalent to two pieces of their Original Cheesecake.
Unless you want to max out a week’s-worth of your dessert quota, go for something else.
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks
The land of tater tots and apple pie had cereal gaining such a bad rap thanks to its absurdly high content of sugar and refined grains.
Cereal isn’t what it used to be and these “Honey Smacks” are here to prove just that.
This variety of Kellogg’s is one of the most sugar-loaded boxes.
It also has barely any fiber to stabilize your blood sugar.
Panera’s Mac & Cheese
Eating at chain restaurants like Panera means choosing a healthy meal that may not be as obvious as avoiding the deep-fried options.
Sounds better than most menu items, but it still has 1,050 calories, 31 grams of fat, 2,290 milligrams of sodium, and over a day’s amount of carbs at 155 grams.
This comes out to an entire day’s worth of sodium in just one meal.
Dairy Queen Blizzards
Dairy Queen’s frozen desserts are famous and legen-DAIRY.
However, they are all high in calories, and their Blizzards are really bad for you.
One large order of their Brownie Blizzard comes with chewy brownie pieces blanketed in cocoa fudge.
What you get is a scary amount of 1,510 calories, with 45 grams of sugar, and over 70 grams of fat.
Chipotle’s Grilled Chicken Salad
You’re craving Chipotle for lunch, but you’re trying to be healthy, so you order a chicken salad.
Well, think again.
It’s a salad with 870 calories and 43g of fat. A lot for cut-up veggies.
It tiptoes suspiciously close to the same amount of a Chipotle burrito, so you’ll wish you went for that burrito instead.
Frozen Pizza
The ingredients list of frozen pizza is the downfall of so many sold in America, and the blame is on loads of fat and preservatives.
Apparently, people are suckers for fat and preservatives.
They contain lots of other ingredients, like BHT, which are banned in Europe.
And as if that wasn’t enough, there are also over 700 milligrams of sodium per serving of these.
Burger King Triple Whopper
Burger King fans out there, don’t be disheartened, as Burger King reigns supreme in saturated fats.
This triple whopper with cheese comes with three beef patties that are sandwiched between cheese and bacon.
That adds up to 1,216 calories, with more than half of those calories coming from fat.
Don’t be indulging in too many of these if you care about your arteries.
Energy Drinks
When you need a boost, you may be tempted to reach for an energy drink since they can ward off sleep should you need to study for a test or push through a tough day at work.
These aren’t great for your health though.
A study proved that energy drinks can raise your blood pressure, and that causes cardiovascular problems down the line.
Coffee Creamer
A cup of coffee to start the day is always welcome, but that spoonful of coffee creamer won’t do you any favors.
These flavored creamers are full of corn syrup, sugar, soybean oil, and artificial flavors.
One tablespoon amounts to 35 calories per drink, and that adds up since we add more than we should.
Swap it for almond milk or any kind of milk.
KFC Donut Sandwich
If you want something sweet, soft, and savory at the same time, this KFC sandwich has extra crispy fried chicken sandwiched in between two glazed donuts with pickles and mayo.
It’s shocking that someone came up with this idea and put it on the menu, and that there are people who eat this.
Is it really finger-licking good? Or a trend that has to stop?
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