Consumers need to be savvy about what foods they should avoid. Buzz words such as organic, natural, chemical-free and certified organic are marketing terms to get a person to purchase. Food manufacturers are in the business of selling food, healthy or not. It is up to the consumer to decide what is healthy and what he should avoid.
Canned Pasta in Sauce
Pasta dinners made with tomato puree, water, macaroni and evaporated cane juice—in other words, sugar—are not healthy. A person will recognize these products as being mostly marketed to children. Most canned pastas in sauce have 150 calories, 1 g fat, 680 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrates with 11 g sugar and 4 g protein.
Potato Chips
Most varieties of potato chips are fried and loaded with salt. The additional fat grams a person receives will do nothing but extend her waistline. A 1-oz. bag of potato chips contains 153 calories, 10 g fat, 147 mg sodium, 14 g carbs and 2 g protein. It is OK to eat them as an occasional treat, but should not be part of a person's daily lunch. She is better off choosing a salad, raw veggies and fruit as a side dish with a sandwich to avoid extra calories and fat grams.
100-Calorie Snacks
The 100-calorie snack packs have grown in variety. They are still made with the same ingredients as recommended serving sizes of the same food in the non–100- calorie snacks, but are packaged to contain only 100 calories. Chips, cookies and crackers in 100-calorie packs have no extra nutritive value. They still contain sugar, salt and fat in a smaller serving size.
Sports Drinks
Sold as motivators to get a person to reach his full potential during workouts, sports drinks are nothing more than sugar-sweetened water. One 12-ounce bottle of a leading sport drink yields 117 calories, 80 mg sodium, 29 g carbs with 22 g sugar. The body performs just as well with water during workouts.
Bacon
Bacon is very unhealthy as most of it is fat and salt. One ounce of bacon contains 128 calories, 13 g fat, 233 mg sodium, and 3 g protein. Canadian bacon is a leaner option with only 44 calories, 2 gf fat, 395 mg sodium and 6 g protein per 1-oz. serving.
Pot Pies
Pot pies can be convenient when a person doesn't feel like preparing dinner. But consumers need to be aware that one leading brand contains 667 calories, 41 g fat, 1,002 mg sodium, 54 g carbs with 2 g sugar and 19 g protein.
Soft Drinks
Sodas are not a great option to replace fluid as most contain sugar, caffeine, artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners. One 12-oz. can contains 136 calories, 15 mg sodium, 35 g carbs with 33 g sugar and 29 mg caffeine.
Speciality Frozen Meals
Most packaged meals are loaded with chemical preservatives and salt, even the vegetarian or organic options. One leading healthy frozen dinner contains 343 calories, 8 g fat, 402 mg sodium, 45 g carbs with 16 g sugar and 22 g protein.
Fried Foods
Fried foods are loaded with fat, even if a person removes the skin or uses a napkin to soak up excessive oil. A person should choose grilled meat instead and use spices to create new flavors for chicken, turkey and seafood. Six to eight fried breaded shrimp contain 454 calories, 25 g fat, 1447 mg sodium, 40 g carbs and 19 g protein.
Frozen Pizzas
Pizzas are convenient but are also loaded with processed meats that contain large amounts of sodium as a preservative. One frozen pepperoni pizza can contain 1,267 calories, 65 g fat, 2,645 mg sodium, 122 g carbs and 48 g protein. A person is better off choosing pizza toppings such as vegetables and adding her own fresh meats to cut down on sodium intake.
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