Losing weight is usually considered a step toward better health. Along with exercise, a quality diet is essential for good health. When starting a new diet to improve health, you should be aware of a few diet foods to avoid. Many foods that are marketed as "diet" foods are not as healthy as the claims.
Fats and Oils
The body needs fats to perform vital functions. Good fats help with those processes, while bad fats can cause heart disease and other disorders. According to Harvard University, trans fats and saturated fats that are found in fried foods, butter and other animal-based foods should be avoided to reduce the risk of disease.
Hydrogenated oils and fats should also be avoided. These are trans fats that are chemically altered and processed into solid or semisolid forms. According to the Mayo Clinic, they can be found in everything from fried foods to commercial baked goods.
Artificially Sweetened Foods and Sodas
Artificial sweeteners like aspartame and sucralose have been in diet soft drinks for several years. In recent years, artificial sweeteners have been replacing sugar in many of the diet foods that are on the market. According to Women to Women, the New York Times reports that over 10 percent of low- or reduced-calorie foods in supermarkets may contain some type of artificial sweetener.
According to Marcelle Pick of Women to Women, even though some testing has been done on artificial sweeteners that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it is unknown what effect their use will have in the long term.
Light or Lite
Reading labels will help to differentiate which foods are better than others when it comes to fat and calorie content. To be considered "light" or "lite," a food must have a third of the calories, half of the total fat and half of the sodium that is normally found in the regular version of the food, according to Drugs.com. Foods that carry these requirements usually have the term "lite" on the label. The word "light" may be deceiving, in that it may mean less coloring or fewer additives. Reading the label will determine whether the food is good or bad. Less additives may mean higher fats and more sugar.
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