The Worst Foods For Nutrition

Eating well, or choosing foods that promote a healthy weight and lifestyle, can reduce your risks for cancers, heart disease and high blood pressure, according to MayoClinic.com. Unfortunately, modern culture makes it easy to gain weight due to the easy availability of high-calorie foods in large portions and commercials that urge you to eat more. Another problem is that food manufacturers have started using inexpensive food additives with little nutritional value.

Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup is a food additive developed in the 1970s that can now be found everywhere in the supermarket including breads, soup, pasta sauces, juice drinks, frozen dinners and ice cream. It has no nutritional value except for extra calories, according to David Zinczenko, the author of "The Abs Diet." Corn syrup is cheaper than sugar due to government subsidies. It comes as a liquid, so food manufacturers use it in products that did not previously contain sugar, like whole-wheat bread and pasta sauce. Also, corn syrup has a long shelf life and it is easy to produce.

Saturated Fats

This category of food comes from animal products such as red meat and poultry, especially the fatty parts including chicken skin. It also includes eggs and dairy products like cheese, milk and cream. Another source is the tropical oil found in cocoa, coconut and palm oil, or in macadamia nuts. You should only get 20 percent to 35 percent of your daily calories from fat, according to the National Academy of Sciences. If you eat a lot of meat and dairy products, you are getting a lot of saturated fat. The academy says that saturated fat is not required at any level in your diet because it does not prevent chronic diseases.

Alcoholic Beverages

Many people do not consider alcohol a food, but it does contain calories with few nutrients. In addition, alcohol can raise your blood pressure and triglyceride levels, according to MayoClinic.com. The clinic says that enjoying an occasional glass of wine may have health benefits, but if you drink alcohol, make sure that you count it as two servings of fat or as your weekly allotment of calories from the sweets category.