Consuming unhealthy foods can lead to obesity, hypertension, heart disease and high cholesterol. Some of the world's most unhealthy foods may surprise you. They are full of fat, calories, sodium and sugar. Eliminate these empty-calorie foods from your diet, as they have minimal, if any, nutritional value.
Muffins
Muffins may be labeled "low-fat" or made with bran, but large muffins contain excessive calories and sugar. A large bran muffin made with raisins and nuts has as many as 450 calories, 14 g of fat and 22 g of sugar. Cut your muffin in half and save some for the next day as a way to limit your caloric intake.
Canned Soup
Prepared soups have high salt, or sodium, content. A 1-cup serving of chicken noodle soup may only have 90 calories, but it also contains more than 800 mg of sodium, close to half of the recommended intake for a full day. Choose a low-sodium variety of soup and check the label to verify the serving size. The American Heart Assoication reports that foods listed as "low-sodium" have less than 140 mg of sodium per serving.
Lunch Meats
Processed lunch meats are high in sodium, which can increase your risk of high blood pressure and heart disease. Reduced-fat light turkey breast deli meats provide around 60 calories for a 2-oz. serving and have as much as 575 mg of sodium.
Fruit Smoothies
According to X-Ray Technician Schools, fruit smoothies are loaded with calories, sugar and high fructose corn syrup. A 12-oz. non-dairy fruit smoothie provides as much as 200 calories and 40 g of sugar. Adding in milk or ice cream can increase your energy intake by 100 calories.
Eggnog
Eggnog is a popular holiday drink made with egg yolks and whole milk. One egg yolk contains 213 mg of cholesterol, or about three-fourths of your recommended total cholesterol intake for the day. In addition, eggnog adds excessive calories and fat. A 1-cup serving weighs in at over 200 calories and 10 g of fat, more than half of which are saturated. Consuming high amounts of saturated fat can increase your bad cholesterol, which will put you at a high risk for heart disease.
Coffee Cake
A 2.5-inch square of coffee cake has nearly 200 calories and 6 g of fat, due to the key ingredients of butter and sour cream. When you make coffee cake at home, use low-fat options such as non-hydrogenated margarine and reduced-fat sour cream.
Ice Cream
One cup of chocolate ice cream has almost 300 calories, 15 g of fat and 34 g of sugar. Calories are increased if you add toppings such as whipped cream, cookie crumbs or sauce. As a healthy alternative, replace your full-fat ice cream with low- or non-fat frozen yogurt.
Cheeseburgers
Cheeseburgers are a staple of the American diet. Whether you order it out or make it at home, an 8-oz. cheeseburger with mayonnaise contains about 500 calories, 30 g of fat and 975 g of sodium. If you are craving a cheeseburger, select a smaller size. A kid-sized 3.5-oz. cheeseburger with no dressing has approximately 350 calories, 16 g of fat and 615 mg of sodium. This smaller cheeseburger has about half the fat and calories of the big one. Reduce fat and calories further by eliminating the cheese or selecting lean ground beef at the supermarket.
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