What are the 3 Foods to Never Eat? What You Need to Know

If you’re even moderately concerned about your diet, you must’ve thought – what are the 3 foods to never eat?

Anything in excess is not fine, be it food or medication. You must have heard your dietician saying there are bad foods that are to be avoided, “Everything in moderation” is OK.

Well, let’s embrace the fact that eating anything once in a while will not completely disrupt your health. That doesn’t mean fried stuff isn’t bad. That just doesn’t make someone a horrible person just for consuming them.

There could be such instances when we all surrender to “poor” meals at some point randomly, are there foods that we really should avoid, or try our best to avoid? I bet there are!

What are the 3 Foods to Never Eat?

1. Highly Processed Foods

1.1. Hot Dogs

Processed meat such as hot dogs is some of the worst things you can put into your body.

They’re heavy in sodium and saturated fats which are unhealthy fats, and they’re loaded with sodium nitrite (a popular regulator used to impart colour and taste to meats), as well as other preservatives and colours.

Intake of processed meats is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

A high intake of red and processed meat is linked to an elevated risk of gastrointestinal, intestinal, and bowel cancer.

1.2. Pretzels

Pretzels were the perfect snack disguised as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Who didn’t pound them while watching “Friends” years ago, believing they were “fat-free“?

Pretzels are all refined carbohydrates. In other words, you’d be better off eating jellybeans.

They include no fibre, protein, or healthy fat to keep you satiated or to offer health benefits to the calories you eat. Instead, go for a modest handful of nuts or other fibre-rich snacks.

Diets high in fibre and whole grains are linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and type 2 diabetes, according to research.

It has also been demonstrated that persons who consume whole grains rather than processed grains have superior lipid profiles.

1.3. Processed Pastries

Prolonged shelf life and an extensive list of ingredients are obvious signs that you must restock the container.

Refined sugar, refined wheat flour, hydrogenated oils (Trans fat), and a slew of additional chemicals and artificial ingredients go into processed pastries.

Trans fat has been linked to coronary heart disease, sudden cardiac death, and diabetes.

If you must have a dessert with your milk, please prepare it from scratch and use high-quality items. As a bonus, your home will smell great.

1.4. Fluorescent Orange Snacks

These salty, crunchy old-school lunch box staples are loaded with chemicals and artificial additives. They may taste good when consumed, but they are the ultimate junk food.

Many supermarkets will not even sell foods with artificial colours. Let us commend such businesses and join them in refusing to serve them in our homes.

Haldi is an anti-inflammatory ingredient that may give your favourite crunchy food, such as air-popped popcorn, a similar amber hue if you’re getting nostalgic.

1.5. Fast food or Frozen Pizzas

Several individuals claim that because many commercial pizzas contain chemicals such as preservatives and dyes, pizzas made at home are a healthier option.

Red meats, including but not limited to foods such as pepperoni, hot dogs, and most forms of bacon, which are commonly utilized as pizza toppings, should be avoided since they have been associated with cancer.

Furthermore, most produced pizzas contain extremely refined flours, which are devoid of nutrition when compared to whole grains.

1.6. Chicken Nuggets

Don’t be tricked into believing that since they include chicken, chicken nuggets are not a healthy diet option.

The reality is that chicken nuggets are rarely made entirely of chicken breast, with producers combining the flesh with bulking chemicals and scraps of the carcass (the average nugget contains 50 percent more fat and carbs than protein.)

Instead of eating your deep-fried chicken nuggets, prepare your healthy chicken nuggets at home by cutting a lean chicken breast into pieces and coating it in crumbs.

2. Refined Sugar and Whole Wheat

2.1. Cereals

Most of us begin our days with a bowl of cereal, but in some situations, this breakfast option may include several dangerous substances! You may imagine what the problem is with these processed cereals.

Yes, all that sugar! According to the nutrition labels, this breakfast food is frequently rich in calories, fat, and carbohydrates.

Most breakfast cereals include preservatives, artificial colours, flavourings, and excessive levels of sugar.

Your best chance is to start your day with a protein, such as eggs, so that you feel full, energized and focused rather than collapsing from sugar.

2.2. White bread

Commercial white bread is prepared with refined wheat, which has been stripped of fibre and other essential components.

Commercial white bread may or may not induce a surge in blood sugar levels. Well, it’s better to be on the safe side

A better alternative to commercial white bread is its counterpart whole grains. Whole grains are associated with keeping your blood sugar levels on bay, whole grains contain lots of dietary fibre and improve gastrointestinal health benefits.

Based on one review, whole-grain bread may be more helpful than refined bread in reducing abdominal fat.

Because the definition of whole-grain bread differs between research, it’s hard to make a firm conclusion on the impact of whole-grain bread vs. white bread on health outcomes.

2.3. Rice Cakes

Rice cakes may appear to be a completely innocent snack, but there isn’t much going on nutritionally with them.

They lack fibre and protein, and they have a high glycemic index (GI¹), which assesses how rapidly your blood sugar increases in reaction to eating.

In other words, you’ll be starving in no time. Nope, no thank you!

3. Carbonated Drink and Saturated Fats

3.1. Diet soda

Simply because something is calorie-free does not imply that it is chemical-free. You wouldn’t consume, would you?

Although Diet Coke includes no carbohydrates, flavourings are known to activate insulin, which sends your body into fat storage mode and may contribute to weight gain.

When compared to normal soda, diet soda has also been related to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome.²

No, I’m not suggesting you get a Sprite or a normal Coca-Cola. Replace the diet drinks with club soda bubbles.

3.2. Fizzy Drinks

While technically it isn’t a meal, carbonated drinks need to be included on the list of harmful unhealthy foods list.

Regular intake of fizzy drinks has been linked to health implications such as heart disease, dental damage, and osteoporosis.

Carbonated drinks also contain a lot of hidden sugar, with a can of Coke containing 10 teaspoons.

Healthier diet beverages should be avoided since, while fewer calories than their full-fat counterparts, they still contain artificial sweeteners that can destroy tooth enamel over time.

3.3. Canned Soup

An innocent addition to this list, canned soups are not as bad for your health as some of the other foods featured in this top 10, but they do contain excessive amounts of salt.

Made correctly, soup can provide a hearty and healthy meal packed full of vitamins and other goodness so if you want to eat soup, then stick to making your own.

That way you know exactly what is going into it and won’t fall into the high salt trap of the canned varieties.

3.4. Frozen Meals

The 21st century has brought in a lot of new tech and convenient options for us and one such convenient option is frozen meals.

Although frozen meals are convenient, they are sadly less nutritious. They are home to excessive quantities of preservatives and salt.

These foods are sitting in a deep freezer for months as you are reading, just for them to be edible.

We recommend you make your food out of fresh veggies and stuff in your refrigerator rather than stuffing these frozen meals.

3.5. Flavored Yogurt

What’s the deal with flavoured yogurts? They can contain as much sugar as a can of soda, especially when the selections include fruit at the bottom… They’re drowning in sugar! This is not the best way to start your day or have a noon snack.

Instead, purchase plain yogurt and just top it with fresh fruit and nuts.

Don’t fall for their ruse, which is similar to these ‘healthy’ foods that are bad for you!

3.6. Margarine

Butter has long been regarded as the better option because it is manufactured from vegetable oils and has less cholesterol ³and saturated fat than butter.

But, now that scientists believe dietary cholesterol isn’t as bad as previously assumed, margarine⁴, which is heavy in salt and includes artery-clogging trans fats, isn’t looking so good.

Although tub margarine contains less trans-fat than stick margarine (the softer the spread, the healthier for you), olive oil (or another form of monounsaturated fat) is still a superior alternative.

A distant second is a real butter.

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Conclusion

Processed foods are no doubt tasty and convenient, but they can be very unhealthy, especially when consumed in excess.

The foods mentioned above all have certain features that can disrupt your healthy diet. However, consuming them once in a while should not do much harm.

So, make sure that whatever you consume, is consumed in moderation and you and your family live a long and healthy life!

1. Tian, Yuan, et al. “gastrointestinal features in COVID‐19 and the possibility of faecal transmission.” Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 51.9 (2020): 843-851. ↩︎
2. Fahed, Gracia, et al. “Metabolic syndrome: updates on pathophysiology and management in 2021.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 23.2 (2022): 786. ↩︎
3. Luo, Jie, Hongyuan Yang, and Bao-Liang Song. “Mechanisms and regulation of cholesterol homeostasis.” Nature reviews Molecular cell biology 21.4 (2020): 225-245. ↩︎
4. Smetana, Sergiy, et al. “Insect margarine: Processing, sustainability and design.” Journal of cleaner Production 264 (2020): 121670. ↩︎

Last Updated on February 15, 2024 by Suchi