Food is one of the
most essential parts of life for survival, health and pleasure. I always prefer
to take kind of food which gives me pleasure but is healthy as well. This list
has been made to make people aware that what they eat as healthy, might just
not be the same.
10. Vegetable
Oils
Vegetable oils are
thought to be good (unsaturated) fats, healthy double bonds in the unsaturated
fat decrease their melting point. However, the “oil” used for frying in fast
food restaurants, is most commonly palm oil, an almost purely saturated
(unhealthy) oil. It’s semi-solid at room temperature, liquid when heated and
used for frying and is not healthy. Another more healthy oil could have been
used for frying without affecting the taste of fries provided that the potatoes
are of good quality. But the palm oil is cheap and the fast food companies care
more about their profit than your health. In third world countries, where check
and balance system is not that strict, palm oil is being marketed under the
label of more healthy vegetable oils, beware of it.
9. Pasta
All the varieties
of pasta including spaghetti, macaroni and noodles are made up of plain flour
mixed with water and eggs (small percentage of egg included in pasta do not
contribute much to its nutritional value). There are no vitamins, no minerals,
and barely any fiber in pasta. Only empty carbohydrates constitute the pasta.
Fast food pasta is even worse because it often contains a lot of salt, mixed
with unhealthy fat.
8. White Bread
This is pasta in
the guise of white bread.
7. Soup Mix
Soup mix contains
water/milk/butter and tasty salt and preservatives. Excessive salt is not good
for health. It can lead to high blood pressure and consequently to heart
disease.
6. Ketchup
Ketchup is
generally considered healthy food item because it is of vegetable origin and
contains the antioxidant lycopene (antioxidants reduce the risk of
developing mutations in the body, and the risk of diseases like cancer). But be
careful because ketchup contains a lot of sugar (as high as 26%
carbohydrates)and salt. In most of the ketchup brands lycopene levels are much
lower than expected from the amount of tomatoes used because most of the
ketchup we eat is processed and non-organic.
5. Diet Soda
There are not many
scientific studies carried out on the health effects of diet soda hence this
has become a controversial debate, but the few studies that have been carried
out, have shown that diet coke is worse than the sugary versions. Diet soda
may cause considerable weight gain because it stimulates the appetite and the
consumer eats more than the calories that were saved by drinking a diet
soda. Some studies have suggested that the artificial sweeteners used in
diet soda can cause weight gain, just like ordinary sugars and some of these
sweeteners, like Aspartame, have been believed to increase the risk of certain
kinds of cancer.
4. Processed
Cheese
Everybody knows
that cheese is not good for health, but processed cheese is even worse. Because
its salt content is very high, in addition to saturated (bad) fat content,
and one can reach far past the recommended daily intake with just
2-3 slices of processed cheese.
3. Soy Sauce
Although soy sauce
contains high levels of antioxidants but it also contains very high amounts of
salt and chemicals known to increase the risks of certain types of cancer.
After relatively fresh knowledge of the dangers associated with high
salt-contents and much stricter regulations on these chemicals, several
kinds of low-sodium soy sauces, free of dangerous chemicals are now available.
Unfortunately, as is true about most healthy variants of food, it is not as
tasty as the one with high salt content and chemicals.
2. Peanuts
In general nuts are
good for health. Most types of nuts are available in the packed form with
vitamins, minerals, fiber, and lot of other nutritious elements. The peanuts
available in the market are roasted hence coated with unhealthy fats and are
packed with a lot of salt. Nuts contain unsaturated fatty acids known as
omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 acids. The risk for many
common diseases, like diabetes and Alzheimer’s is increased many fold
when a food with a too distorted omega 6:omega 3 ratio (in favor of
the omega 6 version) is consumed. In the nutshell, nuts should be consumed in
the raw & natural form, without added salt & fats and in limited
quantity.
1. Fruit Juice
General belief is
that fruit juice is good for health that’s why people consume it
instead of whole fruit. Although fruit juice contains a lot of vitamins but it
also has extra sugar and its pulp is usually removed. The pulp in fruit
provides fiber, which is a good counterbalance to the natural sugar
contained in the fruit. Hence it is advisable that raw fruit should be eaten
instead of consuming fruit juice.
Source :
http://researchonmedical.com
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