The American Institute for Cancer Research says meats preserved by smoking, curing, or salting, or those that contain chemical preservatives, are linked to an increased risk of colon cancer. Products like bacon, salami and pepperoni also tend to have lots of salt, fat, and cholesterol, and very few nutrients. While a few pieces of bacon won’t hurt, the added salt and fat won’t help your health either.
It’s no surprise that fried, frosted and glazed dough made the list, but they may be worse than you thought. Doughnuts are packed with trans fats, sugar and refined flour and contain between 10 and 20 grams of fat each, along with tons of empty calories. Trans fats raise bad cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease, so avoid banana cream-filled doughnuts and just reach for a banana instead.
Another worst food that shouldn’t come as a shock are potato chips. Chips are packed with trans fats and, along with french fries, contain acrylamide, a substance that accumulates in foods fried in oils at high temperatures and is known to be carcinogenic. While “natural” potato chips have gained popularity in recent years, they’re not much better.
It’s not just the empty calories in regular soda – drinking as few as two soft drinks a week can nearly double a person’s risk of pancreatic cancer and soda consumption has been linked to diabetes, premature aging and osteoporosis. Here are 6 reasons to stop drinking soda today!