If you're looking to improve your diet then cutting back on these six foods is a good starting point.
1. Fizzy Drinks
The average can of fizzy drink contains around 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine, artificial food colouring and sulphites. Diet versions of fizzy drinks contain artificial sweeteners which are even more unhealthy. Fizzy drink are so bad for you that the Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a US consumer group has called for cigarette style health warnings to be printed on soft drink cans.
2. Chips and French fries.
They may be tasty but chips and French fries contain acrylamide, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin that forms when foods are baked or fried at high temperatures. In tests conducted on some well known brands of French fries the level of acrylamide found was around 300 times the amount allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in a glass of water.
And it gets worse - chips and French fries also contain trans fats, the artery-clogging fat that's been linked to raising cholesterol and increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer.
3. Doughnuts.
If you break a doughnut down you'll find nothing more than refined sugar and flour, artificial flavours and partially hydrogenated oil that's packed full of trans fats. They have no redeeming qualities at all.
4. Cakes and Baked Goods.
This category also includes biscuits. This is another group of foods that almost always contain high amounts of trans fats and a host of other unhealthy additives such as corn syrup, preservatives and artificial flavours and colouring. In fact, baked goods usually contain more trans fats than any other food because not only are they made with hydrogenated oils, they're also fried in them.
If you must eat baked goods then buy them from your local bakery because they're less likely to used hydrogenated oils or margarine to preserve the shelf life.
5. Processed Meats/Hot Dogs.
Processed meats like spam, luncheon meat and pepperoni contain a carcinogenic ingredient called sodium nitrite which, according to nutritionists, has no place in human food.
According to a study carried out in America on 200,000 people over seven years, the people who consumed the most processed meat showed a 65% increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
6. Canned Soup.
Amazingly we are talking about the traditional, canned soups you find in the supermarket. This may come as a surprise, but most canned soups have high levels of trans fats, sodium and artificial preservatives like MSG.
Just a single cup of soup from a can, can contain up to 1000 milligrams of salt. That's an awful lot considering dietary guidelines recommend no more than 2400 milligrams per day.
Reading the above it's obvious to see why the government is keen to educate children and parents about the poor nutritional values of certain foods. Until recently children were regularly eating chips, cakes and processed meats and fizzy drinks as part of their daily school dinners. Thankfully high profile campaigns such as Jamie Oliver's drive for healthy school meals has alerted people to the dangers of consuming these foods on a regular basis, and seems to be making a significant difference.
Author : Catering 4 Schools
