The problem with many unhealthy foods isn’t eating them once in a while; it’s how easily once in a while becomes every day.
The convenient slice adds up
Processed meats like bacon, sausage, hot dogs, and salami should be kept out of your daily routine as much as possible. In addition to being high in sodium and often loaded with saturated fat, there’s another downside.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified processed meat as a carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) to humans based on research showing a link between processed meat consumption and colorectal cancer. This doesn’t mean that one hot dog is going to cause cancer. It’s a concern when you eat them regularly over a long period of time.
Dessert wearing breakfast clothes
A box plastered with images of whole grains, fruit and vitamins can still be packed with added sugar. Some sugary breakfast cereals are made with mostly refined grains and deliver scant fiber or protein. If you’re not filling up on those nutrients, you won’t feel full for long. Occasional indulgence is fine. But if you eat a sweetened cereal every day for breakfast, you’ve turned the most important meal into a steady source of added sugar.
Don’t be fooled by marketing on the front of the box. Check the nutrition label. Higher-fiber, lower-sugar cereals, or oatmeal topped with fruit and nuts, are generally better choices.
It’s not really about the potato
Potatoes offer potassium, vitamin C, and more. The potato isn’t the enemy. It’s when you cut it into strips, fry it until it’s saturated with grease, toss it with a bunch of salt, and serve it to yourself in massive quantities. French fries can contain a lot of calories, fat, and sodium in a side dish that’s very easy to eat mindlessly and still not feel like you’ve had much.
Having fries once in a while is fine. Making fries your default lunchtime side is not. Bake, boil or roast potatoes for a similar base food that isn’t a daily deep-fried indulgence.
Ready in three minutes
Instant noodles provide an immediate solution to hunger. That is why you will find them stocked in so many pantries. However, a plain packet really isn’t much of a well-rounded meal. Many brands are very high in sodium, especially if you use the entire flavor packet.
Tossing in some vegetables, an egg or other protein, and using less seasoning can help make an occasional bowl a lot healthier.
The coffee-shop trap
A muffin seems like a much more respectable thing than a piece of cake. But oversized muffins and packaged breakfast pastries often aren’t much better for you than dessert. Doughnuts, danishes, cakes and other sweet pastries frequently blend refined flour with added sugar and saturated fat, and offer little fiber in return. What makes these pastries easy to overeat is how convenient they are.
There’s nothing wrong with treating yourself to a good pastry. It just makes more nutritional sense to think of it as something you eat consciously and occasionally rather than the breakfast you mindlessly eat five mornings a week.
A quick fix for hunger
While a burger consists of little more than meat and a bun, many fast-food meals come with oversized patties, cheese, bacon, and fatty sauces. Not only do these items send saturated fat soaring, but fries and sugary soda push calories and sodium or sugar even higher. If that’s your daily lunch combo, you’ll have less room for vegetables, whole grains, and other nutritious foods. The key is moderation.
Not all cheese is the same
Cheese can be a good source of protein and calcium, so it shouldn’t automatically be placed on a list of foods we all should stay away from. However, ultra-processed cheese products and/or several servings a day are worth watching more closely. They can pack a lot of sodium and saturated fat. The difference is important. A small serving of regular cheese as part of a balanced meal is nowhere near the same thing as slapping multiple slices of processed cheese on your burgers, sandwiches, and snacks all day long.
A little becomes every day
Candy should be a treat. Nutritionally speaking, it mostly acts like one too. Most types are packed with added sugar and deliver little protein, fiber, or other nutrients. Chewy sweets can also be worse for your teeth than others because they coat your teeth in sugar that oral bacteria feed on to create acid.
One chocolate bar or small handful of candy isn’t going to ruin your health. Problems arise when that mid-afternoon chocolate bar or nightly dessert is so habitual that you no longer view it as a treat.
The healthy label can fool you
Yogurt has a sterling reputation. A serving of plain yogurt is a good source of protein, calcium, and other nutrients. But flavored yogurt can be another story. Some are loaded with added sugar, especially those that contain sweetened fruit fillings, syrup, or dessert-style toppings. Suddenly, that healthy snack is another source of added sugar you’re eating every day.
Dinner straight from the freezer
Frozen pizza takes virtually no effort to prepare, which is why it can be so appealing when you’re tired. The problem is that many options are loaded with sodium and saturated fat (particularly those with extra cheese and processed meats). They can also offer you very little in the way of fiber or vegetables compared to a well-rounded meal.
Health food in disguise
Granola and snack bars can seem inherently healthy based on marketing. Words like oats, nuts, and protein are front and center on packages. Flip the package over, however, and you’ll find many are full of added sugars from syrups, chocolate coatings or sweetened fillings. You won’t be far off base either, comparing some to traditional sweets once you check the nutrition labels. Some others are good for you, though, so ingredient lists are important with this category.
The easy upgrade
White bread is not a dangerous food. Having a sandwich made with white bread once in a while is perfectly fine. The problem is what you’re missing when refined bread is your primary grain source every day. Most whole-grain breads will have more of the grain’s fiber and nutrients intact. Fiber can promote regularity and help you feel full. So replacing at least some of your daily bread with a real whole-grain bread is one of the easiest dietary improvements you can make.
When dessert becomes routine
Enjoying ice cream and mindlessly eating a big bowl every night are two different things. Ice cream can pack serious grams of added sugar, saturated fat, and calories, and those can add up if you’re eating large portions every evening. That doesn’t mean ice cream should be banished from your freezer.
Monitor how often you have it and how much you eat. Dessert can be dessert and not morph into another meal you consume seven days a week.
The calories you barely notice
Sweetened beverages are one unhealthy habit that’s easy to form because they don’t feel like food. Soda with lunch, sweetened iced tea, or a sugar-laden energy drink in the afternoon can pack on lots of added sugar and calories without filling you up like food. Habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages can lead to weight gain and increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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