When it comes to good health, there are several factors - like our genes and a new virus - that we can't control. Among the factors that we can control to a greater degree is food intake. On World Health Day - observed each year on April 7, the day the World Health Organization was founded in 1948 - we take a look at 10 of the world's worst foods for health. Please avoid:
1. Bacon: A bacon is a bacon and it is oh! so good. But bacon has two preservatives - nitrates and nitrites - that can increase the risk of colon and stomach cancer. Bacon is also high in salt; each slice contains 137 milligrams of sodium. The American Heart Association recommends that a 2,000-calorie diet should not include more than 13 grams of saturated fat daily. Just three slices of bacon contain almost 5 grams of saturated fat - that’s more than one-third of your daily requirement.
Water footprint: 613 litres of water to produce three ounces of ham (pork)
2. Sugary drinks: The American Heart Association recommends having less than 25 grams of sugar a day for women and less than 36 grams of sugar a day for men.
A single 12-ounce (350 ml) can of soda packs an average of 39 grams of sugar and three times more sugar than that found in a glazed donut. According to Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, artificial sweeteners may actually increase cravings for real sugar and is linked to an increase in type 2 diabetes by 67 percent.
Water footprint: 209 litres of water for 17 ounces of soda
Fruit juices are still widely perceived as a healthier option than sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). However, packed fruit juices often contain as much sugar and as many calories as SSBs. Although the sugar in 100 percent fruit juices is naturally occurring rather than added, once metabolised, the biological response is essentially the same.
Water footprint: 822 litres of water for 1 kilogram of apple (fresh) and 6,847 litres for dried apples.
3. Potato chips: One 1.5-ounce (42 g) bag of Lay's Original (a popular brand of packaged chips) has 240 calories and is high in sodium and fat. The cooking process used to make chips can also create acrylamide, a known neurotoxin and carcinogen. Other long-term side effects of eating a lot of chips are weight gain, trouble sleeping, dry skin, kidney disease, headaches, and inflammation.
Water footprint: 54 litres of water for a small serving of potato chips.
4. Fried Indian breakfast: Samosa. Vada. Chole Bhature. Namkeen bhujia. They sure taste good but a single samosa contains 25g of fat; store-bought bhujia often contains chemical preservatives that may impact blood sugar levels and blood pressure; two bhaturas and a bowl of chole (chickpea gravy) pack almost 50 g of fat and 1,200 calories; and we all know that the vada is deep-fried to make it crispy outside and soft and fluffy iinside.
5. White Bread and Bagel: These are high-carb foods. The flour used in white bread is often bleached with chemicals such as potassium bromate, azodicarbonamide, or chlorine dioxide gas which can cause health problems like obesity, heart diseases, and diabetes. According to the Diabetes Care journal, white bread has a glycemic index (GI) of 75 (highest rating is 100 which is for pure glucose). And if you think that bagel is a better option, shun that thought. It's just a big ball of white-flour dough, the equivalent in carbs of about five slices of white bread toast.
Water footprint: 1,608 litres of water to produce a loaf of bread.
6. French fries: The fried-ness of French fries makes them not just unhealthy, but potentially deadly, according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The amount of trans fats and salt in French fries is linked to heart-disease risk. And then there are the chemicals in fried potatoes: acrylamide, which is especially present in overcooked fries and potato chips (and toast), has been linked to cancer risk. Recently, the British government launched a campaign to encourage people to “go for the gold”, and not overcook their potatoes or over-toast their bread.
Water footprint: 287 litres of water to produce a kilogram of potatoes
7. Charred meat: Be careful before you fire up the BBQ. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), charring meat, poultry and fish can lead to the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs), carcinogens. Barbecued meats can form two chemicals - heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) - which, according to laboratory studies, can alter DNA in a way that increases the odds of developing various diseases.
Water footprint: 15,415 litres of water for 1 kilogram of beef
8. Doughnuts: What’s in doughnut? White flour, vegetable shortening, white sugar. And it’s deep-fried. One glazed doughnut from Krispy Kreme - a popular chain with outlets in multiple countries, including India - packs 200 calories and 12 grams of fat. An old-fashioned cake doughnut is even worse: 300 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrates and a whopping 19 grams of fat, including 5 grams of saturated fat and 4 grams of trans fats. According to the Mayo Clinic, doughnuts have the worst trans fats that increase bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol.
Water footprint: 1,500-2,000 litres of water for 1 kilogram of sugar.
9. Canned soup: Canned soups are on the American Heart Association's ‘Salty Six’ of notoriously bad-for-your-heart foods. Even those soups laden with lots of beans and vegetables can be super salty.
Water footprint: 5,053 litres of water for 1 kilogram of broad beans (dry) and 561 litres for broad beans (green)
10. Hot Dogs and other processed meats: Hot dogs are high in saturated fats and sodium and many contain nitrates, a preservative linked to cancer, according to The National Cancer Institute in the US. Ground meat is often mixed with nitrates to help the meat proteins bond together.
Water footprint: 5,988 litres of water for 1 kilogram of pork
(Water Footprint Source: Global Food. Waste not, Want not)
Food Myths - busted
| Myth | Truth |
| Sea salt is healthier than table salt | Both regular table salt and sea salt have approximately 2,300 milligrams of sodium in one teaspoon. |
| All calories are the same | They are not. Eating 300 calories of chicken is not the same as eating 300 calories of dessert. Depending on the nutrients in what you eat, the body uses and stores these calories differently. |
| All store-bought yoghurt have good belly bacteria. | Yoghurt contains Lactobacillus acidophilus which is good for the gut. But store-bought fruit or flavoured yoghurts have too much sugar that encourages unhealthy bacteria in the gut. |
| Egg yolks raise cholesterol | It is true that egg yolks contain dietary cholesterol. But research has established that dietary cholesterol has nothing to do with serum/blood cholesterol. Researchers from Wake Forest University reviewed more than 30 egg studies and found no connection between heart disease and egg consumption. |
| Adding milk to coffee impacts the antioxidant activity | No, it does not. |
| Avoid dairy when you have a cold | No, milk does not cause mucus production |
| Eating lots of carrots will improve your eyesight | Eating lots of carrots could turn you orange from the excess beta-carotene, but lots of carrots won’t improve your eyesight. |
| People with diabetes need to avoid sugar | Science has shown that this isn’t necessary. All carbohydrates (e.g., bread, rice, pasta, starchy vegetables) are broken down to sugar which is absorbed into the blood stream. Diabetics must consult their physician before indulging in an occasional treat like bread or fruit. |
| Snacking late at night causes weight gain | Not necessarily. It is not the time, it’s the amount and type of snacks that determine if the kilos will pile on, or not. |
| Switch to dark and eat as much chocolate as you want | Dark chocolate is a better source of antioxidants compared to milk or white chocolate but it is still high in fat and sugar and should be considered an occasional treat. |
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