Top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health

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Top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health
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If you’ve been trying to lose weight and can’t seem to drop the pounds, it is probably because of your diet.

Scientific research shows that our diet can have a huge impact on our health, as well as our weight loss and muscle gain results. If you want to know what is the healthiest diet according to science, then click here to read my post.

So, if you are trying to lose weight and cannot lose extra pounds, it is most likely due to your diet.

Research shows that there are healthier and less healthy foods. If you want to be healthier or finally lose those stubborn pounds, then eating healthier foods is a must.

In this post, we’ll explore the 5 least healthy foods to avoid for weight loss and health based on scientific research.

So, here are top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health:

  1. Oils (sunflower, etc.)
  2. Sugary drinks and fruit juices
  3. French fries
  4. Meat, fish, eggs
  5. Desserts such as cakes, doughnuts, candy, etc.

1. Oils (sunflower, etc.)

Oils are basically pure fat and not the healthiest one. Studies show that calorie is not just a calorie. An average daily calorie intake for us is 2000 kCal. 100 g of extra virgin olive oil contains about 800 kCal and 93g is fat. [1]

So, 100 g of extra virgin oil in your salad dressing or French fries is about half of your daily calorie intake and it doesn’t provide you with necessary nutrients.

On the other hand, 100 g of walnuts contains about 654 kCal while also containing 14g of protein, 14g of carbs, fiber and other healthy nutrients. [2]

2. Sugary drinks and fruit juices

A meta-analysis shows that higher sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and artificially sweetened beverage (ASB) intakes were associated with higher risks of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. [3]

The habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) was associated with a higher risk of CVD morbidity and mortality in a dose-response manner. [4]

A systematic review says that sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly soda, provide little nutritional benefit and increase weight gain and probably the risk of diabetes, fractures, and dental caries. [5]

Meta-analysis of 32 studies including trials shows that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) increase body weight gain in both children and adults with the exception of trials in children from the random-effects model. [6]

Most fruit juices are also high in sugar and have less nutrients compared to whole fruits.

Results from three prospective cohort studies show that the consumption of fruit juices is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. [7]

3. French fries

While french fries are delicious, they may be also dangerous.
Meta-analysis of 41 studies shows that French fries consumption increases the risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension [8]

Click here if you want to read my blog post and find out more if potatoes are healthy for us.

4. Meat, fish, eggs

A review of systematic reviews says that the consumption of refined cereal products, red/processed meat, eggs, very hot tea (but not tea in general), sweetened beverages, pickled vegetables, and fermented soy foods clearly should be limited. [9]

Meta-analysis shows that consumption of processed meats was associated with significantly higher incidence of both CHD and diabetes, with 42% and 19% higher risk, respectively, per 50 g serving/day. In contrast, consumption of unprocessed red meats was not associated with CHD and was associated with a nonsigificant trend toward higher risk of diabetes. [10]

A meta-analysis shows that moderate egg consumption (up to one egg per day) is not associated with cardiovascular disease risk overall, and is associated with potentially lower cardiovascular disease risk in Asian populations. [11]

A study comparing the nutritional quality of the vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian and omnivorous diet shows that results concerning body weight, nutritional intake, nutritional quality and quantity are in line with the literature on restricted and prudent diets such as a vegan diet versus unrestricted omnivorous diets. [12]
In other words the healthiest diets are those that do not contain animal products such as meat, fish, eggs, etc.

If you want to learn more about why you should consume less (ideally none) meat and fish and what products better to consume instead to stay healthy then click here to learn more about my PDF book where I explain all of it in detail.

5. Desserts like cake, doughnuts, candy, etc.

Cakes, doughnuts, candy are usually high in sugar, contain refined carbs, and are often high in other unhealthy nutrients. All that can also lead to weight gain and other health problems.

Summary

So, what are the top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health? Well, the top 5 foods to avoid for weight loss and health are oils, sugary drinks and fruit juices, French fries, animal products (meat, fish, eggs), desserts such as cakes, doughnuts, candy.

In some cases cooking methods can play a significant role though. For example, if a cake is made with whole wheat flour, fruits and other healthy ingredients then I hope you understand that this cake can be healthy.

P.S. If you want to get my top science-based recipes that can be cooked in less than 30 minutes each and find out how science-based nutrition can prevent the most common diseases, improve your overall health and help you live longer then you can click here to learn more.

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