Top 10 Unhealthiest Food in America

Top 10 Unhealthiest Food in America

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Unhealthiest Food in America.

For this list, we’ll be looking at popular American foods and drinks that are chock-full of enough sodium, sugar, and preservatives to choke a horse - and that’s why we love them so much.

Did we scarf down any other unhealthy foods instead of adding them to the list? Let us know in the comments below!

#10: Pop-Tarts

Pop-Tarts are a popular, quick option for a breakfast on-the-go. You can eat them straight out of the package or pop them in the toaster for a hit of ooey, gooey, sugary goodness. But Pop-Tarts are as unhealthy as they are deliciously convenient. They are full of processed soybean oil and flour. Every package of Pop-Tarts contains 76 grams of carbs, and not the good kind. They use multiple types of sugar: every bite is packed with white sugar, regular corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. The large serving of fructose makes long-term and frequent consumption of this tasty treat a health risk. High fructose diets have been linked to increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

#9: Cheese Fries

Cheese fries are arguably one of the most delicious dishes of the USA and Canada. From poutine to chili cheese fries, the iterations of this dish are endless and always tasty. Unfortunately, it should come as no surprise that cheese fries are incredibly bad for you: it's a dish that combines two inherently unhealthy foods. A standard portion of fries is over 400 calories and dishes out a large dose of sodium and fat. Adding a decent dollop of melted cheese and condiments sends the calorie count to upwards of 1000 calories. When you ‘load’ them with additional items like meats, cheeses, and gravies, you’re looking at an entire day’s worth of fat-heavy calories or more.

#8: Movie Theater Pretzels

Pretzels may seem like a healthy snack choice at a movie theater compared to candy, buttered popcorn, or cheesy nachos. But don’t be fooled: some movie theater pretzels clock in at almost 2,000 calories when you include dips and condiments. The pretzels are often a huge source of processed flour, fat, and sodium without much nutritional bang for the caloric buck. When you make full use of the cheese dip or mustard that comes with it, you may be looking at four daily doses worth of salt. If you take a soda to wash it down, that’s even more sodium.

#7: Baking with Bleached White Flour

Bleached white flour is a staple of baking in the United States and uncommon almost everywhere else. Countries like Australia, and those in the EU have banned bleached white flour. Why? Bleached flour contains chemicals like azodicarbonamide or ADA. ADA is an additive that helps make dough fluffier and more elastic. Unfortunately, there have been studies that show that ADA and other similar bleached flour additives chemically break down under the high heat of baking. It turns into urethane which is a carcinogen. Who knew that a loaf of bread could help give you cancer?

#6: Hot Dogs

Processed meats, in general, are some of the least healthy protein options available at the grocery store . They contain excessive amounts of salt, phosphates, and nitrites. When it comes to processed meats, few are as generally unhealthy as the all-American hot dog. They have more sodium than your sliced turkey breast and contain large amounts of nitrites, which have been linked to cancer. The WHO has claimed that one hot dog’s worth of processed meat a day increases a human’s risk of colon cancer by 18%. The phosphates in hot dogs are equally dangerous. Studies have linked a phosphate-heavy diet to increased rates of both heart and kidney disease.

#5: Coffee Creamer

You may want to think about how you lighten your coffee in the future. While coffee may have various health benefits, what goes into coffee is likely bad for you. Coffee creamers, in particular, may not be worth the added flavor. Some creamers replace actual ‘cream’ with synthetic replacements like monoglycerides and diglycerides. According to the FDA, these fatty glycerides are not harmful in tiny portions. However, in large amounts, a person will be consuming too-large portions of trans fats. Doctors have marked trans-fats as responsible for rises in cholesterol and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

#4: Sugar Cereals

The first breakfast cereal was invented in the United States during the Civil War. A century later, cold cereal became a staple of the American breakfast. Companies spent the 20th century developing popular cereal brands, most often targeting children. To make their cereals more appealing, they were made sweeter and packed with added sugar. They also contain preservatives to extend shelf life as well as food coloring and artificial flavors. According to one study published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association, children’s cereals contained more carbs, sugar, and salt than adult cereals.

#3: Frozen Meals/TV Dinners

Frozen TV dinners are one of the early artifacts of American grind-culture. Are you too tired to cook after a long day at work? Have no fear! Frozen meals allow a tired but hungry worker to pop a tray in the oven or microwave. In just a few minutes, you have a full meal, hot and ready to eat. Unfortunately, ​​liquid nitrogen is not the only way frozen food manufacturers extend their products’ shelf life. TV Dinners are packed with preservatives and usually contain excess sodium and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. That’s a double whammy for heart disease. Unfortunately, all those additives tend to leach nutrients out of food, making frozen foods less nutritious than their fresh counterparts.

#2: Fried Foods

It’s something of a truism for some Americans that you can fry just about anything. Dessert foods like Oreos are fried in county fairs across America. Vegetables like onions are turned into deep fried onion rings in virtually every “American style” restaurant. It’s no surprise, however, that these deep fried foods land at #2 on our list. Fried foods inject huge quantities of trans fat into the body, clogging arteries with plaque and leading to a plethora of health problems. A diet heavy in fried food can lead to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and strokes later in life. Seasoning fried food with extra salt or powdered sugar just adds to the risk.

#1: Sugar-Sweetened Soda

Sugar soda has virtually no nutritional value whatsoever, and yet it is a staple of the American diet - especially in children. It contains vast quantities of high fructose corn syrup; a single 16 ounce bottle of soda may have 200 calories and 52 grams of sugar. Half of that sugar comes from fructose. Soda has played a significant role in the rise of obesity in the United States. One study of overweight and obese American adults saw many consuming a quarter of their daily calories as sugar soda. In such quantities, the sugar significantly reduced their sensitivity to natural insulin. Don’t think that diet sodas with artificial sweeteners are any better. Sweetening chemicals like aspartame have been linked to increase risk of cancer.