Worst Foods to Eat and What to Eat Instead

Terry Passano

Terry has been a dietitian since 1991, focused on food sensitivities and functional and integrative nutrition. She is aware and up-to-date on all the current health trends, including holistic approaches to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If you have any questions or would like to set up a consultation with Terry, contact her at thpassano@salisbury.edu 410-548-9112.

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In our fast-paced world, it’s no secret that we often rely on quick and easy meals. However, did you know that ultra-processed foods account for over half of our calorie intake? A recent study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that more than 50% of calories consumed at home by adults in the US come from ultra-processed foods, and this trend is on the rise. This is not surprising, considering the abundance of ultra-processed foods available in grocery stores, with new items appearing on shelves every day.

Unfortunately, consuming these foods can lead to overconsumption, weight gain, and negative impacts on our health and mood. They are associated with illnesses such as depression, anxiety, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease.

Luckily, extensive research has defined these ultra-processed foods and their hyper-palatable counterparts. For definitions of processed and ultra-processed foods, check out this newsletter.

Here, I will focus on using the food label to identify ultra-processed foods and minimize their negative consequences. Now, it’s up to us to take action and balance our choices.

Identifying Ultra-Processed Foods

Minimally and slightly processed foods such as canned beans, tuna, fruit, and vegetables often contain just one or two added ingredients. These foods are processed, but they are not the ultra-processed foods that lead to overconsumption and are associated with health challenges. Many lower-processed foods support good health by preserving food and making it convenient. Butter, oils, pasta, nuts, and seeds are less-processed foods that we love and that support our health through nutrition and convenience.

Ultra-processed foods are far from their original form. They contain additives that change their texture, appearance, and flavor, and chemical preservatives are added to extend their shelf life.

Food labels provide useful information when choosing foods. The first thing that comes to mind regarding food labels may be calories, fats, or carbs—these things are significant. But I always tell my clients that the ingredient list tells the most important story. Look for these red flags to identify food ingredients found in ultra-processed foods.

Some say to avoid foods with more than 3,5 or 10 ingredients. Three might be a bit low, but this is not a bad idea if the goal is to avoid ultra-processed foods, which often have a long list of ingredients. Ultra-processed foods usually contain food additives to make their texture and appearance more appealing (thickeners, emulsifiers, stabilizers, and synthetic colors), enhance their flavor (natural and artificial flavors), and extend their shelf life (preservatives such as BHT and BHA). These ingredients are placed in your food to support the manufacturer’s bottom line and may negatively affect our health. It’s essential to be aware of what is in your food.
Added Sugars – Added sugar can be a bit sneaky on the label. It may include natural sugars added for sweetness and those chemically manufactured. We all know to avoid high fructose corn syrup. Also, look out for corn sweetener/syrup/syrup solids, glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, trehalose, invert sugar, turbinado, added fruit juice, agave, barley malt, and honey.
- Naturally Occurring Sugars vs. Added Sugars. Fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and grains naturally contain sugars. These foods provide us with necessary nutrients and are an essential part of a well-balanced diet. Added sugars are those added during processing. For example, sweetener is added to flavored yogurt, or sugar is added to cookies and cakes. These are sugars nature did not put there.
- Deciphering sugars on the food label. The food label will tell you if sugars have been added to a food. Total sugars include naturally occurring and added sugars. Listed below is the amount of added sugars in grams.
  - The American Heart Association suggests a daily limit of 6 teaspoons (24 grams) of added sugar for women and a limit of 9 teaspoons (26 grams) for men.
  - The World Health Organization(WHO) recommends that no more than 5% of calories come from added sugars daily, ~ 25 g on a 2000-calorie diet.
Artificial Colors—The Use of FD&C Red #3 was revoked this year due to its association with the development of cancer in rats. However, several other synthetic food dyes, including various reds, greens, blues, yellows, and titanium dioxide, are used in our foods. Some of these have been banned in other countries.
Food Additives to Avoid
- Cleveland Clinic lists Sodium Nitrates, Sulfites, Trans fat, MSG, and FD&C yellow # 5 and 6
- Harvard Health lists these chemicals to avoid in children: Bisphenols such as BPA and Phthalates found in plastics, artificial food colors, nitrates, and nitrites.
- Environmental Working Group also provides a list of additives to avoid
Artificial sweeteners – In 2023, the WHO recommended against using artificial sweeteners for weight loss, stating that a review of studies indicated no long-term benefit for fat loss and warned of potential increased risk of type two diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Now that you know which foods to avoid, let’s look at foods to fill your plate.

US News and World Report annually publishes a list of the best diets. For eight years, the top diet has been the Mediterranean Diet. It scored well in the categories of easiest to follow, best for gut health, weight loss, and mental health.

Researchers agree. Countless studies involving the Mediterranean diet have been done over decades. It has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other age-related illnesses. Studies done on young adults showed improved mood with lower anxiety and depression scores when a Mediterranean-type pattern was followed for just three weeks.

The Mediterranean Diet emphasizes whole grains, fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds, olive oil, lean meat, and fish. It is higher in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods and lower in highly processed foods than the Standard American Diet.

Five Simple Ways to bring Mediterranean Benefits to your plate

UP THE VEGGIES – Chances are your veggie intake is low. In 2022, the CDC stated that just 10% of Americans met vegetable intake recommendations of 2-3 cups daily.
FOCUS ON COLOR! Aim for 2-4 colors of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains on your plate. Just 12% of Americans ate the 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit recommended daily.
KNOW YOUR HEALTHY FATS. Olives, olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds are the big winners. Sprinkle them on salads and bowls and add them to your snack bag.
INCLUDE SEAFOOD TWICE A WEEK: Especially those high in omega-3 fats – salmon, sardines, and tuna. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish twice weekly.
ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST. Aim to eat within about 90 minutes of waking. Balance that breakfast with protein, healthy fats, fiber, and color—add some fruit to the side of your veggie omelet, layer granola and fruit on top of Greek yogurt and cinnamon, smash an avocado on toast with a hard-boiled egg.

Little things count. Just adding herbs and spices to any meal increases its nutritional value and helps your body manage stress and illness. Adding an orange or half a cup of vegetables to your plate moves your body to the win column.

If you’d like to take a look at your plate and ways to improve it, contact me for a complimentary session.

Mediterranean Recipes

Mediterranean Mixed Bean Salad

Steak Greek Salad

Shrimp and Broccoli Skillet with Greek Lemon Sauce