These Are The Worst Junk Foods In America
Junk food has its name for a reason, but people still find themselves drawn to an indulgence every once in a while. Some junk food isn't even worth a cheat meal, though. These are some of the worst junk foods, from highly processed corn dogs to synthetic coffee creamers.
Milkshakes Can Contribute To Insulin Resistance
Milkshakes are a delicious dessert, but it's easier now than ever to overdo it.
An Oreo milkshake from Burger King contains more than 700 calories and 121 carbs, most of which are from sugar! Consuming all of that sugar in a short amount of time can contribute to insulin resistance and other health problems.
Limit Your Ketchup Intake
According to Good Food Made Simple, there's a teaspoon of sugar for every tablespoon of ketchup.
It is easy for someone to go overboard with it, especially when it’s used as a dipping sauce.
Frappuccinos Don't Fill You Up
Frappuccinos contain more sugar than other coffee drinks to compensate for the ice blended into them.
Even worse, drinking these calories doesn't fill you up the way eating them would, leading to overconsumption.
McDonald's Big Breakfast With Hotcakes
According to Global News, breakfast meals shouldn't exceed 400 calories. The Big Breakfast with Hotcakes meal at McDonald’s comes to a whopping 1,340 calories.
It has 44 grams of fat, 2,090 milligrams of sodium, and 155 grams of carbs.
French Fries Are Linked to Inflammation
While they may seem like the perfect snack or side, french fries should be consumed as infrequently as possible.
Deep-fried foods like french fries have been linked to inflammation and impaired artery function. This can have a negative impact on your heart health.
Wendy's Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple Cheeseburger
According to Eat This, the Pretzel Bacon Pub Triple Cheeseburge comes to a total of 1,520 calories, 106 grams of fat, 1,910 milligrams of sodium, and 53 grams of carbs.
This burger has the most calories out of all the menu items at Wendy’s.
DQ Blizzards Have More Than Half A Day's Worth Of Calories
Blizzards are loaded up with a ton of unhealthy ingredients, like partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. As a result, these sweets contain tons of calories and even trans fats.
A large Royal Reese's Brownie Blizzard Treat contains 1,510 calories!
Cinnamon Rolls Have An Excessive Amount Of Carbs
A Cinnabon roll contains almost 900 calories, while their Caramel Pecanbon has another 200 calories added on!
Calories aren't bad so long as the food is nutrient-dense, but that's where cinnamon rolls fall flat. More than half of the 146 carbs in a Caramel Pecanbon come from added sugar!
Deep-Fried Onions Are Full Of Unhealthy Fats
Outback Steakhouse's famous Bloomin' Onion is a classic but full of calories and unhealthy fats. One of these appetizers contains almost 2,000 calories.
They also have a stunning 154 grams of fat, including trans fats. Trans fats have been found to contribute to stomach fat, obesity, heart disease, and inflammation.
The In-N-Out 4×4 Cheeseburger
In-N-Out is one of the many fast-food restaurants with a secret menu. One of the most outrageous things on their secret menu is the 4×4.
A 4×4 cheeseburger contains 1,050 calories, 70 grams of fat, 2,320 milligrams of sodium, and 11 grams of sugar.
Pop-Tarts Have Three Types Of Unhealthy Sugar
Pop-Tarts are highly processed and contain little in the way of nutritional benefits.
They contain a large amount of sugar that includes refined white sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. Eating high amounts of fructose has been linked to certain diseases, like heart disease and diabetes.
Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese
Panera's Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese, when ordered in a bread bowl, contains 1,050 calories, 31 grams of fat, 2,290 milligrams of sodium, 155 grams of carbs, and eight grams of sugar.
This equates to about an entire day’s worth of sodium and over half a day’s amount of carbs.
Del Taco's Queso Loaded Nachos With Beef
The large size of Del Taco's Queso Loaded Nachos contains 1,060 calories, 55 grams of fat, 2,510 milligrams of sodium, and 100 grams of carbs.
It’s recommended to only have a few chips of this unhealthy dish and share it among many others.
Some Sausage And Bacon Contains Carcinogens
Bacon and sausage are some of the most processed types of meat and often contain high levels of saturated fat, plus advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs form inflammatory compounds when these meats are exposed to high heat.
Some bacon and sausage brands also contain nitrates and nitrites, which can become carcinogenic nitrosamines when put in high temperatures.
BBQ Sauce Contains Unhealthy Sweeteners
BBQ sauce can make a normally sugar-free meal full of artificial sweetness.
For example, a serving of Sweet Baby Ray's Honey Barbecue Sauce contains 15 grams of sugar. It also contains high fructose corn syrup, which has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
Pancake Syrup Doesn't Contain Real Maple
Many top syrup brands don't even contain maple syrup.
Instead, they are made to look and taste like maple but with cheaper ingredients. They are often loaded with high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring, which can harm your health.
Some Cereals Contain BHT And BHA
Some cereal brands have switched to whole grains but are still sugary and contain other questionable ingredients.
Some varieties contain Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) and Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA). These ingredients are possibly carcinogenic, which is why they are banned in several countries.
Cheesecake Is High In Fat And Calories
Cheesecake is essentially high amounts of cream and sugar molded into a super indulgent dessert. Even the original cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory contains over 800 calories.
All of the other flavors are over 1,000, with additions like sauce, chocolate, nuts, and more. The original flavor also contains 58 grams of fat.
Frozen Pizza Has A Ton Of Questionable Ingredients
Frozen pizzas make it easier to portion control, but they contain plenty of other ingredients that make you better off ordering pizza.
For instance, Red Baron's cheese pizza contains L-Cysteine hydrochloride, ammonium sulfate, BHT, and BHA. To top it off, there are also 720 milligrams of sodium per serving!
The Burger King Triple Whopper With Cheese
The Triple Whopper contains three quarter-pound patties.
Fast Food Nutrition found that the Triple Whopper with cheese contains 1,216 calories and 60 percent of those calories come from fat. It also has 1,470 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbs, 4.5 grams of trans fats, and 32 grams of saturated fat.
Little Caesars' Extramostbestest Italian Sausage Pizza
The large Extramostbestest Italian sausage pizza at Little Caesars has 5,620 milligrams of sodium.
Not only does it have an above-average sodium intake, but it also contains 2,660 calories, 128 grams of fat, and 252 grams of carbs.
The Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito
Taco Bell's Grilled Cheese Burrito comes to a total of 710 calories. There are also 39 grams of fat, 1,490 milligrams of sodium, and 64 grams of carbs.
While cheese lovers may want to try this dish, it is certainly one of the unhealthiest items on the Taco Bell menu.
Frosting Is Made With Chemicals
Frosting has various ingredients that could be harmful to your health.
This includes titanium dioxide and caramel color, both of which are possible carcinogens. It also contains propylene glycol, which researchers have linked to poor kidney health.
The Subway Chicken And Bacon Ranch Melt
One of the worst menu items to order at Subway is the Chicken and Bacon Ranch Melt.
The foot-long Chicken and Bacon Ranch Melt with Italian herbs and cheese bread has 1,150 calories, 57 grams of fat, 2,580 milligrams of sodium, and 87 grams of carbs.
Avoid Buying Pre-Made Trail Mix
According to The Healthy, many store-bought trail mixes are chalked full of sodium and sugar.
The nuts may be heavily salted or roasted, and the mix could include unhealthy chocolate or candy pieces.
Sports Drinks Contain Artificial Dyes
Even the sugar-free variations of sports drinks can contain questionable artificial sweeteners, making them just as unhealthy.
Sports drinks also use artificial dyes to make their color match the flavor. While replacing electrolytes is important, it shouldn't come with the price of potentially harmful ingredients.
Restaurant Desserts Can Be High In Sodium
Many restaurant desserts are made to be extra decadent, which means copious amounts of sugar, fat, and salt!
For instance, California Pizza Kitchen's butter cake has 640 milligrams of sodium!
Some Coffee Creamers Are Loaded With Synthetic Additives
Many coffee creamers are full of questionable ingredients.
These can include sugar, soybean oil, and synthetic additives like mono and diglycerides. A good rule of thumb is the longer it lasts, the more preservatives it has.
Energy Drinks Can Corrode Teeth
Energy drinks have high levels of caffeine that can be harmful when consumed in excess, especially over time. To top it off, they also contain either a ton of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
Energy drinks are also terrible for your teeth. A study by the University of Maryland found energy drinks to be 11% more corrosive on teeth than soda!
Sonic Oreo Peanut Butter Shake
A large serving of the Sonic Oreo Peanut Butter Shake contains 1,720 calories, 104 grams of fat, 1,040 milligrams of sodium, 172 grams of carbs, and 111 grams of sugar.
One Sonic Oreo Peanut Butter Shake has more than enough calories, fat, sodium, carbs, and sugar for an entire day.
Dairy Queen's Royal Rocky Road Trip Blizzard
The large Royal Rocky Road Trip Blizzard contains 1,510 calories, 70 grams of fat, 770 milligrams of sodium, 199 grams of carbs, and 151 grams of sugar.
To put the amount of sugar this Blizzard has in perspective, there is more sugar in this than 15 Krispy Kreme glazed donuts.
The Pei Wei Chicken Pad Thai
Pei Wei's Chicken Pad Thai bowl contains 1,490 calories, 42 grams of fat, 4,720 milligrams of sodium, 167 grams of carbs, and 52 grams of sugar.
Customers who decide to order this dish should be aware of the excessive amount of sodium inside.
Popeyes Cajun Fries
The Cajun Fries from Popeyes are one of the unhealthiest fast food fries. A large size has 804 calories, 42 grams of fat, 1,761 milligrams of sodium, and 97 grams of carbs.
Knowing that an entire lunch or dinner shouldn't exceed 700 calories means that these fries alone are more calories than a typical meal.
Some Diet Ice Creams Contain Polysorbate 80
Diet ice cream isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be. There is more to consider than calorie, fat, and even sugar content.
Many diet ice creams rely on polysorbate 80 to get that creamy feel without the calories. However, this ingredient may cause low-grade inflammation, according to researchers at Georgia State University.
The Chick-Fil-A Cobb Salad
The cobb salad at Chick-fil-A isn't actually that healthy. Their cobb salad has 850 calories, 61 grams of fat, 2,220 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbs, and nine grams of sugar.
Since it’s recommended to only eat no more than 700 calories during lunch and dinner, this salad isn’t a healthy meal option.
KFC Cheesy Bacon Bowl
KFC has yet to share the nutritional facts on the Cheesy Bacon Bowl– but for reference, the regular bowl on their menu weighs in at 680 calories, 280 calories from fat, and 2,130 milligrams of sodium.
With more fixings, you can bet that this version raises those numbers by quite a bit.
El Pollo Loco's Chipotle Chicken Avocado Burrito
The Chipotle Chicken Avocado Burrito at El Pollo Loco has 870 calories, 39 grams of fat, 2,260 milligrams of sodium, and 84 grams of carbs.
Opting for a salad or using a lettuce wrap instead of a tortilla can be a healthier alternative.
White Castle Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
The White Castle mozzarella cheese sticks are one of the worst fast food items in the United States.
A pack of 10 contains 1,490 calories, 111 grams of fat, 3,110 milligrams of sodium, and 77 grams of carbs.
