1. Processed Meats
In a 2013 study published in BMC Medicine, researchers concluded that of 26,344 deaths studied, high consumption of processed meat was responsible for 3.3 percent of them. Apart from being packed with preservatives and sodium, processed, packaged meats are high in nitrates, which have been linked to stomach cancer, says Jim White, R.D., spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics and owner of Jim White Fitness training studios. And many processed meats are shockingly low in protein, giving your cold-cut sandwich little if any redeeming qualities.
2. Margarine
Billed as a healthy alternative to butter, margarine’s trans fats, which put you at risk for heart disease and diabetes, are far worse than the natural saturated fat you’ll find in butter, Fear says. Does your margarine’s label say, “0 trans fat.” That might be a flat-out lie. The Food and Drug Administration currently allows food manufacturers to claim their products are trans-fat free as long as they contain less than 0.5 grams of trans fat in each recommended serving. While you’re tossing out your margarine, you should also take a look at the labels on any frozen food and bakery items you have in your kitchen. Many contain margarine as an ingredient, Fear says.
3. Sugary Cereals
Millions of guys start each and every day in one of the worst ways possible. High in sugar and low in nutrition, sugary cereals set you up for fat gain and a 3pm slump. Meanwhile, it’s basically impossible to eat a recommended serving of cereal, which, for many brands, is just ¾ of a cup—not even half a bowl. “The sugar and crunch produces a dopamine surge in the brain, which urges us to keep going,” Fear says. And since most guys don’t buy cereal in single-serving packages, it’s easy to eat five or more servings in a single sitting. Congratulations, you’ve just consumed three days’ worth of sugar.
4. Fast-Food Burgers
“Ultra cheap food is made from ultra cheap ingredients, and burgers are no different,” Fear says. “Even if you try to minimize the bacon, fries, soda, cheeses, and sauces added to your fast-food meal, the meat in your burger is a far cry from what you'd buy from a butcher. In one Annals of Diagnostic Pathology study, researchers studied eight fast-food brands and found that all of their burgers contained between 2.1 percent and 14.8 percent meat. The rest was water, connective tissue, blood vessels, nerves, fat, cartilage, and, in some, even parasites.
5. Donuts
“Considering that refined grains, sugar, and deep-fried foods are all independently unhealthy, you have to admire the donut for falling into all three categories,” Fear says. And, as if the 400-plus calories of sugar and fat (including trans fat) per serving wasn’t bad enough, some food manufacturers and donut shops use nanoparticles such as titanium dioxide, which the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans.
