Nutrition Action Healthletter
CSPI

10 WORST FOODS
Foods You Should Never Eat

     
10 BEST FOODS
Super Foods for Better Health

1. Artery Crust

Pepperidge Pot PieJudging by the label, Pepperidge Farm Roasted White Meat Chicken Premium Pot Pie has 510 calories and 9 grams of saturated fat. But look again. Those numbers are for half a pie. Eat the entire pie, as most people probably do, and you're talking more than 1,000 calories and 18 grams of sat fat.

 

   

1. Sweet Potatoes
sweet potatoes

A nutritional All-Star — one of the best vegetables you can eat. They're loaded with carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Bake and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra moisture and sweetness.
 

2. Strip Tease

Chicken SelectsMcDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips sounds healthy. In fact, ounce for ounce, the Selects are no healthier than the chain's Chicken McNuggets. A standard, five-strip order has 630 calories and 11 grams of artery-clogging fat. That's about the same as a Big Mac, but the burger has 1,040 mg of sodium, while the Selects hit 1,550 mg — a whole day's worth — even without the salty dipping sauce.

 

     

2. Grape Tomatoes
grape tomatoes

They're sweeter and firmer than other tomatoes, and their bite-size shape makes them perfect for snacking, dipping, or salads. They're packed with vitamin C and vitamin A, and you also get some fiber, some phytochemicals, and (finally) some flavor.
 

3. Factory Reject

Cheesecake FactoryEach slice of The Cheesecake Factory's 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories — that's the same as you'd get from a slice of its Original Cheesecake. Think of it as an 8-ounce untrimmed prime rib for dessert — with 29 grams of saturated fat, a 1½-days' supply. The next time you step on the bathroom scale, you may never know that the carbs were missing.
 
 

3. Fat-Free or 1 % Milk
............(Skim) .............(but not 2%)


milk

Excellent source of calcium, vitamins, and protein with little or no arteryclogging fat and cholesterol. Likewise for low-fat yogurt. Soy milk can have just as many nutrients — if the company adds them.

 

4. Everlasting Dove

Dove Ice CreamDove squeezes some 300 calories and an average of 11 grams of saturated fat (half a day's worth) into a tennis-ball size serving (half a cup) of its Dove Ice Cream. That puts it in the same ballpark as Ben & Jerry's and Häagen-Dazs. With names like "Unconditional Chocolate," Dove is trying to link chocolate with romance. A scoop of its ice cream will fill your heart all right … but not with love.

 

     

4. Broccoli
milk

Lots of vitamin C, carotenoids, and folic acid. Steam it briefly and add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and a spritz of lemon juice.
 
5. Starbucks on Steroids

Ruby Tuesday PastaThe Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) Caffè Mocha with whole milk and whipped cream is more than a mere cup of coffee. Think of it as a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in a cup. Few people have room in their diets for the 450 calories and 13 grams of bad fat that this hefty beverage supplies. But you can lose all the bad fat and all but 170 calories if you order a tall (12 oz.) with nonfat milk and no whipped cream.

 

     

5. Wild Salmon

salmonThe omega-3 fats in fatty fish like salmon can help reduce the risk of sudden-death heart attacks. And salmon that is caught wild has less PCB contaminants than farmed salmon.
 
 
6. Angioplasta

Starbucks Caffe Mocha
“Fresh chicken and broccoli over pasta with Parmesan cream sauce,” says Ruby Tuesday's menu entry for its Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta. Some diners may know that the cheese and cream sauce add saturated fat, but how much harm could they really do? Enough to turn the dish into a 1,700-calorie megameal — that's like swallowing two one-pound orders of BBQ baby back ribs.

 

     

6. Crispbreads

CrispbreadsWhole-grain rye crackers, like Wasa, Ry Krisp, and Ryvita — usually called crispbreads — are loaded with fiber and often fat-free.

7. Stack Attack

Burger King Stacker
Unless you're suicidal, why on earth would you want to wolf down a Burger King Quad Stacker — 4 hamburger patties, 4 slices of cheese, 8 strips of bacon, plus sauce and a bun? That's half-a-day's calories (1,000), one-and-a-half-days' worth of saturated fat (30 grams), 3 grams of trans fat, and more than a day's sodium (1,800 mg). Urp!

 

     

7. Microwaveable or "10-minute"
....Brown Rice

rice

Enriched white rice is nutritionally weak. When the grain is refined, you lose the fiber, magnesium, vitamins E and B-6, copper, zinc, and phytochemicals that are in the whole grain. Try quick-cooking or regular brown rice instead.

8. Salt's On!

Campbell's SoupCampbell's Chunky, Select, and red-and-white-label Condensed soups are brimming with salt: Half a can averages more than half of a person's daily quota of salt. Instead, try Campbell's Healthy Request soups, which have about half as much sodium.

 

     

8. Citrus Fruit

citrusGreat-tasting and rich in vitamin C, folic acid, and fiber. Perfect for a snack or dessert. Try different varieties: juicy Minneola oranges, snacksize Clementines, or tart grapefruit.

9. Tortilla Terror

Chiptole BurritoInterested in a Chipotle Chicken Burrito (tortilla, rice, pinto beans, cheese, chicken, sour cream, and salsa)? Think of its 1,180 calories and 19 grams of saturated fat as three Subway Steak and Cheese 6-inch Subs. Plus, it has 2,900 mg of sodium! Getting the burrito with no cheese or sour cream cuts the saturated fat by two-thirds, but you still end up with 950 calories and 2,690 mg of sodium. Yikes!

 

     

9. Diced Butternut Squash

Diced Squash
A growing number of grocery stores sell peeled, diced butternut squash that's ready to go into the oven, a stirfry, or a soup. Every half-cup has 5 grams of fiber and payloads of vitamins A and C.

10. Stone Cold

Cold Stone CreameryInto the chocolate-dipped waffle bowl of a Cold Stone Creamery Gotta Have It Founder's Favorite goes, not just a 12-ounce, softball-sized mound of ice cream, but pecans, brownie pieces, fudge, and caramel. The tab: a startling 1,610 calories, 43 grams of saturated fat, and 3 grams of trans fat. That's roughly what you'd get if you polished off five single-scoop ice cream cones.

 

     

10. Spinach or Kale

Ready Pac Greens
These standout vegetables are jampacked with vitamins A, C, and K, folate, potassium, magnesium, iron, lutein, and phytochemicals...

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