It’s that time of the year when you make resolutions. Mostly, you commit to doing something you believe helps you in some way. But these resolutions don’t usually include bad foods, which you should avoid to stay on top of your health. In today’s post, we will tell you about foods you should definitely quit in 2026. From sugary cereals, processed meats, white flour, canned vegetables, to frozen meals and more, read till the end to learn about all of them.
#1 Bagels: Passing on an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese is no small feat for mere mortals. Bagels are sinfully delicious, but definitely more sinful. They come in around 400 calories and have about 70 grams of carbohydrates—before any spread. If you smear sparingly—that is, a pat of butter, or a smear of cream cheese, you’ll add on about 40 calories, respectively. But it’s not just the calories you have to worry about. Bagels have a massively high glycemic index, which increases insulin and inflammation within the body, so it could accelerate aging and worsen acne.What’s your favourite spread on a bagel? Tell us quickly down below in the comments section!
#2 Sugary Cereal: Most breakfast cereals—even the ones that aren’t neon or loaded with marshmallows—are sugar-laden. This, in addition to high gluten, is a sure-fire way to cause inflammation in your stomach lining. Opt for oatmeal instead, and be sure to go for steel-cut oats, not the packets—those are just as bad for you.
#3 Hydrogenated vegetable oils: Hydrogenated vegetable oil means that a particular oil has some hydrogen atoms added to it. This is done to reduce unsaturated fat and increase saturated fat, making the oil solid or spreadable at room temperature.Many manufacturers prefer hydrogenated vegetable oils because of their stability, texture, long shelf-life, and low cost. However, they have been linked to various health issues. These include impaired blood glucose control, increased inflammation, bad cholesterol, decreased good cholesterol, and an increased risk of diabetes.
#4 Fried Desserts: Anything deep-fried is a poor health choice, and coating a dessert that is already high in sugar and fat in batter is something you should avoid. Fried foods can clog your arteries, which can lead to heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. Don’t think this doesn’t apply to pineapple and banana fritters, too, just because they’re fruit.
#5 Fizzy Drinks: Although technically not a food, fizzy drinks still deserve a place on the list. The health implications of fizzy drinks include heart disease, tooth decay, and osteoporosis. Fizzy drinks also contain enormous amounts of hidden sugar, with the average can of Coke containing 10 teaspoons. Even diet drinks that seem more healthy should generally be avoided as they still contain artificial sweeteners, which can rot tooth enamel over time. Looking for answers on all the latest health and wellness news?
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#6 Margarine: Unlike butter, which is made from animal products, margarine is created from vegetable oil. Its manufacturing process fills the spreadable stuff with trans fat, which increases inflammation by damaging the cells lining your blood vessels. This ups your risk for cardiovascular disease, cancer, degenerative diseases, weight gain, and bad cholesterol.
#7 Artificial Sweeteners: If you can't find it in nature, it's probably better to avoid it. This is why a half-teaspoon of sugar in your coffee, a dash of honey, or stevia is a better option than a packet of Splenda. Artificial sweeteners are so much sweeter — sometimes 200 times more so than table sugar. So the brain starts to crave sweeter foods. Research is still out on whether artificial sweeteners, many of which contain aspartame, cause cancer and neurological problems. But science has confirmed that they spur weight gain and increase appetite
#8 Dairy Products: Dairy cows are artificially impregnated for years at a time to get them to produce milk. They are mammals like humans, meaning they only produce milk when they have a calf to feed. They are pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and other medications to keep milk supply up and to help fight off illness and infection. Conventional dairy is also very acidic for the body, due to the processing it goes through to be made ‘safe’ for consumption. This acidic nature of the milk means that it actually robs calcium and other alkaline minerals from your body. When you eat acidic foods, your body draws on the alkaline stores in your bones and teeth to neutralize the acid. This causes a net loss of calcium for your body.
#9 White Flour: White flour is nutritionally devoid – even if it has been enriched. The processing of white flour means that the germ and the bran have been removed, and all that is left is the endosperm. The nutrient-rich oils are located in the bran, and most vitamins and minerals are located in the germ. When these two things are processed out, you are essentially left with nothing but starch. This starch is then bleached, and this further reduces its nutritional status. In the end, you have a substance that turns into papier-mache in your body, which is highly acidic and provides your body with no nutrition.
#10 Baked sweets: Muffins, cookies, cakes, and doughnuts are all delicious and hard to resist. But all of these baked sweets are sugar bombs. One typical doughnut has between 250 to 500 calories and can have over 60 grams of sugar. These kinds of foods can cause a lot of digestive problems, obesity, and possible cardiovascular diseases, as well as tooth problems.
#11 French fries: You’ve probably heard this one before, but it is important to know just how bad French fries really are. Their high levels of trans-fats and oils can lead to heart disease and heart attacks. Potatoes also have a high glycemic index that can increase insulin levels in your body. They also have a lot of acrylamide, which is a carcinogenic substance that forms at very high temperatures.
#12 Frozen Meals: Most conventionally-prepared frozen meals are loaded with preservatives, processed salt, hydrogenated oils, and other artificial ingredients. Not to mention the fact that most frozen meals have been heavily pre-cooked, rendering their nutrient content minimal at best. Except for a few truly healthy frozen meal brands.
#13 Processed meats: Deli meats, summer sausage, hot dogs, bacon, and many other meats sold at the grocery store are often loaded with sodium nitrite and other chemical preservatives. These have been linked to heart disease and cancer. If you eat meat, stick with uncured, nitrate-free varieties, and preferably those that come from organic, grass-fed animals.
#14 Microwave Popcorn: It's not healthy eating out of a bag anymore. Microwave popcorn bags are often lined with a chemical called PFOS, which has been shown to affect fertility, cancer risk, and kidney functioning in animal and some human studies. Because microwave popcorn bags aren't labeled "toxic," it's best to avoid them altogether. Another thing: Some brands of microwave popcorn add unhealthy trans fats to their products, and vaguely list artificial flavors or natural flavors on their labels. So there's no way to know exactly what's in there.
#15 Canned vegetables: Canned veggies are often stripped of fiber and other nutrients, and are often loaded with sodium. If canned veggies are your go-to, you’ll get less nutritional quality or, worse, sugar, additives, sodium, or flavorings. These detract from good nutrition and make it harmful.
#16 Processed fruit drinks: Often marketed as "real juice," the labels on these products prove otherwise. They’re loaded with sugar, empty calories, and artificial sweeteners. Some companies try to get around the sugar in fruit beverages by adding artificial sweeteners that reduce the amount of sugar on the label. But those can increase cravings for sugary, salty, and unhealthy fatty foods. And it's not just bottled juices you should avoid. Juicing a whole fruit concentrates its sugars and often eliminates the fiber.
#17 Deep-fried foods: Fried chicken, fried calamari, pork rinds, chicken-fried steak. Besides the high fat and calorie content, the main issue is that these foods contain high levels of inflammatory Advanced Glycation End products, or AGEs. These compounds form when animal-derived products are cooked at high temperatures for a prolonged period of time. According to a study, sustained exposure to AGEs gradually erodes native defenses, setting the stage for abnormally high oxidative stress and inflammation, the precursors of many diseases.
#18 Ramen noodles: Your penny-pinching, hungover, inner college student may be weeping, but your body will thank you when you avoid this sodium pit. Steer clear of these packaged goods because they’re loaded with salt and have very little, if any, nutritional value.
#19 Blended Coffee Drinks: By itself, coffee can be great for you. But your blended beverage probably contains more sugar and fat than actual coffee. You can easily drink a quarter of your daily recommended calories in a single drink. And that’s in a drink—it won’t even fill you up. Plus, by spiking your blood sugar and insulin levels, it guarantees a sugar and energy crash that will leave you raiding the snack drawer 30 minutes later. While blended coffee drinks might be unhealthy for you, drinking regular plain coffee can actually be beneficial for your health. Learn more about all the benefits of coffee by reading "Drinking Coffee Every Day Does This To Your Body!"
#20 Low-fat peanut butter: Nut butters are great for you, in large part because they contain beneficial unsaturated fats. But when you start to take out the fat in peanut butter, you not only lower the amount of heart-healthy fats that you’re getting, but you’re also adding extra sugar and filler ingredients.
#21 Table salt: We’re all prone to sprinkling a bit of salt on our food before we eat it here and there. And while a little bit of salt is okay, it’s better to try and opt for sea salt or Himalayan salt over your standard table salt. That’s because table salt has been bleached and stripped of its natural minerals. Plus, it’s high in sodium, which can cause inflammation.
#22 Energy drinks: The reason energy drinks taste so good? They’re packed with artificial flavorings and sugar. A lot of the energy drinks they can have higher amounts of sugar in them, or they’ll use artificial flavors, which can cause a lot of inflammation in the body. And when it comes to these energy drinks, most companies won’t disclose what those artificial flavorings actually are. So you could have a blueberry-flavored drink, but you don’t know what chemicals have been used to recreate that blueberry flavor.
While these are some unhealthy foods that you should definitely quit in the new year, there are the good ones that you should eat regularly. These foods are highly nutritious and great for your health. Learn more about the foods that you should be eating every day by reading: Can You Lose 10kg in a Month? A Realistic Look at Rapid Weight Loss or 8 Foods To Avoid For The Flat Belly You've Always Dreamed Of. So go ahead and read one or both posts if you want a healthy body and a longer life. Which unhealthy foods do you find the most difficult to quit? Let us know in the comments section below!
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