Summary

The article outlines the five unhealthiest foods to avoid for a vibrant life, emphasizing the importance of diet as one ages, based on a review of ten well-sourced articles.

Abstract

The author has conducted a research project, reviewing ten articles from credible publishers to compile a list of the world's unhealthiest foods. The list is topped by bacon/sausage, followed by soda, sugar cereal, doughnuts, and French fries. These foods are deemed unhealthy due to high sugar, calorie, and unhealthy fat content, as well as high sodium levels and the presence of trans fats. The author stresses that as people get older, their dietary choices become increasingly impactful on their fitness level. The article also includes anecdotal evidence from famously fit individuals like Rob Lowe and Bruce Springsteen, who maintain their health through diet, and suggests that a poor diet cannot be outrun by exercise alone.

Opinions

The author believes that diet is crucial for maintaining fitness as one gets older.
There is a clear stance against processed meats, particularly bacon and sausage, due to their high appearance in the reviewed articles as unhealthy foods.
Soda is criticized for its contribution to the diabetes epidemic in America.
Sugar cereals are condemned for being marketed towards children as breakfast food despite their high added sugar content.
Doughnuts and French fries are also highlighted for their unhealthy combination of

Avoid these 5 unhealthiest foods in the world to live a long, vibrant life

A few weeks ago, I set out to identify the top 5 healthiest foods in the world.

I did it partly out of sheer interest, but also because I knew I needed to adjust my diet as I approach my mid-40s.

I became attuned to this necessity for a couple of reasons:

I noticed I was putting on weight as my entrepreneurial activities ate up more and more of my free time, pushing exercise to the side.
I’d been learning about people who are famously fit for their ages and how they maintain that good health in later years.

You can read about Rob Lowe, Bruce Springsteen, and Christie Brinkley in those pieces, but what it really comes down to is this: the older you get, the more your dietary choices impact your fitness level.

Or as someone else put it in the comments of one of those stories I wrote: “You can’t outrun a bad diet”.

Dietary carrots and sticks

I’d strongly urge you to check out the top foods article if you’re interested.

One thing that really jumped out at me: there were no animal products whatsoever in the top 10.

So guess what we’re going to see near the top of the worst foods list?

As you digest (excuse the pun) that bit of foreshadowing, let me explain how I determined my ranking.

Another bit of foreshadowing (Illustration credit: James Julian/Dall-E 2)

The process

I ranked the worst foods in the same way I ranked the best foods.

Here’s what I wrote in that piece:

When I was a sports reporter, my writing was very analytics focused.

The reason being, if I was going to write about a topic, I wanted to have data to back it up.

Sports opinions are a dime a dozen. I think health ones are too.

So I wondered, “How can we, without getting too technical and boring, come up with a little power ranking?

“Is it possible to quantify what the healthiest foods in the world are?”

So I did a simple little research project for fun. Your mileage will vary.

I aggregated info from 10 highly searched, well-sourced articles from credible publishers about “the healthiest foods in the world” and created my own little healthy foods power ranking!

So look, it’s not exactly scientifically rigorous, but this is a freakin’ blog, not a medical journal.

I do think it gives some decent parameters around what foods you should exclude, or at the very least, severely limit from your diet.

Just as you can build a healthy life around the top 5 foods, going hard on the 5 worst probably isn’t going to work out well for you in the long run.

Bacon frying in a pan. (Illustration credit: James Julian/Dall-E 2)

The Top 5 unhealthiest foods in the world

OK, so here we go.

Note that the number you see next to the food below denotes how many times said food appeared in the 10 articles I reviewed.

In first place, the unhealthiest food in the world is:

Bacon/Sausage (8): No food appeared more than these processed, salted, frequently fried pig meats.
Soda (7): There may be no bigger contributor to the diabetes epidemic in America. Soda is absolutely loaded with sugar and calories and it’s easy to consume in large amounts without noticing just how much.
Tie — Sugar cereal (6): The sad thing about this is that it’s mostly children consuming this complete and utter crap. Don’t be fooled by these boxes of junk food masquerading as “breakfast food”. No amount of “whole grains” and “vitamins” can compensate for all the added sugar.
Tie — Doughnuts (6): Not only do these ubiquitous pastries contain all the sugar of the above, but they’re also loaded with junk calories and unhealthy fats.
French fries (5): Anything with “fries” or “fried” in the name is trying to tell you something. High in calories, sodium, and fat, the processing and cooking negate any positives from eating what used to be a potato.

Dishonorable mentions

These foods weren’t able to crack the top 5, but they did get enough mentions to make the top 10.

Frozen meals: Many microwave dinners are packed with sodium and fat and processed beyond recognition.
Canned soup: Some canned soups can contain almost your entire daily recommended daily intake of sodium.
Margarine: Avoid trans fats if you can.
Potato chips: As with fries, what’s left after processing is nowhere near a potato, which actually has high nutritional value.

Look, for most people (myself included), avoiding these foods 100% of the time probably isn’t realistic.

Sometimes, when watching a movie or a hockey game, potato chips are a must.

But at the very least, the list above should be food for thought when it comes to how many of the above you eat on any given day (and how much).

Agree or disagree with this list? Is something missing that you think should be on the list? Let me know in the comments!

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