Bad Diet Foods

A bad diet food is any food that goes against the parameters of your diet. And, regardless of your specific diet, certain foods are unhealthy no matter what. For example, for good overall health, you should avoid foods high in trans fats, LDL cholesterol, calories, sodium and sugar. Although some diets, such as the Atkins diet, allow you to eat high fat foods, many doctors believe that high fat diets have adverse long-term health effects regardless of whether or not you lose weight.

Fat and Cholesterol

Foods high in saturated fats and trans fats raise your low-density lipoprtein ("bad") cholesterol levels. As LDL cholesterol increases, fat deposits will accumulate in your arteries, which may lead to heart disease, stroke and other complications. According to the American Heart Association, saturated fat is the greatest contributor to high cholesterol. Foods high in saturated fats include many cheeses (such as cheddar or muenster), cream, deep-fried foods, fatty cuts of beef, pork ribs and ice cream. To cut down on the your saturated fat intake, look at the nutritional labels on the foods you buy. Opt for oils like olive oil that are low in saturated fat and high in protective good fats such as monounsaturated fat.

When it comes to trans fats, don't let the labels fool you. In recent years many food companies have made a push to eliminate partially hydrogenated trans fats. However, even if a product claims to have zero trans fats, it may have up to 0.5g of trans fats per serving and still be allowed to claim zero trans fat under Food and Drug Administration guidelines. Therefore, look at the ingredients and avoid any products that contain partially hydrogenated oils even if the nutritional label claims that they have no trans fat.

Calories and Sugar

A calorie is an unit that measures food's energy level. Although calories help our bodies to run effectively, certain types of calories will turn to fat if ingested in excess amounts. If you take in more calories than your body needs, the excess calories will get stored as fat. As your body converts calories to glucose, any unneeded calories get converted to triglycerides. Increased triglyceride levels may contribute to high cholesterol, body fat and other health problems.

Calories from simple sugars are especially dangerous since they provide limited nutritional value. Foods high in simple sugars include soda, candy and many juice drinks. In general, avoid simple sugar and other foods that contain "empty calories." Since processed carbohydrates, such as white pasta and white bread, offer less nutritional value than whole wheat varieties, you should opt for whole wheat options.

Sodium

In moderate amounts, sodium is an essential part of the diet that helps maintain fluid levels in your body. However, if you eat too much sodium, the excess sodium may enter your blood and lead to high blood pressure. Untreated high blood pressure will damage your body over time and often results in subsequent complications such as heart disease. Any time you add salt to a dish, you increase the food's sodium levels. Many prepared foods already contain high levels of sodium. Processed meats (salami, bologna and hot dogs), potato chips and even seemingly healthy foods and drinks such as V8 Juice all contain high sodium levels. To ensure that you don't ingest too much sodium, read your food labels closely and look for products that contain "no added salt" or "reduced sodium." Typical high sodium foods like soup broth and crackers are often available in these reduced sodium varieties.