The 49 Worst Foods for Your Diet

beware: Just because a food’s labeled “healthy,” “smart,” or “all-natural” does not mean it’s the best choice for someone who’s trying to lose weight. For example,honey, vegetable chips, and granola are just a few of the supermarket staples that have tricked dieters into believing they’re healthy choices, when in fact, they are as equally loaded with calories, fat, sodium, and glucose as their more vilified counterparts of table sugar, potato chips, and sweet cereals.

In an effort to help dieters keep it straight, obesity researchers at Otago University in New Zealand have identified a list of 49 foodsthat they say are extremely calorie-dense, but are almost totally lacking in nutritional benefit. Published in the current issue of theNew Zealand Medical Journal, researchers say the list was primarily developed to help overweight and obese people easily identify which foods they should avoid. Lead researcher Jane Elmsile says it’s important to note that the list represents not only high-calorie foods, but also foods that are almost totally lacking inessential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order:

1. Alcoholic drinks

2. Biscuits

3. Butter, lard, dripping or similar fat (used as a spread or in baking/cooking etc.) 

4. Cakes

5. Candy, including lollipops

6. Chocolate

7. Coconut cream

8. Condensed milk

9. Cordial

10. Corn chips

11. Cream (including crème fraiche) 

12. Chips (including vegetable chips) 

13. Deli meats

14. Doughnuts

15. Energy drinks

16. Flavored milk/milkshakes

17. Fruit canned in syrup

18. Fruit rollups

19. Fried food

20. Fried potatoes/French fries

21. Frozen yogurt

22. Fruit juice (except tomato juice and unsweetened black currant juice) 

23. Glucose

24. High-fat crackers

25. Honey

26. Hot chocolate, chocolate milk

27. Ice cream

28. Jam

29. Marmalade

30. Mayonnaise

31. Muesli/granola bars

32. Muffins

33. Nuts roasted in fat or oil

34. Pastries

35. Pies

36. Popcorn with butter or oil

37. Puddings

38. Quiches

39. Reduced cream

40. Regular powdered drinks

41. Salami

42. Sausages

43. Soft drinks

44. Sour cream

45. Sugar (added to anything including drinks, baking, cooking etc.) 

46. Syrups such as golden syrup, treacle, maple syrup

47. Toasted muesli, granola, and any other breakfast cereal with more than 15 grams of sugar per 100 grams of cereal

48. Whole milk

49. Yogurt with more than 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams of yogurt