Top 10 most harmful products

On August 24, 1853, an employee of the restaurant at the Moon's Lake Lodge hotel in the town of Saratoga Springs (New York) - Mestizo Indian George Crum - by a lucky chance prepared potato chips. Legend has it that none other than himself visited the catering railroad magnate Vanderbilt, and ordered, oddly enough, the most ordinary fried potatoes. However, the spoiled "oligarch" repeatedly returned the served food to the kitchen as insufficiently fried. Then the cook got angry, cut the potatoes into the thinnest slices, fried them in oil until they crunched and served as such Surprisingly, the client not only did not reject the dish, but was also extremely pleased with it. Soon, "Saratoga-style potatoes" entered the restaurant's menu, and then, not without the participation of the same Vanderbilt, began to be produced in take-away packaging - in sachets.

160 years later, chips have gone far from their original - ideal - recipe. And today they top not only the list of the most desirable goodies, but also the rating of the most harmful products. The Weekend project decided to remind which popular dishes doctors consider the most dangerous for our health - and, most importantly, why.

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1. Chips and French fries

A famous catchphrase says that "everything that is pleasant in this world is either illegal, or immoral, or leads to obesity." Potatoes fried in oil do not violate the law and the framework of morality, but, representing a shock dose of starch and fat, inevitably leads to weight gain if such a culinary "refinement" is included in the daily menu.

However, excess weight is a mere trifle in the context of other health problems that the presented dishes are fraught with. And the harm caused by modern chips can hardly be attributed to potatoes - because today they are made from wheat and corn flour and a mixture of starches, including genetically modified soybeans. Add to this all sorts of "tastes" - bacon, sour cream and cheese, red caviar and even (!) "fried potatoes". Of course, they are all components from the E line - food flavorings and flavor enhancers.

In particular, manufacturers especially love E-621, also known as monosodium glutamate. This toxin, acting on the human nervous system, can “make” even the most obscene food tasty and desirable, and moreover, instill addiction to it akin to a drug.

The need, and quite real, not far-fetched, can be "inspired" by french fries. True, it is made from real potatoes, only "genetically improved" - even, smooth, with large tubers in order to facilitate the cleaning process. Cut into slices, it is doused with steam (hence this effect of a crispy crust with a soft core, which is practically unattainable at home), frozen and already in such a semi-finished form they are sent to fast food chains. In the same place, the slices are fried in oil, or rather a mixture of deep-frying oils, which includes a combined "cocktail" of fats, including palm and coconut oil. Such a mixture costs a lot, but once poured, it can be used for up to 7 days without rancidity. During this time, acrolein, acrylamide, glycidamide are formed in it - the breakdown products of fats and strong carcinogens, that is, substances that cause the appearance of cancerous tumors. By the way, in one serving of french fries, with its relatively low nutritional value for fast food of 273 kcal per 100 grams (that is, approximately 340-390 kcal per "standard" portion), contains about 30 grams of such "reusable" fat. It would seem, well, what is 30 grams? To visualize this amount, imagine: about 15 grams of oil fit in one tablespoon, so it’s like we sip a mouth-watering crispy potato with a couple of tablespoons of oil with carcinogens. The average rate of fat consumption per day is 90-100 grams, and they, like other nutrients, are found in one dosage or another in almost all foods.

Doctors are sounding the alarm - and not because, eating chips and french fries, you will soon be unable to fasten your favorite jeans. Elevated cholesterol, plaques in the vessels, atherosclerosis, the risk of heart attacks and strokes, degenerative changes in the liver, deterioration of sexual function in men and, most importantly, the development of cancerous tumors, and not only in the gastrointestinal tract - all these consequences of adherence to fast food are observed by scientists in the United States already almost 70 years old.

In Russia, the fast food industry flourished a little over 20 years ago, in the post-perestroika era. Today, both the "deficiency" and the "dashing 90s" are already behind us - alas, family holidays are still accompanied by a trip to a fast food restaurant, and an evening's rest with watching a movie involves a bag of chips under the armpit.

Further - more, the ubiquitous soy, glutamate and a whole range of E-components are added to a very dubious protein: preservatives (so that the cutlet can keep its presentation for years), stabilizers and synthetic dyes. These additives irritate our digestive system, dull the feeling of fullness, make us eat more and more often. The stomach is stretched, and already without help from the "E-shek" begins to demand the continuation of the banquet.

It would seem - a bun, cutlet, lettuce, well, cheese, well, mayonnaise. But, you must admit, a burger made from homemade products is not at all similar in taste to its "restaurant" counterpart. Indeed, in the kitchen arsenal, we, fortunately, do not have those food additives that are stuffed with minced meat in mass production. Namely, they make us return to the food point again and again, suggesting that it is not so tasty at home.

3. Sausage row and canned food

The described "meat nightmares" would also be true for sausages, if only natural meat was used in their production. However, the dangers of hidden fat should also be noted here - after all, even the most natural sausage product consists mainly of pork skins and lard. Skin, cartilage, offal and meat leftovers, plus 25-30% transgenic soy and, of course, preservatives, stabilizers, thickeners, emulsifiers, antioxidants, food colors, flavors - this is the approximate composition of any sausages, regardless of the variety and brand of the manufacturer.

Canned food is, in fact, a dead product that has retained its relative nutritional suitability solely due to the "solution" of "E-shek", acetic acid, sugar and, of course, a huge amount of salt (with a person's need for 6-10 grams of sodium -chlorine per day, only 100 grams of canned food contains an average of 15 grams of salt).

RIA Novosti / Anton Denisov

4. Instant noodles and puree

Beef, chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, plus almost spaghetti with almost sauce - this is how the producers of miracle food from bags offer royally for lunch, dinner and breakfast. And this is exactly the case with "free cheese". Of course, it would be very convenient to pour boiling water over the contents of a plastic cup for 3-5 minutes - and voila! - get actually Italian pasta, fettuccine or risotto. In fact, we will get a hot (for faster absorption) "mix" of all possible nutritional supplements and an absolute zero benefit.

With the systematic use of such "feeds" in the body, the system collapses - he seemed to have received food and calories, but there were too few substances he really needed for normal functioning. Deprived of food, it soon sends SOS signals to the brain, and we again feel like we are hungry.

Here it would not be superfluous to recall under what codes on the product packaging certain assistants of manufacturers are hiding: preservatives(can cause cancer, kidney stones, liver damage, food allergies, intestinal upset, oxygen starvation, blood pressure disorders) - E 200 to 290 and E 1125, stabilizers and thickeners (cancer, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and liver) - E 249-252, E 400-476, E 575-585 and E 1404-1450, emulsifiers(cancer, indigestion) - E 322-442, E 470-495, antioxidants(diseases of the liver and kidneys, allergic reactions) - E300-312 and E320-321, food colorings (cancer, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys, nervous disorders and allergic reactions) - E 100-180, E 579, E 585, flavor enhancers(nervous disorders, brain damage) - E 620-637.

In fairness, it is worth noting: there is a modest list of additives that are considered harmless and even beneficial to health - it, if desired, is easy to find on the Internet.

These "magic" sauces, which traditionally accompany most fast food dishes, can turn the most healthy food into poison. Ketchup, in addition to stabilizers, emulsifiers and preservatives, contains chemical dyes and almost a fifth consists of sugar. Such dressing perfectly hides the natural taste of even the most unappetizing, or even simply spoiled, dishes - it’s not for nothing that they say that “everything can be eaten with ketchup.”

Mayonnaise, on the other hand, is a carrier of so-called trans fats - isomers of fatty acids that can deceive our body by integrating into cell biomembranes instead of natural omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Transconfigurations lead to oncogenesis, atherosclerosis, increase the risk of developing diabetes and, to put it mildly, impair immunity - they interfere with the work of the enzymes that guard our body. An additional danger is plastic packaging, where mayonnaise is often poured in order to save money - the vinegar contained in the sauce has a super ability to suck out carcinogens from it. Guess where they go.

6. Chocolate bars, lollipops and gummies

Without the danger of acquiring diabetes, oncology, obesity, osteoporosis, dental problems and allergic reactions, a person can eat a maximum of 50 grams of sugar per day. This upper limit of the norm is about 10 teaspoons, but do not forget that in addition to the “pure” sugar that we put in tea or coffee, glucose and sucrose are waiting for us, say, in the same ketchup. Or in yogurt. But you never know where: it’s worth reading the composition of familiar products, a subheading in the column “carbohydrates” - and it will become obvious how much we exceed the norm allowed by WHO (World Health Organization), even without auxiliary materials in the form of chocolates, caramels and cakes (by the way, the last is another ideal carrier of trans fats, along with mayonnaise).

These products are the owners of the highest glycemic indexes, that is, the sugar from them is absorbed almost instantly. At the same time, they do not contain any useful substances - unlike such glycemic leaders as honey and dried fruits. Moreover, bright candies, glazed sweets and gummies with all sorts of flavors can hardly be called "food" at all - they are rather a mixture of sweeteners and sweeteners, stabilizers, thickeners and gelling agents, emulsifiers, antioxidants and food colors.

7. Sweet sodas and juices

By the way, about the rate of sugar consumption per day - one liter of cola contains about 112 grams of sugar and about 420 calories (despite the fact that the daily intake for most people fits into 2000-2500 kcal). Add to this caffeine, dyes and phosphoric acid, which “washes” calcium out of the body, plus carbon dioxide, which allows you to distribute harmful components even faster throughout the body.

Sodas in the "light" version are considered more preferable, as they do not harm the figure. However, at zero calories, they contain sweeteners - mainly aspartame, which breaks down into formaldehyde (class A carcinogen), methanol and phenylalanine (toxic in combination with other proteins).

It is poorly washed off with saliva, irritates the oral mucosa and provokes thirst again and again - in order to get rid of the sugary aftertaste. Yes, and the harmlessness for the figure is very doubtful - soda contributes to the formation of cellulite, and in the long term for lovers of "light" drinks, there is a metabolic disorder.

But if with soda, in general, no one has any illusions, then in relation to "boxed" juices, for some reason, the attitude is very strong not only about their harmlessness, but even about their health benefits. However, with the exception of carbon dioxide, their composition is almost identical to the composition of sweet sodas. One glass of orange juice from a bag contains about six teaspoons of sugar, and one glass of apple juice contains about seven. Undoubtedly, apples and oranges themselves contain sugar, but not only - vitamins and dietary fiber become a pleasant bonus, and glucose is no longer absorbed into the blood at such lightning speed. Packaged juices do not have such advantages - reconstituted from a concentrate and envy durable, they can vary in cost depending on the "hype" of the brand, but they remain the same unhealthy.

8. Popcorn

By itself, corn does not pose any health hazard - yes, carbohydrate, yes, it contains starches, and the calorie content for plant foods is considerable - about 330 kcal per 100 grams of product. But it contains fiber and a lot of useful substances - vitamins A, C, E, thiamine, niacin, folic acid, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc.

In a word, popcorn is just fried corn grains - it will not be in the ranking of the most harmful products. But everything changes when they come - oil, salt, sugar, caramelizers, dyes, flavor enhancers, flavors. By the way, the dose of salt in the classic salted popcorn goes off scale so that no chips could even dream of - and this is fraught, at least, with an increase in pressure and disruption of the kidneys. Well, the nutritional value of popcorn, thanks to all kinds of additives, increases to an average of 500 kcal per 100 grams.

9. Alcohol

Degenerative disorders in the cerebral cortex, destruction of the liver, oncology, genetic mutations - it would seem that everyone is well aware of the dangers of alcohol for the human body. Drinking people live an average of 10-15 years less, and the quality of this life is very low - in addition to the above health problems, they are haunted by mental disorders and depressive states. 1/3 of all suicides (and, by the way, 50% of accidents) occur while intoxicated.

Even in very small doses, alcohol interferes with the absorption of vitamins. In addition, it is very high in calories in itself - 7 kcal per 1 gram (for comparison, the nutritional value of pure proteins and carbohydrates is 4 kcal per 1 gram). And the main danger is that the border between “use” and addiction is very shaky, it is easy to cross it without even noticing it.

10. Low-calorie and fat-free foods

"Light" cakes, cottage cheese desserts, yogurts and mayonnaises only seem to be a friend and helper of people who are watching their figure and cholesterol. In fact, the very decrease in the fat content in the product is more than offset by an increase in the proportion of carbohydrates - starches, sugars and sweeteners, the dangers of which we have already spoken about.

Thus, the passion for products in the "light" version just contributes to obesity - food additives in them slow down metabolic processes, or even lead to "carbohydrate failures" when the body, which is ready to break down glucose, suddenly discovers that some kind of cyclamate has been slipped into it or aspartame. Not the last role here is played by the psychological moment - since the product is "light", it means that it can be eaten 2-3 times more without remorse (and without a feeling of satiety).

Another negative side of the passion for exclusively low-fat foods is beriberi, because some vital vitamins (A, D, E and K) are fat-soluble. Calcium from low-fat dairy products is also not absorbed.

By the way, about "healthy" and "dietary": one cup of store-bought yogurt - no matter what brand and with what fillers - contains about three tablespoons of sugar. And also stabilizers, thickeners, antioxidants and flavors. Especially dangerous are yogurts "with pieces of live fruit" - for greater safety, these very fruits, which even somehow the tongue does not dare to call "live", are sterilized by radioactive radiation. Myths and legends about miraculous bacteria that live quietly in yogurt for six months and, being eaten, bypass the hydrochloric acid environment of the stomach, get to the intestines, where they begin to actively help the local microflora - nothing more than a successful publicity stunt. It is undeniable that yogurts with beneficial bacteria exist and can even be found in expensive stores (or better yet, make your own at home), but their shelf life will not exceed three days.

Approximately 900 years ago, the Persian poet Omar Khayyam, who gained immortality as the author of thoughtful statuses in social networks, proclaimed the following commandment as one of the main rules of life: "You better starve than eat anything." Alas, today too many products can be attributed to this column "anything". But the human body is not so simple either - there are great chances that, being accustomed to eating relatively “correct” dishes most of the time, it will occasionally remove the “poison” that has got into it on its own and without harm to health. The point is small - to accustom yourself to simple and healthy food, and then "the enemy will not pass."