Fattening foods are said to be the most delicious. Fatty foods can be junk food, or certain food items consumed in large quantities and are certainly unhealthy. Numerous people consume fattening foods to gain weight however, it is not a healthy practice as they tend to leave your body with one problem or another. Sometimes, fattening foods are confused with a good protein diet. Do not be fooled, some of your healthy foods can be fattening, hence, control of serving sizes. Some foods are high in fats and calories; however, a moderate serving makes it less harmful. We cannot deny the fact that fattening foods are hard to break away from, however, you can start by consuming them in moderation as opposed to every day. Processed foods are some of the most fattening foods in the world because they are high in added sugar, salt and added fat. Overeating such food can lead to obesity, and internal harm.
Here are 10 highly fattening foods.
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Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a triple threat because it’s not only butter, it is made from peanuts. Peanut butter can be healthy if it is made primarily from roasted nuts, however, the processed peanut butter available in the market have so many additives in them. commercially prepared peanut butter most times contain added sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils and loads of salt. This type of peanut butter fattening and is not healthy. A peanut butter nutrition fact is that a 100-gram portion contains a big dose of 588 calories
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Soda
Soda is a silent killer. The sugar content alone is enough to send you to the hospital. Soda is a form of liquid sugar which is very bad and fattening. Liquid sugar doesn’t fill you up therefore, you would eat the regular large amount of food you would normally eat and still have the extra calories from soda. This process often causes people to overeat, leading to weight gain.
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Pizza
Pizza is one of the most popular junk foods in the western world and is largely eaten by youths, kids, and a fraction of the middle-aged group. Though it’s super tasty pizza, contains a lot of fat, carbs, and calories, thus making it a fattening food. To make it worse for your weight, popular pizza varieties contain cheese and red meat, like pepperoni. Most of these meats have been smoked, salted and packed with ingredients which heighten the risk of obesity and other health conditions like heart diseases. Pizza is not all bad, because there are few restaurants that use healthier ingredients for their pizza like vegetables and whole grain dough.
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Dairy
Dairy is a popular word when it comes to topics of food. Dairy products are a type of food produced from or containing the milk of mammals, primarily cattle, water buffaloes, goats, sheep, camels, and humans. Dairy includes milk, eggs cheese, whole cream, butter, and yogurt. Dairy products are consumed in almost every household around the world, except for those who have milk allergies or are lactose intolerant. Excessive consumption of dairy products can contribute significant amounts of cholesterol and saturated fat to the diet which can increase the risk of heart disease and cause other serious health problems.
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Ice Cream
We all of our favourite ice cream brand but have you checked ice cream facts, they don’t look so good. Most commercially made ice cream is filled with sugar and dairy products. Considering that ice cream is most times snacked on or eaten as a dessert, it means you are adding extra calories to your meal, calories you did not bargain for. Ice cream is also seen as comfort food, and supply is constant in many homes. This builds a habit of always having ice cream and consuming more calories. So, if you’ve ever wondered what happens if you eat ice cream, now you know.
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Fries
Fries are the perfect side. I bet you can’t remember the last time you ordered food at a restaurant without fries. French fries are a tasty deep-fried food, and such foods tend to be high in calories and trans-fat, therefore, eating a lot of them can have negative effects on your health. Fried foods are more fattening because when foods are fried in oil, they lose water and absorb fat, which further increases their calorie content. 100g of French fries contain a mighty 319 calories and 17g of fat.
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Chocolate
Chocolate is a typically sweet, usually brown food. Making chocolate involves the preparation of Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground. It is made in the form of a liquid, paste, or in a block, or used as a flavouring ingredient in other foods. There are many chocolate brands and many chocolate recipes all sweet but deadly. In all the different types of chocolate, these are some chocolate facts. One bar of milk chocolate that has 1.55 ounces or 44 grams, contains 235 calories, 13 grams of fat, 8 of which come from saturated fat, and 221 grams of sugar. One ounce of dark chocolate, or 28.35 grams, contains 156 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 from saturated fat, and 13 grams of sugar. Unsaturated fat is known to increase blood cholesterol, which is a risk of heart disease. The added sugar is no good either because they lead to weight gain. Most kids snack up on so much chocolate, this is bad for their health.
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White bread
White bread is a staple in almost every home. A lot of people eat it every day. White bread is so loved some people even have a fluffy white bread recipe. White bread is made from refined flour and is known to be a diet don’t, hence it is ditched for whole wheat bread. This bread comes in different forms, rolls, baguettes, whole loaves, sliced loaves and more. White bread has little or no nutritional value because the protein and other fibres have been stripped off during the refinement process. White bread is also absorbed quickly into the bloodstream increasing blood sugar levels. These blood sugars if not immediately utilised will be stored as fat in the body. This causes weight gain. Asides an unhealthy weight, constant consumption of white bread also attracts the risk of type-2 diabetes. With the constant increase in blood sugar levels, more insulin is produced to enable cells to take in the sugar, however, over time cells become more insulin resistant, causing diabetes.
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Red Meat
Red meat is your sweet and savoury enemy. Generally, red meat is any meat derived from farm-reared mammals, such as pork, ham and any other cuts from pigs, beef (goat meant and cow) and lamb. Red meat is the source of most of our favourite junk food, like hot dogs, burgers, spare ribs, and more. Red meat is high in protein and other minerals like iron, excessive consumption of this iron will cause a suppression of leptin in the body. Leptin is the hormone that communicates fullness to the brain, a low leptin level will give birth to a big appetite, making room for more consumption of protein and eventually weight gain.
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Processed foods
Processed foods are your biggest enemy. From the preservatives to the additives, it is bad for your health, but you like it so much. Processed food is any food that has been altered in any way during preparations. It could be canned, dried, frozen, baked, anything you can imagine. Ingredients such as salt, sugar, and fat are often added to processed foods to make them more flavourful and to sometimes extend their shelf life. These ingredients make a lot of process foods unhealthy. Process foods are you canned sausages, cheese, cereal, biscuits, etc. the consumption of processed foods leads to individuals consuming more than the recommended daily intake of sugar or salt, resulting in weight gain. Most nutrition labels lie, making most consumers unaware of how much they are taking into their bodies. Some of these process foods could even have higher calories.