Foods That Active Teens Should Avoid

     There are many foods that should be avoided due to their damaging affects to your health. Everyone knows that donuts, ice cream, candy, bacon and other "unhealthy" foods should be avoided. But do you know why? These foods contain ingredients that should be limited in a healthy diet. These ingredients include:

Saturated and Trans fat

Salt

Refined sugar

Hydrogenated oil

Saturated fat: Food that contains saturated and trans fat can increase the body's production of cholesterol. High cholesterol can lead to heart disease because it collects and builds up in the walls of arteries. Eventually this leads to "hardening of arteries" where blood flow to the heart is slowed or stopped. Saturated fats should be avoided and if possible replaced by polyunsaturated fats.

Salt: Salt is a necessary part of survival and our bodies need it to function properly. However, excessive salt consumption can lead to serious health problems. People that consume more salt have a higher chance of suffering from stroke, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and stomach cancer. You should avoid adding unnecassary salt to any foods and you should try to decrease salt consumption.

Sugar: Refined sugar is one of the main contributors to obesity. Refined sugar leads to a fat in the blood known as triglycerides. High levels of triglycerides cause Atherosclerosis which can intensify your chances of stroke, heart disease, and heart attack. High levels of refined sugar can also increase the chances of diabetes. High fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, sucrose and other variations of sugar should be limited.

Hydrogenated oil: Hydrogenated oils and partially hydrogenated oils should also be avoided because they contain trans fat and increase  LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also decreases the amount of HDL (good) cholesterol  in the body. Trans fat, much like sugar can lead to Atherosclerosis which leads to increased chances of heart attacks and disease.