From sugary drinks to sausages, the food and drink you should avoid completely

With so many ‘rules’ around healthy eating, it can be difficult to know what you should or shouldn’t be eating at any given moment. However, there are a few things that numerous studies have found have very little benefit for our health, and in fact, can be detrimental to it.

Whatever diet you choose or have to follow, there are some food and drink products that don’t do us any good at all. In most cases, experts say it’s better to cut these particular items out of our diets completely in order to live healthier and better lives.

Here are the four food and drink items you should avoid at all costs:

Sugary drinks

The UK has long been a huge consumer of soft drinks, with data showing more than 15 billion litres of soft drinks were downed in 2023 - up from 13 billion litres in 2013.

But soft drinks are often very high in sugar, making them dangerous for our health when consumed. Although the UK imposed a sugar tax, also known as the Soft Drinks Industry Levy, in 2018 to impel manufacturers to reduce the sugar content of soft drinks, many still contain high amounts of sugar.

For example, a can of full-fat Coca Cola contains 35g of sugar. Other types of fizzy drinks, such as sparkling elderflower drinks can also contain added sugars, though not in such high quantities (eg. Belvoir Elderflower Presse contains 7.8g of sugar per 100ml compared to Coca Cola's 10.6g per 100ml).

Fruit juices can also contain high amounts of sugar, despite being typically seen as a "healthier" choice. A study by the University of Toronto found that giving children a fruit juice every day can lead to weight gain.

The NHS recommends that adults have no more than 30g of ‘free sugars’ per day, which refers to sugars that are added to food and drinks.

A recent study conducted by scientists in Sweden found that drinking sugar drinks may increase the risk of certain heart conditions, like ischemic stroke, atrial fibrillation and heart failure.

The authors wrote that "sugar-sweetened beverages are the primary source of added sugar associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk". Study participants who consumed more than eight servings of sugar drinks per week were found to have an almost 20% higher risk of ischemic stroke, 18% higher risk of heart failure and 11% higher risk of atrial fibrillation.

In addition to being bad for your heart health, sugary drinks can also wreak havoc on your teeth. Dentists often warn against drinking sugary drinks as they can cause a number of dental problems, including tooth decay, cavities and gum disease.

Regular consumption of soft drinks that are high in sugar content also include heightened risk of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

Processed meats

Sorry bacon lovers, but processed meats like bacon, hot dogs and canned meat like spam are high on the list of foods you should really be avoiding in order to keep healthy.

This category of meat refers to meat that has been preserved in some way, such as salting, smoking, curing, or adding preservatives. The NHS includes the following in its list of processed meat:

• Sausages, bacon and ham

• Deli meats such as salami

• Canned meat such as corned beef

• Sliced luncheon meats (including those made from chicken and turkey)

• Pâtés

The World Health Organisations classify processed meat as carcinogenic to humans, which means there is convincing evidence that they can cause cancer. In particular, processed meat has been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Processed meat also tends to be high in salt, which can increase the risk of high blood pressure. THe NHS recommends cutting down on your intake of processed meat, saying: "If you currently eat more than 90g (cooked weight) or red or processed meat a day, it is recommended that you cut down to 70g."

‘Instant’ products

Convenience foods like instant oats and instant noodles are great for saving time, but their impact on health in the long run could make you wish you took a few more minutes to cook from scratch instead.

While oats are usually a great way to add fibre into your diet, watch out for instant oatmeal products that can contain added sugar. Varieties that are flavoured or sweetened are usually the culprits, even if they have healthy-sounding flavours like apple or blueberry, warned British Heart Foundation dietitian Victoria Taylor.

Meanwhile, instant noodles are highly popular all over the world, but they can contain very high amounts of sodium and should not be consumed regularly. The World Health Organisation recommends less than 2,000mg of sodium per day for adults, equivalent to less than 5g a day.

Consuming large amounts of salt is linked to high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

White chocolate

Of the three most common types of chocolate we see on the shelves, white chocolate is the worst for sugar content, making it the least healthy one.

While eating small amounts of dark chocolate per week has been linked to a reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes, milk and white chocolates are higher in sugar and therefore have fewer benefits.

But white chocolate has the highest amount of sugar of the three - with around 58g per 100g - and doesn’t even contain cocoa solids. Cocoa has health benefits such as antioxidants called flavonoids.

White chocolate also has a high fat content - according to Whitakers, white chocolate contains around 30g of fat per 100g, and 18g of that is saturated, largely from cocoa butter.

Read more about healthy eating:

• We analysed this year's most popular Christmas sandwiches. This is the unhealthiest one (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)

• Diet high in ultra-processed foods ‘linked to more fat stored in the thighs’ (PA Media, 2-min read)

• Tough new junk food advert ban to prevent 20,000 cases of obesity (WalesOnline, 3-min read)