10 foods that can damage your health and body

1. Fruit Juices

The fruit juices you find at the supermarket aren't always what they seem. They may have small amounts of real fruit in them, but often they are little more than water, artificial flavor and sugar. But even if you're drinking real fruit juice, it is still a bad idea. Fruit juice is like fruit with most of the good stuff removed. All that is left is the sugar and a few vitamins. Orange juice, for example, contains the same amount of sugar as Coca Cola.

There's no fiber in it, no chewing resistance and nothing to stop you from downing massive amounts of sugar in a short amount of time. Eating too much sugar is associated with all sorts of diseases. These include obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many others. It is much better to avoid fruit juices and eat real fruits instead.

2: Milk

It may do a body good, but your skin? Not so much. Especially the skim variety. "Milk can be full of growth hormones and growth factors that remain biologically active even after pasteurization," explains Treloar. "Studies show that they appear to make their way into our blood stream where they can affect insulin, cause inflammation, and ramp up oil production." The result: breakout city. Population: you. Organic milk may be a good alternative, as it contains only regularly-occurring hormones instead of added ones that are found in non-organic options, though more research is needed to say for certain whether organic options won’t negatively impact skin.

3. Most Pizzas

Pizza is one of the world's most popular junk foods. This is not surprising, given that it tastes awesome and is incredibly convenient to eat. The problem is that most commercially prepared pizzas are made with seriously unhealthy ingredients. The dough is made from highly refined wheat flour, and the meats on them are usually processed. Pizza is also extremely high in calories.

Alternatives: Some pizza places use healthier ingredients. Homemade pizzas can also be very healthy, as long as you choose wholesome ingredients.

4.  Processed meats

It’s always a good idea to limit processed foods of all types when making healthy food choices—and proteins are no exception. “Processed meats, like deli meats, hot dogs, sausages, and cured selections tend to be high in sodium, preservatives, and saturated fat,” says Adams. Although an occasional sausage or hot dog is fine, research suggests eating it regularly may increase the risk of heart disease and collateral cancers.

5. Industrial Vegetable Oils

In the last 100 years or so, people have increased their consumption of added fats. However, this is entirely explained by a drastic increase in the consumption of refined vegetable oils, such as soybean oil, corn  oil, cottonseed oil and canola oil. These oils are very high in omega-6 fatty acids, which humans never consumed in such large amounts before. There are many serious concerns with these oils. They are highly sensitive to oxidation and cause increased oxidative stress in the body. They have also been linked to increased risk of cancer.

Alternatives: Use healthier fats like coconut oil, butter, extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil instead.

6. Flavored Fat-Free Yogurt

Don't fall into the fat-free trap. Just because something is fat-free doesn't make it healthy. In fact, many flavored yogurts have upwards of 15 grams of sugar in that tiny 6-ounce serving! Our advice? Buy plain, fat-free Greek yogurt and flavor it up with some fruit or even a small drizzle of honey. That way, you control what's in it!

7. Wheat Bread

Don't be fooled by wheat-bread products. If the package doesn't specifically say "100-percent whole wheat,” then it's probably mostly white bread with just a little wheat flour mixed in for marketing. Also: Make sure each slice has at least 2 grams of fiber—another mark of a truly healthy bread.

8. Fruit Cocktail

It seems simple enough. Fruit is healthy, so a fruit cocktail should be a good choice. But most fruit cocktails are made with a sugary syrup that does nothing but drive the calories up without adding any nutritional value. You're better off eating a piece or two of fresh fruit instead!

9. Low-Fat Foods

Don’t be fooled by the “Low-Fat” label. Makers of cookies, salad dressings, yogurt, and other foods labeled low-fat often substitute sugar, salt, and unhealthy fillers to add flavor and texture to otherwise bland processed products. Author and TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz advises you to always choose real foods over processed, low-fat options.

10. Cookies and pastries
Most baked goods—especially those that are commercially produced—are full of sugar and are likely made with saturated fats (like butter or palm oil) or trans fats (like partially hydrogenated vegetable oil). “You have two ingredients that work with each other to give somebody the worst possible nutritional profile,” Druz says.