ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – The average American gains about one to two pounds every year. This might sound small, but over the years it can add up to big pounds. Here are some of the sneaky weight-gaining foods lurking in your pantry that are making you fat.
Pizza, chips, ice cream, soda, candy … out of all these fattening foods, do you know which one is the worst? A study out of the New England Journal of Medicine found that potato chips are the food most closely linked to weight gain. It contributes to more than one and a half pounds weight gain over a four-year period. Another weight-gaining culprit is cereal. Most cereals are high in refined sugar and low in fiber, so you may need a couple of bowls of cereal before feeling full.
Instead, look to eggs and toast for a more fulfilling meal with less calories. And that syrup that you love for your pancakes and waffles may not actually be maple syrup, but really a mixture of artificial flavors, caramel color, and high-fructose corn syrup. A study out of Princeton university found rats that consumed high-fructose corn syrup gained more weight than those with table sugar.
Having a salad for lunch? Then skip the store-bought dressing. The high levels of sodium, added sugars, and high-fructose corn syrup add up to a lot of fat. Just two tablespoons can put you over the limit in your daily recommended limits of saturated fats, sugar, and sodium. Instead, all you need is olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper for homemade salad dressing.
Contributor(s) to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Bob Walko, Videographer and Editor. To receive a free weekly email on Smart Living from Ivanhoe, sign up at: http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk