The Healthy Truth: The worst meals you could eat at lunch

Dear Friends,

I don’t know about you, but I look forward to lunch. That mid-day meal is necessary to promote energy and keep you going throughout the day. Unfortunately, if you’re not eating the right foods, lunch can contribute to weight gain, low-energy, and health problems.

When you’re choosing what to have for lunch, make sure it doesn’t include the five food items listed below because they won’t do much good for you.

Top five unhealthy lunch meals

Pizza

Sorry pizza lovers, but enjoying a pie during lunch is only increasing your sodium levels. The average slice of pizza contains 680 mg of sodium. Unfortunately, no one eats just one slice—it’s probably closer to three. Essentially, pizza at lunch can account for more than a days’ worth of sodium intake and this can spell danger for those who already have high blood pressure. High sodium intake has also been linked to other cardiovascular problems, so you will probably want to steer clear. If you are craving a slice, make pizza at home and bring the leftovers to work. This way, you can moderate the amount of sodium used.

Burgers and fries

Combos and other “bundle” deals just ensure that you’re consuming far more calories than you need to. Continuously consuming high caloric meals over time can lead to weight gain, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Cold-cut sandwiches

Lunch meats tend to be high in nitrates, nitrites, carcinogens, saturated fat, and sodium, which are all ingredients that cause poor health. Also, these sandwiches don’t just contain lunch meat. They are often loaded with cheese, sauces, and condiments. This amps up the amount of saturated fat in the sandwich.

Hot dogs

Those hot dog carts may be tempting, but you should walk in the opposite direction. An average hot dog contains 35 grams of fat. High levels of saturated fat contribute to cholesterol, which is a huge contributor to cardiovascular disease. A grilled chicken sandwich is a far healthier option.

Fried chicken

Those personal-sized buckets of fried chicken come with over 500 calories, 34 grams of fat, and at least 1,200 (wow!) of sodium. Avoid all things fried and opt for grilled food options.

If these foods are on heavy rotation in your lunch routine, you may want to start switching it up. You might not think that one bad meal a day could hurt your health, but it can, especially if it’s a daily ritual.

Your lunch should be well balanced and contain protein, vegetables, and whole grains. Those are the ingredients that will ensure you stay energized for the rest of your day.

Until next time,

Emily Lunardo