The purpose of food is to nourish our bodies with the vitamins, trace minerals, protein, carbohydrates, enzymes, and fats it needs to function. To support health we need to keep our caloric intake in the range that we do not gain weight but also supplies our bodies with nutrition. Unfortunately there are many, many foods available that supply no nutritional value whatever.Eating food with no nutritional value would not be so bad, if it did not also mean that you were consuming many, many calories, high fat, high levels of sodium, and cholesterol, all of which clog our arteries and may lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.I am providing a list of some of the biggest offenders. Some of them will be the expected culprits but others may surprise you. The purpose of the list isn’t to make these foods taboo, but rather to help you make more informed food choices. If you know the food does nothing to nourish you and you still choose it at least you are making an informed choice.Foods with very little/no nutritional value:Cotton Candy: This is nothing but colored bits of sugar, no nutrition.
Frozen Waffle: An example of empty calories, especially when you add in the margarine and syrup which add more calories and Tran’s fat.
Potato Chips: They are fried and have many preservatives.
French Fries: They do have potato but by the time they are fried and loaded with salt all the nutritional value is gone.
Pork Rinds: Fried pork skins and salt, that explains it all.
Twinkies: The creamy filling is fake whipped cream and the rest is sugar, flour and flavoring, no nutrition.
Doughnuts: One glazed doughnut has 200 calories and 4 grams of Tran’s fat which is more than twice the daily recommended amount.
White rice: The fiber and nutritional value have been removed, a very highly processed food.
Red Bull: Energy drinks containing a small amount of vitamin B but loaded with chemical, calories, caffeine and sugar.
Fruit snacks: Gummy fruit snacks are low in fat but packed with fructose corn syrup, and chemicals. They may have a minimal amount of vitamins.
Vitamin Water. Water with vitamins may sound like the greatest value, but one bottle has more sugar and calories than a can of cola.
Canned vegetables: Processed or canned vegetables lose almost all of their nutritional value; additionally they are high in sodium.
Hard Candy: This includes lollipops, after dinner mints, and jawbreakers. The only ingredients in these addicting snacks are sugar and chemicals.
Chewing Gum: Flavored from natural or synthetic gums and other ingredients which form an insoluble mass for chewing.
Soda: This is one drink that has absolutely zero nutritional value, but on average a 20 ounce bottle has 240 calories, 65 grams of sugar and zero vitamins. An eight ounce serving has 100 calories and 27 grams of sugar of course no vitamins. Soda is equal to drinking water with sugar and caffeine.This list is not all-inclusive of all zero nutritional foods, just some of the more common ones. Additionally there are many more products available that do offer minimal nutrition but also contain high levels of fat, calories, and sodium.