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7 worst junk foods for your heart

Give your favorite dishes a healthy makeover to prevent heart disease.

burger, fries, remote, tv, television, fast food
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For many people, the worse a food is, the more likely they are to want it. But there's only so much junk food we can eat before it catches up with us (usually in the form of heart disease). The good news is, you don't have to swear off your favorite foods to keep your heart healthy. You just have to know how to make small changes in order to enjoy them in healthier ways.Show More

pizza, pizza slice, man eating pizza
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Worst Junk Food #1: Pizza

If you count pizza as its own food group, watch out. Cheese and pizza are the No. 1 and No. 2 sources of artery-clogging saturated fat in the American diet. One slice of extra-cheesy pizza can contain as much as two-thirds of your daily saturated fat limit. Nutrition expert Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD,Show More

pasta, alfredo, fettuccine
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Worst Junk Food #2: Fettuccine Alfredo

A Mediterranean diet isn't a license to gorge on pasta 24/7. Mounds of fettuccine are bad enough for the waistline, but there's nothing heart-healthy about Alfredo sauce. With only three ingredients (cream, butter, and cheese), the dish can contain 50 grams of saturated fat, which raises LDL (bad)Show More

sandwich, processed meat, lunchmeat, lunch meat
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Worst Junk Food #3: Submarine Sandwich

To many guys, the submarine sandwich is the world's most perfect food. It requires neither a stovetop nor utensils, and contains all the major food groups. That's where its virtues end. According to Taub-Dix, the monster sandwich supplies up to 6 servings of white bread, plus a quarter-pound (orShow More

hamburger
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Worst Junk Food #4: Fast Food

Fast food is loaded with saturated fat and sodium (both of which contribute to heart disease), but its trans fat is even worse: It raises LDL (bad) cholesterol while lowering helpful HDL cholesterol. Food manufacturers love it because it has a long shelf life. Doctors hate it for the same reason.Show More

soda
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Worst Junk Food #5: Soda

Soda and diet soda are linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke. According to Adam Bernstein, MD, ScD, research director at Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute, soft drinks are the biggest source of sugar in our diet. Guzzling large quantities of soda can cause a spike in bloodShow More

pancakes
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Worst Junk Food #6: Big Pancake Breakfast

That large stack of pancakes with syrup is a plateful of refined carbohydrates that rapidly increases your blood sugar and harmful triglycerides to raise your risk of heart disease. Guys who binge on white-flour goods have a greater chance of sudden death from heart attack. (A small stack ofShow More

burrito, burritos, tortilla
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Worst Junk Food #7: Big Ol' Burritos

Not all Mexican food is bad for your heart, but cheesy nachos and gargantuan burritos filled with steak, rice, sour cream, and cheese sure can be. It all comes down to how you dress your tortilla, Taub-Dix says. For a heart-healthy meal, choose chicken over steak, black beans over lard-filledShow More

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