Guest Post – 5 of the Unhealthiest Foods to Snack on While Travelling

We all love indulging in fatty foods every now and again – and what better time to do that than when off on your holidays? Today, just to make you feel as bad as possible for indulging yourself, let’s take a closer look at five of the unhealthiest foods to snack on while travelling.

1.Fruit Juice

 You wouldn’t be alone for thinking fruit juice is a healthy option for quenching your thirst. However, the amount of sugar which goes into a regular 350ml glass of this stuff is just as deadly for you as brands like Coca Cola.

Amazingly, according to stats provided by Authority Nutrition, the same amount of coke and apple juice contain:

• Coke: 140 calories and 40 grams of sugar (10 teaspoons)
• Apple Juice: 165 calories and 39 grams of sugar (9.8 teaspoons)

As you can see, there’s practically no benefit to opting for a fruit drink ahead of normal sodas. Either way, you’re getting oversaturated with sugar.

2.Pizza

 It probably doesn’t take a genius to work out a piece of bread which has been layered in melted cheese isn’t the healthiest option to snack on. Unfortunately for you, this is a type of food which is readily available practically anywhere across the globe.

It’s best to have the genuine article when it comes to pizza – have it in Italy, or not at all. A single Margherita pizza can contain as many as 1000 calories – which is half the total amount you’re recommended to have as a daily intake.

3.Anything deep fried

 Deep frying food does a massive number on your internal system. The process of cooking the food in this manner results in saturated fat massing in an insanely unhealthy proportion, thanks largely to the oil it’s being fried in.

It’s a complicated chemical process – which is broken down handily in this Quora article – with the ultimate result being all the wrong kinds of fats clogging up your arteries and sending your cholesterol through the roof. Fat isn’t bad for you in and of itself, but the deep frying process makes it deadly, unfortunately also massively tasty. Street food is always very tempting whilst travelling, and trying a few new things when abroad is always a must but just be aware because too much of anything isn’t great.

4.Crisps

Eating a regular pack of crisps every day for a year is the equivalent of consuming five litres’ worth of cooking oil in that same period. That harrowing fact alone should be enough to dissuade you from snacking on these potato-based bites on your next adventure.

 It’s understandable why so many of us turn to crisps as snack when we’re overseas. They come in a bag form, are easy to pack and even easier to chow down on. Resist the easy option, as you’ll effectively be pouring chip fat oil into your system.

5.Diet Sodas

 We’ve already covered how cola and fruit drinks are a nightmare for you thanks to sugar count, but what about their sucrose-free diet cousins? Packs of these will proudly highlight how a can contains less than a calorie –  so surely they’re a good option, right?

Wrong. It’s this very lack of calorific content which makes them such a problem. Rather than feeling sated after drinking one, you’ve simply adhered to your body’s urge for something sweet (coming in the form of chemicals here), rather than actually filing yourself up at all.

It’s likely you’ll feel the need to replace the calories you missed with something else later in the day. As such, you’ll be taking in just as many, but with the additional side-effect of a lot of damaging chemical substances. Lose, lose.

Has this post opened your eyes to the dangers of certain snack foods on holiday? Make sure to be aware of some of these when you’re next travelling and opt for some fruit in the local markets instead 😉