Et Tu, Bratwurst? 8 Surprising Foods that Could Be Harming Your Health

You probably know noshing on Snickers bars or fried chicken daily isn't good for you, but what about the not-so-obvious unhealthy food? It's the items not on nutrition and ingredients labels that may be the most harmful things to your health, according to Dr. Mercola's natural health site. Unfortunately, there's a good chance some of these things are in your kitchen, where you thought you were stocking shelves with healthy choices. Look out for these 8 surprising foods that could be harming your health!

           Farmed Salmon Farmed salmon are typically fed soy, poultry litter, and chicken feathers, which causes the fish to be lower in vitamin D and plagued with chemicals, pesticides, and carcinogens.

   

  Milk with Added Hormones
    Farmers sometimes treat their stock with rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) to increase the amount of milk they produce. This leads to an increase in insulin-like growth factor in the milk, a hormone that may lead to several types of cancer in humans.
   

    Processed Meat
    The problem with processed meats is two-fold: 1) They often contain high levels of nitrates and 2) they're usually made from animals that have been fed hormones, antibiotics, and raised in diseased conditions. Nitrates convert to nitrites in the body and have been shown to be related to colorectal cancer, although the evidence is a little unclear these days. Nitrates are particularly dangerous to babies however, as they can interfere with the transport of oxygen in the blood. less
   

    Margarine
    Once thought to be a too-good-to-be-true alternative to fat-laden butter, margarine was all the rage with dieters and health conscious folks alike. But, in fact, it is too good to be true. The process of turning liquid vegetable oil, which is what margarine is made out of, into fat is called hydrogenation. The result is trans fat, which is by far the worst form of fat out there. Plus, lots of preservatives and other additives are included in order to keep the product in the right form and shelf stable. Stick with the real deal instead. less
   

    Microwave Popcorn
    Popcorn bags are lined with a chemical to keep the grease from leaking through the paper called perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, which seeps into the popcorn and then into our blood. Dr Mercola states that PFOA can alter our endocrine systems and change sex hormones, in addition to other immune problems, cancer, thyroid problems, and elevated LDL cholesterol.
   

    Fat Free Salad Dressing
    "Fat free" used to be all the rage, but we've moved past that these days. Making foods unnaturally fat free means added other flavors and enhancers in place of the fat to make up for the missing flavor and changed texture. High fructose corn syrup, sugar, and a variety of other chemicals are just a few of the things you may find in a "diet" bottle of dressing. Plus, fat helps you absorb the nutrients in your salad. less
   

    Corn-Fed Beef
    Corn-fed beef is just what it sounds like: cattle that are fed corn (and soybeans) instead of grass, which causes the cows to bulk up faster for less money. However, the beef we eat from these animals ends up being lower in beta-carotene, vitamin E, and omega-3s.
   

  
    Canned Tomatoes
    The lining of cans often contain BPA, which mimics the hormone estrogen in the body. BPA exposure has been linked to reproductive problems, behavior problems in children, and metabolic alterations. Canned tomatoes are an especially bad culprit for BPA because of their high acidity, which encourages the BPA to leak into your food.