KETCHUP
When it comes to your blood pressure and heart health, condiments matter. The ketchup you dip your fries into has 167 milligrams of salt per tablespoon. Scale back on the condiments to maintain your flat belly and keep your ticker in tip-top condition.
RED MEAT
This is another case where people rag on it for a reason. Red meats have a considerable amount of cholesterol and saturated fat, as well as another terror called L-carnitine, which is why they make your doctor so nervous. Pros like Etherton advise patients to limit lean red meats to less than 10% of their average diet to play it safe, and don’t think you can get away with replacing your porterhouse with a pork chop. “A lot of people say pork isn’t red, so you’re okay,” Etherton says. “But it still has a lot of saturated fat, so you need to limit it as you would any red meat.”
SODA
Soda bears the distinct honor of being the only item on this list to make our source straight-up sigh. “Sodas are really bad for you, they really are,” Etherton says. “There’s between 50 and 60 grams of sugar in a standard soda. And that’s processed sugar.” He would rather you drink some H20, but if you insist on more flavor, go with tea and honey.
PIZZA
When thrillist.com asked Etherton about the rumors about pizza, he said “The problem you run into with pizza is that it’s sort of like you’re being clobbered with large amounts of three items. The crust is high in carbs and sodium, and then, depending on cheese, it could have a fair amount of fat and sodium, and the sauce is usually prepared, so it’s also high in sodium. And that’s not even counting whatever you put on it.” He says you can undo some of the damage by ordering a whole-wheat crust pizza with olive oil, sliced tomatoes, and goat cheese, but we’re too busy weeping into our pepperoni pie to hear him.