We know a lot more about nutrition and health today than we used to, and we place much more importance on this these days. Many old-fashioned foods would horrify today’s nutritionists, as they often use unhealthy ingredients or cooking methods that would go against modern health advice. People were much less health-conscious back in the day, and this is proven by these 18 foods from the past that would leave today’s health experts in shock.
Potatoes Fried in Lard
All lard-fried food feels like a lifetime ago, especially the once-popular lard-fried potatoes! Frying potatoes in lard might seem like a faux pas when it comes to health and nutrition, but this food was once a staple Southern dish. Potatoes fried in lard contain an unreasonable amount of saturated fats and calories, so if you’re looking to bring this dish back, make sure you don’t have it too often!
Gelatin Salads
Although they once adorned many tables across America, gelatin salads quickly fell out of fashion when people started to focus more on healthy eating. These gelatinous blobs of food, often a weird combination of sweet and savory, were full of refined sugar, additives, and artificial flavors. Despite being incredibly popular at the time and frequently found at parties and potlucks, nutritionists of today would be appalled by these creations!
Whole Milk
Full-fat, whole milk used to be the go-to for most people, but it has since been taken over by semi-skimmed and skimmed milk and then substitutes like oat milk or almond milk. In 2019, CNBC reported that “in the last four years, sales of nondairy milks have risen 23%.” As people’s perceptions of their diets changed, they began to prefer healthier milk alternatives over the rich and creamy taste of whole milk, as it contains a lot of saturated fat.
Canned Meat
Canned meat, like the iconic Spam, became popular during the Second World War and was famed for being convenient and cheap. However, canned meats were left to the wayside over time due to how unhealthy they can be. They’re highly processed, often packed with sodium and saturated fat, and eating them regularly can contribute to bad heart health, diabetes, and even certain types of cancer. It’s a modern health expert’s nightmare!
Processed Cheese
Another super convenient food that today’s health experts would cringe at is processed cheese. A long way from traditional cheese, processed cheeses like Cheez Whiz are created by combining natural cheese with artificial ingredients, emulsifiers, and preservatives to give them a long shelf life. Processed cheeses used to be a favorite for sandwiches, casseroles, and snacks; however, people started to move away from these products as they gained more understanding of the potential damage they can have on your health.
Fondue
Fondue used to be the cornerstone of any good social gathering and is still a top choice for special occasions every now and again. The traditional comforting and hearty fondue recipes often contain a substantial amount of cheese and bread, which makes this tasty treat full of saturated fat and highly calorific! Today’s nutritionists would warn you to not go overboard with this dish and make sure you enjoy it sparingly.
TV Dinners
TV dinners and ready meals completely changed the way we enjoyed our dinner time back in the day! These convenient, pre-packaged, frozen meals took away all the stress and effort of traditional cooking, but at what cost? Modern health experts raise concerns about TV dinners due to their high levels of sodium, unhealthy fats, and preservatives that, when consumed too regularly, can lead to a variety of health problems.
Meatloaf
Meatloaf was once the ideal cheap and easy home-cooked meal to feed your family with. A combination of ground meats such as beef and pork, loaded with saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium, this much-loved comfort food is far from healthy. According to Mintel in 2014, “more than one-third of Americans cut back on red meat for health reasons.” Modern variations of this dish now often include leaner meats, whole grains, and additional vegetables.
Fried Bologna
Convenience and flavor used to be the most important things when it came to food, and the popularity of bologna proves that health and nutrition didn’t factor into people’s diets! Usually fried until wonderfully crispy and served in sandwiches or with breakfast, bologna was a quick and tasty option for families. Modern health experts would be pretty concerned by this nostalgic treat, as this processed meat is high in sodium, saturated fats, and preservatives that have been linked to heart disease and cancer.
Tang
Tang was an iconic piece of popular culture and is now a fond, nostalgic memory for many people. However, its famous taste heavily relied on artificial ingredients and added sugars, making it considerably unhealthy! Despite being marketed as a great source of vitamin C, Tang lacked a lot of the nutritional benefits of real fruit juice. Today’s nutritionists would most likely tell you to stick to natural fruit juices instead.
Aspic
Aspic should be in a museum; it’s pretty much a historic artifact at this point! A long-forgotten weird and wonderful trend, aspic was a savory gelatin dish made by setting different foods in a clear jelly broth. It was definitely creative, but it was also questionable for your health, as it was often full of sodium and preservatives. This fascinating dish was quickly left behind when people began to opt for fresher, less processed foods.
Prune Whip Desserts
Prunes have been known to help the digestive system for a long time; however, people took this news and ran with it back in the day. They created the prune whip dessert, which contained enough added sugar and calories to completely counteract any health benefits that the fruit might have originally had! Today’s health experts wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this monstrosity, but they’d definitely tell you to stay away from it.
Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia salad is an old-fashioned masterpiece of unhealthiness! This sickly sweet creation, made with the unhealthy ingredients of canned fruits, marshmallows, and sour cream, contained a ridiculous amount of sugar and calories. Despite being an extremely popular dessert in the 1950s, ambrosia salad would horrify the health experts and nutritionists of today. You should probably stay as far away from this dish as possible for your own good!
Sugary Fruit Juices
Kids used to grow up on sweet, sugary fruit juices, such as Sunny Delight, but these days, a lot of people wouldn’t even consider giving their kids something so unhealthy! Over time, people became more aware of the risks of spikes in blood sugar, weight gain, dental problems, and diabetes associated with sugary fruit juices. Business Insider says that “as Sunny D’s ‘unhealthy’ reputation grew, sales declined from nearly $292.8 million to $188.8 million between the years 2005 and 2014.”
Pies and Pastries with Lard
Once upon a time, lard was used in most pies and pastries, giving them the fluffy and flaky lightness and rich flavor that everybody wanted! However, lard boasts a very high saturated fat content. Health experts tend to recommend using healthier fats, such as butter, margarine, or vegetable oils in your baking these days, but if you still crave the results that only lard can produce, then just make sure you enjoy your pies and pastries in moderation.
Liver Loaf
Eating liver sounds pretty gross right? But people used to swear by it! The liver loaf was once seen as a highly nutritious dish, and while liver does give you iron and vitamin A as well as other essential nutrients, it has a high cholesterol content. If you still want to have liver on your plate, despite how disgusting it looks and sounds, nutritionists would advise you to not have it very often because of its ability to raise your cholesterol.
Cocktail Weenies
Cocktail weenies are small but mighty! These mini sausages, which were often smothered in tangy sauces, graced pretty much every buffet table in times gone by. However, they’re full of highly processed ingredients and contain a lot of sodium and added sugars. They’re far from a healthy party snack! Modern health experts are concerned about the potential problems with heart health and obesity that cocktail weenies can contribute to.
Canned Spaghetti
Worshiped by many people, especially families, in the past for its convenience, canned spaghetti would shock today’s health experts because of how unhealthy it is. Canned spaghetti is high in sodium, contains preservatives, and lacks the nutritional value of its homemade alternative, so it’s not the best choice in terms of health. It’s probably a good idea to only rely on this dish as a last resort when all else fails and you’re in a pinch.
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