Breakfast is, as they say, the most important meal of the day, provided you eat something healthy.

Unhealthy breakfast, on the other hand, can be far worse than skipping breakfast. An unhealthy breakfast can cause weight gain, make you lazy and sluggish, and increase the risk of heart disease.

Here are the 5 worst breakfast foods you need to stop eating immediately.

5 Breakfast Foods You Need to Stop Eating

1) Pancakes and Waffles

Pancakes and waffles are popular breakfast choices across the world. Although they have higher protein content than some of the other breakfast items, pancakes and waffles are very high in refined flour.

Research indicates that refined flour such as wheat flour causes obesity, inflammation, and insulin resistance.

To make it worse, pancakes and waffles are often paired with pancake syrups which contain high-fructose corn syrup. Research indicates that high fructose corn syrup can be as bad as sugar in terms of negative health effects.

Eating excess amount of high-fructose corn syrup can cause weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and increase risk of heart disease. So avoid these unhealthy breakfast foods at all costs.

2) Breakfast Cereals

Food marketers have successfully disguised breakfast cereals as healthy for several years. Breakfast cereals are often packaged with claims such as ‘Contains Whole Grains’ and as a good source of ‘Vitamin A and Iron.’

But in reality, breakfast cereals contain refined grains, not whole grains. And they also contain plenty of sugar. This makes cereals one of the worst breakfast foods to start your day.

Even cereals that contain oats and granola which you may think are healthy are loaded with sugar. A high sugar intake can cause weight gain and may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other chronic disease.

3) Fruit Juice

Most fruit juices contain very little juice and their sweetness is often enhanced with sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.

Having fruit juice can have the same negative health impact as drinking soft-drinks.

The high sugar content in fruit juices can cause obesity, increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and liver disease.

4) Breakfast Granola Bars

Often marketed as the breakfast for busy people, breakfast granola bars are just as bad as candy bars, making it one of the worst foods to eat for breakfast.

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Despite making claims of high fiber content, granola bars actually contain very little fiber and are loaded with added sugar.

Most of the granola bars in the market contain sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and honey. The added sugar in granola bars can cause obesity, raise blood sugar, insulin resistance, and increase risk of metabolic syndrome.

5) Donuts

Donuts are the worst foods among all.

Donuts are sugar-filled, honey-glazed, and full of fat and sugar.

Donuts contain high amounts of refined flour, added sugar, and trans fat.

Considered extremely unhealthy on all counts, donuts should never be food choice, let alone a breakfast choice. Avoid this unhealthy breakfast food like the plague.

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Conclusion

A healthy breakfast can keep you energetic for the day ahead, but an unhealthy breakfast can have adverse effects on your health.

So make sure your breakfast contains proteins, healthy fats, and fiber from unprocessed, whole foods.