Health experts share the food and drinks they tend to avoid

Nutrition

By Tracy Swartz

With holiday parties in full swing, a handful of doctors, registered dietitians and nutrition professors are sharing the foods and drinks that have made their naughty list.

Nine health experts revealed to NBC News the beverages and processed foods they tend to avoid — and the healthier alternatives they grab instead.

Jaimie Davis, a registered dietitian and professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, said she prefers adding a dash of hard liquor to sparkling water and topping with a fruit garnish, to drinking a sugary or caloric alcoholic cocktail.

The mom of two says she also eschews sodas, sports drinks and sugary beverages in general — not to mention coffee —saying it’s “almost better to eat a Snickers bar than to drink a 20-fluid-ounce Coke.”

“We have the LaCroixs and the sparkling waters if we want something special, as opposed to just normal water or just regular milk,” Davis explained. “We also make a lot of aguas frescas, so like infused waters with basil and strawberries.”

Sodium-rich foods — like cured meats, smoked fish, canned soups and frozen TV dinners — are a no-no for Angel Planells, a Seattle-based registered dietitian nutritionist.

“I like to talk to my patients and say, you know, these things are like treats,” Planells told NBC News. “If you have them all the time, they’re not a treat, they’re now a habit.”

Lauren Au, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of California, Davis, told the outlet she complements her Mediterranean-style diet with olive oil, seafood, chicken and tofu while steering clear of salty foods.

Dr. Linda Shiue says she checks food labels for chemical additives or preservatives, while avoiding the grocery aisles devoted to packaged cookies and crackers.

The California internist and director of culinary and lifestyle medication at Kaiser Permanente prefers vegetables, which she enjoys can be enjoyed by anyone when well-cooked and well-seasoned.

“A lot of people who don’t like vegetables, it’s because they grew up with people who didn’t know how to cook them. So they might have these sad, soggy, colorless vegetables, and who wants to eat that?” Shiue said.

Studies have shown that consumption of too much sugar or too much salt can lead to higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes and fatty liver disease.

On average, Americans eat about 3,400 milligrams of salt per day.

The American Heart Association recommends adults consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium daily — the equivalent of about one teaspoon of table salt.

The AHA also recommends no more than 9 teaspoons (36 grams or 150 calories) of added sugar per day for men and no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams or 100 calories) per day for women.

“There are no bad foods, only bad quantities,” Laura Bellows, an associate professor of nutritional sciences at Cornell University, told NBC News.