Top 10 Ingredients to Avoid in Everyday Packaged Foods

Have you ever picked up a snack, glanced at the ingredients, and felt like you’re reading a chemistry worksheet? Yeah—same. Packaged food is everywhere. It’s cheap, quick, and honestly, sometimes pretty tasty. But a lot of what’s inside? It’s stuff we wouldn’t go near if it didn’t come wrapped in plastic with “healthy” or “low-fat” printed on the front.

Most people don’t think twice about what’s in the food they eat. Fair enough—we’re all busy. But when you start reading those labels (really reading them), you notice the same weird ingredients showing up over and over again. And once you learn what they do, it’s kind of hard to unsee.

So here’s a breakdown—not in “scary health blog” voice, just real talk—of the ingredients I try to avoid in everyday packaged stuff. Not because I’m perfect, but because I like knowing what I’m eating.

1. High-Fructose Corn Syrup

I used to think this was just… sugar. But turns out, it’s kind of sugar’s evil cousin. It’s made from corn (obviously), but it goes through this whole process that turns it into a super cheap sweetener, and it’s everywhere. Soda, ketchup, flavoured yogurt, bread, salad dressing… stuff you wouldn’t expect.

What’s wrong with it? Besides the fact that it’s in everything, it messes with your blood sugar in weird ways. It doesn’t satisfy your hunger like regular sugar does, so you end up eating more. Also, it’s been linked to fatty liver and insulin resistance, which isn’t great if you’re trying to stay healthy long-term.

Once you start looking for it, you’ll see it’s hiding in plain sight. I still slip sometimes, but if it’s in the first few ingredients on the label? I usually skip it.

2. Artificial Dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, etc.)

You know that electric pink candy that stains your fingers for three hours? Yeah, that. Artificial dyes are what make food look brighter, “fresher,” or just more exciting.

The thing is, they’re not food. They’re petroleum-based chemicals (yep, the same stuff used to make fuel), and some of them are banned in other countries. Here? Allowed.

A bunch of studies have linked them to hyperactivity in kids, and honestly, who knows what else long-term? I’m not saying eating blue gummy bears once in a while will wreck your life—but if your breakfast looks like a cartoon, maybe dial it back.

3. MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

MSG is kind of the trickster of the ingredient world. It makes food taste way better than it is, which is why it’s in instant noodles, flavoured chips, fast food, and all the good stuff.

Some people are fine with it. Others (like me) get headaches, brain fog, or just feel weird after eating it. It’s one of those things where the science says “probably safe,” but a lot of people’s bodies say otherwise.

I don’t freak out if it sneaks into something, but I try not to eat it often. It’s like, once you realise a flavour is being “faked,” it’s hard to un-love it.

4. Partially Hydrogenated Oils (aka Trans Fats)

If there’s one thing almost every doctor agrees on, it’s that trans fats are trash. They’re the stuff that used to be in margarine, cookies, frozen pizza crusts, etc.

Technically, a lot of brands say they’ve removed them, but if you see “partially hydrogenated oil” in the ingredients list, don’t believe the front of the package. Even if it says “0 grams trans fat,” that just means it has less than 0.5 grams per serving. Which adds up fast.

This stuff clogs arteries, messes with cholesterol, and doesn’t do you any favours. Easy skip when you spot it.

5. Sodium Nitrate & Nitrite

If you love bacon or deli sandwiches, this one’s a bummer. These additives keep meats pink and shelf-stable, which sounds helpful… until you find out they’re linked to higher cancer risk, especially colon cancer.

A lot of brands now use “natural” versions like celery juice powder, but those still form the same compounds in your body. So “uncured” doesn’t necessarily mean “safe.”

I’m not saying never eat bacon again. Just maybe not every day.

6. BHA & BHT

Okay, these two show up in a lot of processed snacks and cereals. You probably wouldn’t even notice unless you were looking for them. BHA and BHT are preservatives—they help keep oils from going bad, which means longer shelf life.

Here’s the thing, though: they’ve been flagged in a bunch of studies for being possibly carcinogenic. I’m not a scientist, but “maybe causes cancer” is enough for me to look for other options. I’m not tossing out everything with these in it, but I do check the label now. If I have a choice between two similar things and one doesn’t have BHA/BHT, that’s the one going in the cart.

7. Carrageenan

Have you ever drunk almond milk and then got random stomach cramps for no reason? That was me a few years ago. Didn’t think much of it until I randomly came across a Reddit thread where people were complaining about the same thing. Turned out the common link was carrageenan.

It’s a thickener made from seaweed, and it’s in a lot of non-dairy milks, yogurt, and even some cold cuts. Sounds harmless, right? But for some people (like me, apparently), it can irritate the gut.

Once I started buying carrageenan-free almond milk, the weird bloating stopped. Coincidence? Maybe. But I’m not taking chances.

8. Artificial Sweeteners

Alright, here’s a hot take: sugar isn’t the enemy, but fake sugar kind of is.

Aspartame, sucralose, acesulfame potassium… all those “zero calorie” sweeteners show up in diet sodas, sugar-free protein powders, gums, and even toothpaste. I used to think I was being smart drinking “diet” everything, but I always felt off, like low-key dizzy or foggy.

Some people don’t react to them at all, which is cool. But for me, cutting them out made a difference. Now, if I want something sweet, I’ll just go with honey or a bit of jaggery. It’s real, it tastes better, and my brain doesn’t feel like it’s glitching afterwards.

9. Potassium Bromate

This one still blows my mind. It’s used in bread dough to make it rise better, which sounds normal—except it’s banned in a bunch of countries because it’s been linked to cancer.

And yet here? Still allowed in a lot of packaged bread and buns. You won’t always see it listed directly—it’ll just say “dough conditioner” or something vague.

My fix? I stopped buying the soft, stretchy supermarket bread and switched to a local bakery where I can ask what’s in it. Doesn’t even have to be fancy. Just something where you know flour, yeast, and water are the first three ingredients—not mystery chemicals.

10. Refined Palm Oil

Palm oil gets used in tons of stuff. Cookies, chips, instant noodles, frozen desserts—you name it. And to be fair, it’s not automatically evil. But the ultra-refined version that ends up in most packaged foods? Not great.

It’s stripped of nutrients and loaded with saturated fat. And beyond the health stuff, there’s the environmental side of it—deforestation, orangutan habitats wiped out, all that.

So yeah, I try not to go out of my way to avoid it 100% (you’d drive yourself crazy), but I don’t love supporting it when I don’t have to. If I see something that uses sunflower or olive oil instead, I’ll grab that.

Wrapping It Up (In Plain English)

Look, you don’t need to go full clean-eating monk mode. I still eat pizza. I still cave for packaged snacks now and then. This isn’t about perfection—it’s just about not blindly eating whatever’s convenient.

The more you read labels, the more you realise how often this stuff shows up. And once you start noticing, it’s actually kind of easy to make better swaps.

Grab the bread with five ingredients instead of twenty. Go for the yogurt that has milk and cultures, not ten extra things. That kind of stuff. No drama, no detox, no overpriced health food.

Just… pay attention. Your body tends to let you know what works and what doesn’t. You just have to listen.