Cardiologist: 9 American foods you 'couldn't pay me to eat'—after 20 years of treating heart attacks

CNBC ^ | Oct 10, 2025 | Dr. Sanjay Bhojraj, Contributor

[where's_the_Outrage?]

After two decades treating heart disease, clogged arteries, and metabolic dysfunction, I began to notice a pattern. Many of my patients thought they were doing everything right — like exercising regularly and managing stress — yet they still ended up in my office with serious cardiovascular issues.

The common thread? Everyday food choices.

Some of the most harmful foods in the American diet don't come with warning labels. Instead, they're marketed as "heart smart," "plant-based," or "low-fat." But behind the buzzwords are ingredients that fuel inflammation, spike blood sugar, and quietly damage your arteries over time.

As a cardiologist, there are nine American foods you couldn't pay me to eat — not because I'm extreme, but because I've seen firsthand what they do to the human heart.

1. Sugary breakfast cereals

2. Processed deli meats

3. Soda and energy drinks

4. Deep-fried fast foods (and carnival snacks)

5. White bread and refined carbs

6. Margarine and fake butter spreads

7. Highly processed plant-based 'meats'

8. Canned soups with high sodium

9. Flavored coffee creamers

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Food; Health/Medicine; Science
KEYWORDS: cadiacfoods; food; healthyfoods; heartattack; sanjaybhojraj

[Albion Wilde]

I can’t imagine any normal person having “plant based ‘meats’” in their pantry.

I had a dear friend who died at age 63 of a pulmonary embolism. He had been a "vegetarian" since the age of 18. I was one of the ones to clean out his house. He had all kinds of fake meat and fake cheese products that were yucky just to look at, much less to eat. His cat ate better. He weighed 325, mostly from beer and cookies to make up for his raging malnutrition from the crap he thought was keeping him healthy or saving the planet or whatever. I still miss him. Wish I could have convinced him to eat a nice chicken leg or steak now and then.

[A strike]

In ‘Sleeper’ WoodyAllen plays someone who comes back in the future.
Smoking a cigarette, he notes: “All the things we used to think were so unheathy ...”

[dennisw]

I bought the yogurt maker but have not made home made Reuteri yogurt yet. Can you feel any health benefits from Reuteri yogurt?