Everyone wants to be healthy to some degree or another. Even if you want to eat nothing but pizza and beer every day, you’d still probably like to maintain your weight and an overall sense of good health when you do it. But the world doesn’t work that way. In fact, the world works against us in a lot of ways. Even things that seem like they’re supposed to be healthy aren’t as healthy as we like to think. Some of them are even worse than the unhealthy choices.

10. Grape Juice Has 33% More Sugar Than Soda

Dieticians and doctors have been fairly vocal about the dangers of drinking soda for a while now. Not that a Pepsi is going to make your arms fall off, but it does have a lot of sugar, caffeine, acid and more and that can contribute to things like tooth decay, obesity, and even hair loss.  

For many people, a reasonable alternative would seem to be fruit juice. It’s sweet like a delicious can of Dr. Pepper but it’s all natural and that means good. In theory, at least. But the truth is that some juice is arguably worse for you than drinking a soda. Grape juice, for instance, has 33% more sugar in it than an equivalent amount of soda. Welch’s grape juice is arguably worse for you, in terms of sugar and calories, than a Mountain Dew and no one has ever accused Mountain Dew of being healthy. 

9. Movie Theater Popcorn Has More Calories Than Whole Meals

Part of the ritual of going to the movies is to get a snack, and that is, most stereotypically, a big bucket of popcorn. Popcorn and movies have gone hand in hand for decades now. But it’s not always the best choice on the menu, even if popped kernels of corn seem healthier than M&M’s or a hot dog.

Because of the butter topping and oil that popcorn is popped in, it often has a staggering amount of hidden fat. As in, you may get more calories and fat in your popcorn than you’ll find in a whole meal. Or several whole meals.

The worst perpetrator is potentially the 85 ounce AMC cheddar crunch gourmet popcorn. This thing has 4,550 calories and 341 grams of fat. A Big Mac from McDonald’s has 550 calories and 30 grams of fat. So if you ate this whole bucket of popcorn as many people do over the course of a movie, you’d be consuming the fat equivalent of 11 Big Macs and the calories of 8 Big Macs. 

8. Campbell’s Tomato Bisque Has Almost as Much Sugar as a Coke

Soup is one of those foods we equate with wholesomeness and comfort. Campbell’s really leans into this with their marketing and it’s true, lots of people really enjoy a hot bowl of soup, especially on a cold day. But not all soups are created equal and some are less healthy than others. Usually we consider more plain soups to be healthier. Simple brother, or tomato soup, are considered good, healthy choices with maybe sodium being the only thing we need to worry about. But that is not always true.

Campbell’s Tomato Bisque soup, for instance, is jam-packed full of sugar, which you might not expect. There’s 37.5 grams per can, in fact. The thing is, you need to take a second to figure this out because Campbell’s labels their cans of condensed soup with the caveat that each can represents 2.5 servings. Now whether or not you get 2.5 servings out of a can of soup is debatable, but that means if you eat one can in a sitting, as many people do, you need to multiply all of their numbers by 2.5.

For some sweet perspective, that means a can of Tomato Bisque Soup is nearly equal in sugar to a can of Coca-Cola. That also equals out to about 8 Oreo cookies. So, while the soup may be tasty, you may want to keep it away from diabetics.

7. Unfrosted Pop Tarts Have More Calories Than Frosted Ones

If you’re trying to eat healthy, there’s a good chance you’re not reaching for Pop Tarts. But for the sake of argument let’s say all you have on hand is Pop Tarts. One box of frosted Pop Tarts and one box of plain, unfrosted Pop Tarts. Which one is going to be healthier? If you’re this far into the list, you can probably guess the answer.

Even though it seems like a frosted Pop Tart has to be unhealthier, it’s literally coated in sugar frosting, that’s not the case. Unfrosted Pop Tarts have more fat and more calories because they make them thicker. The frosting on a normal Pop Tart makes them bigger, so an unfrosted Pop Tart has a thicker crust to make up the difference. That’s pure carbohydrate and fat content. 

The difference is small, just 10 calories, but it’s still noteworthy to anyone who might think giving themselves a treat by having an unfrosted Pop Tart is doing better than having a frosted one. 

6. Campbell’s Chicken Noodle has Double the Sodium of a Big Mac

Let’s head back to Campbell’s soup for a moment, but for a new reason. We know some tomato bisque has too much sugar now, but what about the classic chicken noodle soup? This is the one that has comforted countless victims of the common cold for generations. What could it be hiding? Salt. Lots of salt.

To start, there’s something to be said for sodium content in soup. You do need sodium in your diet, but it’s recommended you limit it to 2,300 milligrams. And, lucky for us, that means you can safely eat one can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle per day because it contains 2,225 milligrams. This is, again, because Campbell’s labels their cans under the assumption you’re getting 2.5 servings out of each one. If that were accurate, then, you’d be consuming 890 milligrams per serving.

For some contrast, 28 grams of Lay’s original potato chips have 170 milligrams of sodium. A large bag is 280 grams or 10 servings, which is 1,700 milligrams of sodium or about three quarters of a can of soup. A Big Mac, on the other hand, has 1,010 milligrams of sodium, or about 45% of a can of soup. 

5. Bud Light Still Has More Calories Than Coca-Cola

Some people like the idea of eating and drinking light but still enjoying themselves and that’s where light beer comes in. It’s arguably a healthier option than regular beer as it has fewer calories and less alcohol. But light beer, it needs to be remembered, is only relatively light. It’s light compared to non-light beer. That doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.

Alcohol has seven calories per gram. Fat has nine calories per gram and carbohydrates have just four, so alcohol is remarkably high calories which many people don’t realize. The result is that even a 12 ounce can of Bud Light beer is going to have 146 calories. That’s six more calories per can than a Coke. 

4. A KFC Chicken Pot Pie Is Loaded with Fat and Calories

If you like fried chicken, chances are you’ve had KFC at least once in your life. But it’s no secret that fried chicken is not a healthy food. It has fried right in the name. All things in moderation though, right? And, if you like KFC, there are alternative menu options. For instance, you could try the chicken pot pie instead of the fried chicken. 

While KFC isn’t claiming the pot pie is a healthy option in lieu of fried chicken, it is a clear alternative and it seems like it might be better for you at first glance. It’s not fried, for one. And it’s full of vegetables.

The truth is a pot pie from KFC is loaded with fat and calories. One pie has 720 calories, and 41 grams of fat. A keel piece from KFC, that’s the breast without the ribs, has 290 calories and 13 grams of fat. A drumstick is 140 calories with just eight grams of fat. That means one pot pie has as much fat as five drumsticks or three breasts. 

3. A Cup of Banana Chips Has Almost as Much Fat as a Quarter Pounder Hamburger

The quest for a healthy snack has taken many people down a long, arduous and often disappointing road. The best snacks are often the unhealthiest and that’s simply because all the unhealthy things like fat and salt and sugar taste really good. So finding something tasty but also healthy can take some time.

Fruit is usually looked at as a great alternative to most processed snacks and even if it has higher sugar, its natural sugar and not nearly as bad within reason. But sometimes even fruit can throw us a curveball, like when you take a closer look at banana chips.

On the surface a banana chip seems ideal. It’s crunchy and sweet and checks off a couple of your snack cravings boxes right there. But you need to get the right chips. Many banana chips are made by frying the banana slices in oil. The result is one cup of banana chips which can have 24 grams of fat and 374 calories. That’s almost as much fat as a Quarter Pounder from McDonalds and three times the calories of an equivalent amount of potato chips.

2. A Cup of 1% Milk Has More Calories Than a Coke

Milk does a body good, we’ve all heard that. But milk is also a remarkably high calorie drink, all things being equal. It shouldn’t be a secret, it’s meant to nourish babies and help them grow so it needs to be packed with calories. That said, the dairy industry has offered up degrees of milk with varying levels of milk fat and that has convinced a lot of people that milk is maybe a lower calorie beverage than it really is.

A cup of whole milk has 150 calories, and that is definitely fairly high. But 1% milk, which is just a step above skim and seems like a lower calorie option, still has 110 calories. That makes 1% milk higher calorie than Coca-Cola.  Coke has 140 calories per 12 ounces, and 12 ounces of 1% milk would equal about 165 calories. 

1. Meatless Burgers Are Higher in Saturated Fat and Sodium Than Beef

Meatless burgers continue to struggle to find their place in the market with some degree of success. When Impossible burgers first appeared they were a bit of a fad and their popularity has since declined. 

Part of the problem with meatless burgers is that they’re not necessarily a healthy alternative to meat. They may meet people’s moral requirements, but their nutrition is a mixed bag. You can get good protein and vitamins from a meatless burger, but also a lot of saturated fat. Both Impossible Burgers and Beyond Meat burgers have more saturated fat than just regular ground beef. They also have four to five times the sodium.

Meatless burgers are not advertised as healthier than real meat necessarily, but they benefit from that perception and don’t actively try to convince consumers of the alternative, either. It’s kind of like how sugary cereals can say they’re part of a complete breakfast without acknowledging that you need a lot of extra nutrition to make that claim true. It’s not a lie, it’s just an omission. 

There’s also the fact that, with all the processing that goes into a meatless burger, they may not actually be all that good for the environment when compared to real beef, either.

Fashion is an artistic form of self-expression, and like any art form, it is constantly evolving and branching in new directions. Of course, if you take enough directions, some will lead to strange places. This is certainly true in fashion, where there have been many questionable trends over the years. And though most of them are baffling but harmless, a few have been downright dangerous. And more often than not—at least in Western society where it is mostly pushed on women—those dangerous fashions trends are left to the ladies. 

From deadly chemicals to radiation to the breaking and removing of bones, women have had to endure some seriously unsafe practices to meet shifting social standards. Here are ten of the most dangerous fashion trends that women, somehow, participated in.

10 Lead, Arsenic, & Mercury—Oh My

Though we named three of the big ones, we could easily have included more, like turpentine, formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens, and more. Over the millennia, there has been no shortage of deadly chemicals used in beauty products. Women have literally been poisoning themselves for beauty for as long as there has been fashion.

The examples are too numerous to list. Among them are: 

• Arsenic pads, which were used to pale the complexion (they worked by killing the red blood cells under the skin).
• Lead powder, which was used to create the signature Baroque white face.
• Scheele’s green, a vibrant green dye made from arsenic that caused cancer after repeated use.
• Mercury-treated hats which caused neurological disorders and are the reason we’ve all heard the phrase “mad as a hatter.”

9 Neck Rings

Neck rings have emerged independently in several civilizations, ranging across Africa and Asia. The process entails covering the neck of a growing girl with metal rings and adding more rings as she grows (or winding the single metal ring another turn). They add even more rings if any gap or looseness emerges between rings. This theoretically lengthens the neck, thereby increasing the women’s beauty. The problem is, the neck doesn’t actually elongate at all.

In reality, the heavy discs and their dense arrangement push down on the clavicle and ribs with enough force to warp them, bending them unnaturally far down. This warping can lead to many health risks, including circulation and clotting issues as the soft tissues are subjected to bones in irregular places. Worse, in some cultures girls can choose to forego rings during childhood and instead start as a preteen, taking on extra rings to catch up. Accelerating the process of bone deformation is certain to be unpleasant and unhealthy.

8 DIY Piercings

Even though piercings are intentionally inflicted stab wounds, which should make any sane human think “a professional should do this”, many try to perform their own piercings at home. The proliferation of DIY at-home piercing kits online has made this option even more enticing for thrifty dummies.

There are a number of dangers when stabbing yourself at home, the most common of which is infection. Professional piercing locations have to meet an array of standards to prevent infection risk, but no one’s home does. Professionals wear gloves, sterilize their tools and room, sterilize the piercing site, and train to make sure they’re competent. None of that is guaranteed at home, where lack of training and sterility could even lead to disease transmission if done improperly enough.

7 Tho-Radia

In the 1920s and 30s, there was a fashion craze built around radioactive products. Scientists had just discovered radioactive elements in the previous decades, and to the ignorant public, they were just new materials that contained energy. The buzzword was enough to launch a craze, and suddenly thorium and radium were everywhere.

One such line of cosmetics was named Tho-Radia because it contained both thorium and radium. The line included face creams, lipsticks, soaps, and even soft drinks, all of which were marketed as miracle products whose mysterious energetic properties could cure anything from aching bones to crow’s feet. Obviously, the products did not work quite as expected, and instead, an entire generation of women saw its cancer rate skyrocket.

6 High Heels

Of course, high heels aren’t as dangerous to the wearer as many of the other items on this list. But what they lack in imminent danger to one person makes up for in gradual, insidious danger to millions. And some high heels of the past, taller than today’s standard, were a lot less gradual.

Repeated use of high heels, even the modern variety, literally reshapes the Achilles tendon and calf to fit the foot’s new angle. This puts stress on the knees, hips, and back as they try to adapt to an inhuman gait, causing osteoarthritis, stress fractures, and more. On top of that, some historical high heels, like eighteen-century chopines, were much taller, looking like creepy, alien monoliths with foot-straps.

5 Corsets

Somehow corsets have existed, and been in widespread use, for hundreds of years. The idea is simple enough: cinch a fabric frame around the torso in order to thin the waist, with the added bonus of raising the breasts and widening the hips. And corsets work, but they also put enough pressure on the torso for enough time to deform and damage your organs.

Corsets have been shown to deform the bowels, causing painful blockages; deform the lungs, opening them up to infections; and even kill. There are multiple recorded cases of corsets killing their wearers, either by slowly suffocating them or, as in the infamous case of Mary Halliday, pushing hard enough into the torso to pierce the heart.

4 Crinoline

One of the most famous fashion trends of the Victorian era was the hoop skirt, the wide, flowing, circular skirt that gave Victorian women their signature big-bottom-tiny-top look. The skirts were able to hold their prodigious size because they were supported by cages known as crinolines. Also, because of crinolines, hoop skirts killed thousands of women.

The dangers of crinoline were twofold. First, it was an extremely flammable material. Second, the shape it created widened the skirts to an unreasonably large scale, making it hard to manage and therefore susceptible to getting caught in or brushing against things it shouldn’t— namely fire. Many Victorian-era women caught fire or were caught by machinery or wagon wheels. Reports vary, but all place the death toll from these unwieldy, flammable skirts in the thousands.

3 Foot Binding

Foot binding was a Chinese practice in which young girls had the bones in their feet broken and wrapped tightly in order to reform them to a new shape, generally a smaller, pointier one. The process began with systematically breaking each of the toes and tucking them under the foot, followed by breaking the foot’s arch and binding it in the desired shape.

Toenails tended to in-grow during the procedure, which caused infection and often led to toes falling off completely. Even more painful to think about, this was considered a bonus. Without the toes, the feet could be bound into even smaller profiles. As unbelievable as this practice was, what is even more so is that it lasted for around 1,000 years. By the height of its popularity in the 1800s, most women in China all had bound, disfigured feet.

2 Heroin Chic

Thinness has been a major part of fashion for most cultures and for centuries. Most women can tell you about their struggle with chasing the ever-shifting bar of the ideal feminine form. The 90s, however, grabbed the bar and flung it down a dark, grimy alley with the trend known as ‘heroin chic.’

Heroin chic, as its name applies, was the implied glamorization of heroin use, specifically the skeletal thinness that heroin users tend to accrue. That and the dark eye bags and pallid skin that come from overall poor health. Pictures promoting the look tended to show their models dazed, unsmiling, laying against walls or in alleys. The culmination of the trend came when photographer Davide Sorrenti, one of its chief purveyors, himself died of heroin use.

1 Rib Removal

As hard as it is to believe that there have been people willing to remove entire bones in their quest for beauty, it’s even harder to believe that the practice is a modern one. Yes, there are people out there—right now—who have elected to remove two, four, or even six ribs just to thin their waist. For many, the idea is to look like Barbie or cartoon characters.

The cost for that cartoonishly small waist is firstly an invasive surgery. There are inherent risks with any surgery, like infection and internal bleeding, and most doctors will tell you that it is generally only used as a final option. Another danger is that the loss of ribs increases the likelihood of significant organ damage; the ribs are, after all, there specifically to keep your lungs and other vital organs safe upon impact. Without their hard framework, the risk of a collapsed lung is greater than ever.