We should eat healthy food and not junk food because it is harmful to health and can lead to many diseases if we eat it every day.
Junk food is defined as processed foods with few nutrients and high sugar, salt, oil, and fat content. By junk food, it means all those foods and foodstuff that are excessively high, contain harmful substances and can interfere with one's healthy lifestyle.
Junk or fast foods are more popular than healthy foods because they are less expensive, are readily available at markets, appeal to consumers, particularly children’s, with their visual appearance, and are convenient to take you anywhere and eat, this is the reason they are more preferred by people.
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What is junk food?
Junk foods are processed foods with high-calorie content. These foods are prepared to be appealing and enjoyable to look at and are chemically programmed to make you crave more.
"Junk foods" are commercial products that have little or no nutritional value but are high in calories, salt, and fats. Examples include salted fried fast food, oily snack foods, sugary desserts, candy, gum, and sweetened carbonated beverages.
Although not all fast foods are junk foods, a large number of them are. For example, a salad may be fast food, but it is not junk food. For example, burgers, pizzas, and tacos might alternate between junk and healthy categories depending on the ingredients, calories, and manufacturing process.
Chocolate and sweets, pizza, chocolates, donuts, noodles, cakes and biscuits, snacks (such as chips), sugary drinks, etc. are some of the types of junk foods.
Why are junk foods bad for you?
Junk food consumption frequently can lead to increased intake of excess fat, processed sugar, and simple carbohydrates, potentially increasing the risk of obesity, heart disease, and other chronic health problems. Obesity can develop as a result of clogging the arteries and become the basis for an impending heart attack.
It's also been hypothesized that eating junk food has the same effect on the brain as taking addictive drugs. Junk food addiction can lead to the refusal of healthier dietary choices such as vegetables, fruits, grains, and salads, resulting in greater malnutrition.
An addiction to junk food may even result in rejection of healthier food options like fruits, vegetables, legumes or beans, salads, milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. leading to further lack of nourishment.
How can we avoid junk food?
So, what people around you eat inspires you, such as your friends and family, as well as where you live, such as if you live in a hostel, your chances of eating junk food rise. Even if you go to the market, your chances of eating junk food increase due to the craving, and you cannot control yourself from eating junk food. So the question is how to control yourself from eating junk food?
10 reasons why you need to stop eating junk food:
Here are some of the harmful effects of junk food, as well as reasons why we should eat healthy food and not junk food, let’s check them.
- Fast food is the leading cause of obesity which contributes to the obesity pandemic. It provides extra calories to the body, which leads to an increase in body weight.
- Your insulin levels raise when you consume processed sugars and other foods that lack fibre and nutrients needed to adequately digest carbohydrates, which can lead to diabetes.
- High sodium levels are a defining characteristic of many junk/fast foods and are one of the factors contributing to excessive salt consumption, which may lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney and liver disease.
- It can cause digestive issues such as irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, bloating, and excess gas.
- According to studies, the more junk food we eat, the more likely, we are to get depressed. This is especially in the case of teenagers, who are more susceptible to hormonal changes that can be influenced significantly by their diet.
- Junk foods become sources of empty calories, processing that removes vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fibre. Nutritional deficiencies in children who eat a lot of junk/fast food can contribute to low energy, sleep disturbances, mood swings, and poor academic performance.
- Consuming junk food increases blood pressure, blood sugar, and bad cholesterol levels, as well as frequent consumption of junk food, has a negative effect on the enamel of your teeth.
- It is high in harmful fats, which raise levels of bad cholesterol which can cause heart diseases.
- It can stimulate the reward system in the brain, by which we can be addictive for them.
- Low in quality ingredients, artificial trans-fats fats, stale food and different types of foodstuff can very harmful to our health. The junk food that you eat dreadfully affects the enamel of your teeth in the long run.
Tips to stay away from junk food:
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle by getting enough sleep, exercising, and avoiding stress.
- Early in the day, the more healthy foods you eat, the less inclined you are to eat junk food later in the day, so start your day with a healthy morning breakfast.
- Buy only healthy items, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, lean meats, milk, and whole grains, and keep unhealthy food out of your house.
- Plan your breakfast, lunch, and dinner to include protein-rich foods and healthy fats.
- If your routine is according to the office or workplace, then you can take your breakfast and meal from home.
- Fruit juice can be substituted for soft drinks or ice cream. Likewise, you have to find a substitute for other foods in case you attain any party or take a meal at the restaurant.
- You must always know the harmful effects of fast food on health and don't become accustomed to it.
- Enjoy your home-cooked healthy diet, which includes all of the essential nutrients such as carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals that the body requires to stay healthy.
What happens if you eat junk food every day?
If we eat every day, we can become addicted to it, which can lead to a variety of diseases. So, if you want to avoid health concerns, you can eat it once a week or once a month, but you should avoid eating junk food daily.
References:
- Wikipedia contributors. (2022, January 20). Junk food. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Available Here
- What are the Harmful Effects of Eating Junk Food? – ICICI Lombard (March 01 2018) Available Here
- Narayanan, S. (2015, September 8). Why we should not eat junk food. Speakingtree.in. Avalable Here
- The bad effects of eating junk food: How to change your diet. Southbank Medical Centre. (2021, October 19). Available Here
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