Do you like to eat junk food? If you are like me, then you like them very much. Most of them are very tasty and it is really hard to resist them. They are found almost everywhere. But eating excessive junk foods is a food habit that you should really get rid of as early as possible. Why? Before knowing why you should avoid them you should understand what foods can be classified as junk foods.
What are Junk foods?
The foods which have little or no nutrient value can be classified as junk foods. These foods contain very low amount of vitamin, mineral and protein but high amount of calories from fat or sugar. Generally they are highly processed and contain higher amount of fat, sugar, salt and lower amount of fiber. Some of them also contain preservatives and artificial colors. Some popular and well known junk foods are: fast foods, potato crisps, french fries, sauces, salted snacks, chips, very sweet dessert items and carbonated beverage items.
Some Junk Food Facts:
You need to know some facts to understand whether these kinds of foods are good or bad for us. Without giving you some facts it would not be easy for me to make you understand the effects of eating these kinds of foods. Now, let’s know some facts about junk foods.
- Artificial colors and preservatives: Many junk foods contain artificial color and preservatives which do no good for our body, rather they act like poison. Sweden’s National Food Administration is a government food safety agency. With their cooperation a research was carried out at Stockholm University. The research showed that baking or frying carbohydrate-rich foods, such as potatoes or cereals, formed acrylamide. International Agency for Research on Cancer, found that acrylamide induces gene mutations. It is also known to cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous system.
- Lower amount of nutrients: Most of the junk foods have very low nutritional ingredients like protein, vitamin and minerals rather they contain higher amount of fats, sugar, salt. They are also very low in fiber.By eating too much junk food we are giving our body only carbohydrate and depriving it from the other nutrients. Therefore, in return our body will also deprive us from a healthy physical condition.
- Higher potential of suffering from health problems: If you are habituated to eat junk foods almost everyday or very regularly you are sure to be an overweight or obese person unless you do a good amount of physical work everyday. There is absolutely no doubt about that. This overweight or obesity will lead you to some serious health problems like heart diseases, joint problems, high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes. Besides those serious problems they are also responsible for faster tooth decay, constipation, problems related to digestion and tiredness.
- Junk foods are a real threat for the children and younger age groups: If your children eat too much junk foods, then you should really control their food habit. Because if they eat too much junk food they will eat fewer amount of nutrient foods. This in turn will not ensure proper nutrition for their proper growth and they will suffer from tooth decay, loose bones and gaining overweight in earlier ages of their lives. Junk foods contribute lack of enthusiasm, headaches, tummy aches and poor concentrations to children.
In context of the above mentioned facts I think I will be safe to say that, junk foods are bad for our health. My dear friends, I know it will be hard for many people to eliminate junk foods from the daily food list. For our busy daily routines many of us have become so much dependent on them that they would not try to think about not eating these foods. Most of them are easily available and easy to carry. But, considering the side effects you should at least take some fewer amounts of them from now on. Junk foods act like slow poison in our body. It is hard for you to feel the negative effects of junk foods overnight. But, if they are in your food list almost everyday or very regularly then you will definitely observe some negative effects on your body. Only the time to observe the effects may vary from person to person. Therefore it is up to you to make the choice. I hope you will do the best for your body.