Junk Food's So Tasty, But Where Is It Leading Me?
Junk food refers to fast foods which are easy to make and easy to consume. They are zero in nutritional value .They have only fats lying in it causing ill effects on the health of the consumer. The taste is the most attractive feature in junk foods. But is there at least little use of junk food to our body and health. Find out the harmful effects of junk food to our body.This article covers
Dangerous Foods
I hear a lot about "junk foods", but I'm not always sure what's included in that definition.
Junk foods aren't just candy, potato chips, cookies, crackers, soft drinks and French fries. They're also processed and over-processed foods found in the supermarket, often wrapped in cellophane. When you read the labels, you find that salt and sugar are high on the list of ingredients. Even a jar of spaghetti sauce may qualify as a junk food if it's high in oil, salt and preservatives.
I encourage you to make every effort to serve whole foods (foods as they appear in nature), such as fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains. Whole foods that haven't had the vitamins and nutrients processed out of them are much better for you than microwave dinners and potato chips.
This is a good time to mention those very common junk foods, soft drinks. It's hard to walk more than a few steps without bumping into someone who has a cola can in their hand. The truth is that soft drinks are nothing but gassy, flavored sugar water. To make things worse, they don't even quench thirst because the body loses liquid trying to digest the sugar. Furthermore, these drinks contain phosphoric acid which robs the body of calcium and is caustic enough to clean metal!
The one-calorie varieties are no better, and in some ways may be even worse for you. Artificial sweeteners were never intended to be ingested in the large amounts we find in our foods today. I would rather a child have a little sugar than an artificial sweetener.
So soft drinks really do rate as liquid junk foods. They contain unhealthy amounts of sugar or sweetener, phosphoric acid and gas. They offer only very low levels of nutrients and can actually make you thirstier. Keep them out of your child!
Instead of soft drinks, offer interesting fruit or vegetable juice combinations. Whenever possible, use your kitchen juicer and encourage your children to help you think up new ways to combine fruits. Always dilute fruit juices with an equal amount of water. For a special treat, you can add naturally-sparkling mineral water. The 50-50 dilution of the juice with water will cut down on the amount of natural sugar your children get from the fruit. If you allow youngsters to drink pure fruit juice, you'll be very aware of the roller coaster effect sugar has on their emotions and behavior.
One more warning. If you read the labels, most fruit juice has words like 'cocktail" or "flavored" on the label. These juices have a high concentration of sugar syrup. Always look for natural juices and make certain that you dilute them just as you do the fresh juice.
Where your children are concerned, water or diluted natural fruit juice is always a better choice.
Why Fast Food is Dangerous To Your Health
Fast food success has drawn much attention to the industry and the food itself. Animal rights advocates and health buffs alike criticize fast food on its effect on the health of its customers and the health of the globe. Not only is fast food proven to be bad for the health because of its high fat content and the probable health hazards fast food chains are prone to, but also its effect on employment and agricultural concerns.
Fast food = Bad Eating Habits
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Fast food affinity is equated with bad eating habits. A typical meal from a fast food restaurant, say a serving of fries and a cheeseburger, amount to about 1,000 calories. This is about half of the recommended dietary allowance. This is mainly because of the large portions that fast foods are accustomed to serving. The tendency is for people to enlarge their appetites by eating beyond their limit, because of being afraid for the food to go to waste.
Fast food is everywhere. It is available from main commercial blocks to gas service stations. In short, it is available and accessible. This partnered with the biological propensity towards food high in fat and sugar, leads to widespread obesity.
A particular man filed a lawsuit in the United States against four fast food chains because, according to him, the fast foods’ greasy and salty food led him to being obese and unhealthy. Magnifying this issue, a documentary titled “Supersize Me” was created. This showed the life of a man who dined on fast food for an entire month. The result was tens of pounds gained.
Ultimately, dining regularly or almost totally on fast food will pose serious risks to one’s health. But it cannot be totally blamed for health problems. Mainly because it still rests on the person’s choice. There are plenty of fast food diners in perfect shape. The key is in moderation and smart choice.
Another issue in the fast food industry is the health hazards that fast food chains are prone to. A particular hazard is the E-coli bacteria that meat products are susceptible to. Because of the long supply chain through which fast food chains operate in, the handling and sourcing of the meat is very hard to monitor. This issue remains unsolved.
Employment and Agriculture Implications
Employment issues are also abundant in the fast food industry. Mainly because working in a fast food does not require a college diploma or reasonable career experience, fast foods employ teenagers as part-time crew and unskilled adults that accept low pay. There are widespread cases wherein workers were forced to work longer hours without pay.
The agriculture industry also suffers because of fast food chains. It has led to mass slaughters of cattle. Because fast food chains require so much meat and poultry, their demand leads them to make deals with large slaughter corporations. These deals and practices crowd out smaller businesses.
Fast food domination has several implications both for the health of individuals and for the health of the entire globe. Ultimately, people can exercise their power of choice responsibly. Be more conscious with what they eat and where their food came from. This is the starting point for a healthier lifestyle.
