What is a Junk Food?
Any food that has poor nutritional value is considered unhealthy and may be called a junk food. A food that is high in fat, sodium, and/or sugar is known as a junk food. Junk food is easy to carry, purchase and consume. Generally, a junk food is given a very attractive appearance by adding food additives and colors to enhance flavor, texture, appearance, and increasing long shelf life.
A junk food has little enzyme producing vitamins & minerals and contains high level of calories. When we eat these empty calorie foods, the body is required to produce its own enzymes to convert these empty calories into usable energy. This is not desired as these enzyme producing functions in our body should be reserved for the performance of vital metabolic reactions.
Remember, junk foods are empty calories. An empty calorie lacks in micro- nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, or amino acids, and fiber but has high energy (calories).
Since junk food is high in fats and sugars, it is responsible for obesity, dental cavities, Type 2 diabetes and heart diseases.
List of Junk Foods
Given below is a list of junk food (empty calorie) items that you should avoid. It is now up to you how you can keep your four trillion cells happy.
Sugars, Refined foods, like sugar and plain flour (maida) based items like white bread and most packaged goods, like Twinkies and sugar donuts, etc. (Sugar Substitutes)Our body eventually turns sugars into fat. If you consume just 3 tsp of sugar daily, imagine how much sugar you would have consumed by the time you are 50 years of age; it will be about 275 kg !, about 5 time your weight !!
Fats & Hydrogenated oils: They are found in cookies, chips, candy bars, fried foods, muffins, bologna, etc. etc. Many snacks, such as potato chips, cheeseburgers and fries, have high levels of fat, sugar or salt-ingredients that are usually best limited to a small portion of your diet. The saturated fat mainly comes from animal products. Remember there is nothing that is useful for our body in foods with hydrogenated or trans fat. The excessive fats stick to our arteries and cause the blockages leading to heart disease and strokes. They can also aid to cancer, arthritis, PMS and sexual dysfunction. Some fats like Omega-3 fatty acids are good for our bodies.
Salt: Excessive salt is not good for our body (Daily Salt Recommendation). However, sodium in moderate amount, along with potassium, maintains the water balance in our body. But too much sodium can cause high blood pressure. Pretzels, chips and many canned food items contain excessive salt. (a href="/nutrition/high-sodium.html">High sodium food list)
Children and Junk Food
Children find themselves amidst a complex society that is undergoing breathtaking changes. Concepts, relationships, lifestyles are metamorphosised to accommodate the new jet-setting age. Food is no exception. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by the new food mantra - JUNK FOOD! Junk food comprises of anything that is quick, tasty, convenient and fashionable. It seems to have engulfed every age; every race and the newest entrants are children. Wafers, colas, pizzas and burgers are suddenly the most important thing. The commonest scenario is a child who returns from school and plunks himself in front of the television, faithfully accompanied by a bowl of wafers and a can of cola. Children suddenly seem to have stepped into a world of fast foods and vending machines, totally unaware of the havoc they are creating for themselves.
The years between 6-12 are a time of steady growth; good nutrition is a high priority. Children must know that what they eat affects how they grow, feel and behave. Changes our society have intensified the need for food skills, to the extent that they need to become a part of the child's basic education for good health and survival. The vast majority of working mothers with school age children are labored with exhausting commutes, upswings in the households, and stress, leading to a situation where parents get to spend limited time with their children. Traditional food skills are not passed on automatically from parent to child. Most people have forgotten that the primary reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so distant past, food was treated with reverence because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal was sharing experience with the others. Today family dinners are rare. In many ways, our culture is structured to foster poor eating habits. Television commercials and supermarkets are propagating a wide variety of enticing junk foods, attractively packaged and often tagged with a tempting sop. We should be constructing an environment that protects our children. Instead we have a highly seductive environment that undermines eating habits. For children who have less vision of the heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure or diabetes that might befall them decades later, the tentacles of a junk food environment are virtually inescapable. Studies reveal that as early as the age of 30, arteries could beginning clogging and lay the groundwork for future heart attacks. What children eat from puberty affects their risks of prostate and breast cancer. Osteoporosis and hypertension are other diseases that appear to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially vulnerable.
Poor diets can slow growth, decay new teeth, promote obesity and sow the seeds of infirmity and debilitating disease that ultimately lead to incurable disease and death or worse make life insufferable. Most of the times these junk foods contain colors that are laced with colors, those are often inedible, carcinogenic and harmful to the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, the effects of it emerging after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause hyperactivity and lapses of concentration in children. Children suffering from Learning Disabilities are often advised against eating food with artificial coloring. Chocolates, colas, flavored drinks and snack tit bits are full of artificial coloring. Not surprisingly, junk food not only has physiological repercussions, but also psychological ones - far reaching ones that affect the child's intellect and personalities. Coping intelligently with their dietary needs increases their self-esteem, and encourages further discovery. School days are full of educational challenges that require long attention spans and stamina. Poor nutritional habits can undermine these pre-requisites of learning, as well as sap the strength that children need for making friends, interacting with family, participating in sports and games or simply feeling god about themselves. Junk foods are often eaten in instead of regular food, an essential Indian diet that consists of wholesome chapatis and vegetables or snacks like upmas and idlis. Not surprisingly eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally, as the feeling of satiation and contentment that comes after a wholesome meal is absent. There is simply no substitute for the feeling that descends, when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world and this primarily stems from GOOD HEALTH! There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for nurturing our children and endowing them with a legacy of good health.
Teenagers comprise the higher bulk of junk food fanatics with a lifestyle of munching in chips, fries, pizzas, burgers, samosas, kachoris, ice cream, chocolates, shakes and other snack foods.
Here are some facts about our food habits that you probably were not aware of.
1. According to the latest NSSO survey released by the Delhi government, Delhiites spend Rs 371, on an average, processed food and beverages per month. They spend Rs 290 on vegetables and around one-third of it on fruits.
2. The rest of urban India spends Rs 384 per month on processed food and Rs 290 on vegetables.
3. Rural India spends Rs 264 on junk and processed food and Rs 284 on vegetables.
Doctors say:
The earlier you start a regular diet of wholegrains, fruits and vegetables, the better it is for your health. It has been proved that these things protect against multiple diseases, like cancer, heart attack and blood pressure.
The per capita consumption of fruits and vegetables in India remains as low as 130 grams per day. Even the Chinese consume 300 grams to 350 grams of fruits and vegetables per day.
Research shows the main inhibiting factor is the high costs.
American Junk Food List
There is a huge ado about the American fast food joints, which have remarkably spread their branches all over the world. As a result, it becomes obvious to make a special list of the American junk food. Well, here is a list of junk foods, which are high in trans fats and calories, which make them unhealthy if consumed on a regular basis.
- Arby's Apple Turnover
- Arby's Cherry Turnover
- Arby's Cinnamon Twist
- A&W Papa Burger
- A&W Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger
- A&W Original Double Cheeseburger
- A&W Fries (Chili Cheese, Cheese, Chili, Kids Fries, Large Fries, etc.)
- A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich
- Boston Market Chocolate Cake
- Boston Market Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie
- Burger King Hash Browns
- Burger King French Fries
- Burger King Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
- Burger King Ham, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
- Burger King Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
- Burger King BK Chicken Fries
- Burger King Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
- Burger King Cini-minis
- Dairy Queen Chicken Strip
- Dairy Queen Onion Rings
- Dairy Queen Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
- Dairy Queen Flamethrower Grillburger
- Domino's Garlic Dipping Sauce
- Jack in the Box Fish & Chips
- Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
- Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries
- Jack in the Box Onion Rings
- Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries
- Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Biscuit
- Jack in the Box Sampler Trio
- Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Bites
- Jack in the Box Plain Chicken Biscuit
- Jack in the Box Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
- Jack in the Box Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
- Jack in the Box Original French Toast Sticks
- Jack in the Box Sausage Biscuit
- Jack in the Box Sourdough Ultimate Cheeseburger
- Jack in the Box Stuffed Jalapeños
- Jack in the Box Blueberry French Toast Sticks
- Jack in the Box Sausage Croissant
- KFC Chicken and Biscuit Bowl
- KFC Chicken Pot Pie
- McDonald's French Fries
- McDonald's Baked Apple Pie
- McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips
- McDonald's Hotcakes (2 pats margarine & syrup)
- Sonic French Toast Sticks
- White Castle French Fries
- White Castle Onion Chips
- White Castle Clam Strips
- White Castle Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
- White Castle Fish Nibblers
- White Castle Chicken Rings
- White Castle Hot Chocolate
- White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings
- White Castle Fish Nibblers
Does this mean that the foods which are not in the list of junk food are healthy and safe for us? Well, no. As a part of a healthy diet, one must always make sure to stay away from these things and purposefully make some healthy choices. What are these healthy choices? Well, at first, get out of the misconception that there is no such thing as a 'healthy fast food'! There are a few 'junk' food items, which are healthy and tasty!
