This blog site is designed to assist and encourage clients using Body Breakthru's Weight Loss & Nutrition Coaching services. We are committed to helping you set and achieve your health and nutrition goals!

Monday, July 25, 2011

What are the HAZARDS of Eating Junk Foods?

Everyone eats junk food!  We all enjoy the different junk foods and feel good about it while we are eating them, but how often do we really consider the HAZARDS?  Let's take a look at what junk food really is and let's consider the long term consequences. 

Junk foods are simply speaking, UNHEALTHY FOODS with high calories that offer little, poor, or no nutritional value often referred to as:  EMPTY CALORIES.    Some examples are:
  • Potato Chips
  • Ice Cream
  • Candy (of all kinds) & Candy Bars
  • Soda Pop and Sugared Flavored Beverages
  • Sugared Cereals
  • French Fries
When we say the nutritional value is poor, this means that junk food contains very high fat, sugar, and other dangerous, disease producing and weight increasing substances like:  monosodium glutamate, and tartrazine.  If you can't pronounce the ingredients, this is usually a sign that the food is preserved and contains JUNK.  Our bodies need an abundance of fresh protein and junk foods normally contain less or sometimes NO proteins.  Vitamins and fiber are essential nutrients we should intake every single day.  Junk foods are devoid of vitamins, minerals, and fiber contained in fresh fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

Despite knowing the facts, we purchase these foods and eat them anyway.  Many times because it's inexpensive, we are on the go and just don't take the time to realize that these foods are actually draining us of our energy.  Junk foods are produced because the cost of manufacturing is low-due to little or no need for refrigeration, making profits high at our expense.  We buy them because it's easy, convenient, and requires little or no preparation, it's tasty (in most cases because of the sugar and highly addictive), and there are so many variations of it to choose from you never get bored with your food.  :)

But remember...eating junk foods increases the risk of poor health long term-particularly if you consume these foods on a regular, daily, or consistent basis.  Regular consumption of junk food leads to dental infections, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, digestive disorders, obesity and various heart diseases.  It also increases your cholesterol levels.  Consider the low cost now, but the high cost of health care later to treat these conditions. 

So...should you pay these companies to destroy your health or pay more now for fresher choices of food that improve your health?  The choice is yours!