Junk Food

Junk Food – the easy way out; unless you really love to cook and plan and prepare your meals, you can quickly fall victim to Fast Food. I bet something like this has happened to you too (not to often, I hope): Saturday – a day to relax. You are driving home from shopping (which, of course, took longer than planned) and do not have enough time left before you need to take your kids to their training, so you pick up some pizzas on the way home. And after you pick up the kids, the story repeats – you’re tired, so you pick up some fast food on the way home again…

Problems with Junk Food:

So, why is fast food called junk food? Why is it bad for your health? Does it not contain all the nutrients your body needs – like proteins (needed for growth and repair), fats (energy storage and vital for some body processes), carbs (energy), vitamins and minerals (for body systems to function correctly), fiber & ballast (helps digestion) and of course, water. Perhaps you will be surprised, but the answer is yes. A hamburger, for example, contains all the nutrients listed above – meat contains proteins, minerals and fat, bun provides carbs, salad that comes with it provides fiber, vitamins and minerals. The problem is, while the hamburger does contain all the needed nutrients, what is wrong are quantities: junk food contains way too much fat and carbs and very little fiber, vitamins and minerals.

You can have a fast food meal every once in a while, but you need to compensate it with your next meal, which should consist of plenty of vegetables cooked lightly or eaten raw – this way you vill not destroy the vitamins and you will also get plenty of fiber and minerals. And if you must eat between meals, eat fruit or vegetables.

Another problem with junk food is additives. The most basic additive – salt – improves flavor of food, so there is plenty of salt in all processed food (ever eaten a bag or two of chips and were surprised why you feel so thirsty?). A little salt is OK, your body needs small quantities of sodium, but too much salt increases blood pressure and leads to heart diseases. Preservatives and flavor enhancers are another issue – they are supposedly safe, but only in small quantities. In reality, they might cause great harm to your body.

What else does your body need?

Besides eating a healthy and well ballanced diet with as little junk food as you can, antioxidants are also important. They help prevent damage to your cells and reduce the risk of cancer. A good source of antioxidants is tea – the unprocessed pure organic

teas like Green tea or Oolong are the best. Consider switching from drinking coffee to drinking tea. Also, green tea inhibits absorption of cholesterol, and with a diet an average person has theese days, the risk of having a high cholesterol level is real, so tea is helpful here also.

Summary:

You can enjoy the odd hamburger or other junk food now and then, but remember to compensate that food with healthier meals. Switch from coffee to tea – green tea preferably. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables – this is also true for snacks inbetween meals.
Another thing you can do to avoid not having enough time to cook a healthy meal: when you cook, make plenty of extra food and freeze it. This way, when you do not have time to cook, just get the meals out of the freezer and in minutes you will have a great tasting and healthy meal and guess what: it’s even faster than fast food!