Is there a need to stop eating junk food? Why? If so, how to stop eating junk food and eliminate it in your diet?
If you are a big fan of potato chips and the likes, you might consider finding out the reason and some strategies of getting rid of junk food in your diet.
We’ve all been told that junk food is awful for us. But since it tastes so darn good, the majority of us keep eating it.
Subsequently, fruits and vegetables can’t beat the taste of fries, correct?
Wrong!
Pretty much as the name suggests junk food is junk. Junk food is packed of calories that do absolutely nothing for your body. These are called empty calories because they have no or very little nutritional value.
The truth is that most of these calories come from sugar and fats and they will do nothing but increase weight and body fat.
Junk food can also cause you to retain water which will make you feel bloated and sluggish. This causes you to feel tired instead of having the energy to get up and move around.
The long-term effects of eating junk food can be dangerous from causing you to be overweight to triggering the clogging of arteries that leads to heart attack.
Why do individuals love junk food? The truth is that our brains have very positive responses to fatty and sugary foods.
The truth is that our brains have very positive responses to fatty and sugary foods.
It prompts “feel good” hormones in the brain that actually mimic the effects of powerful addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. It is no wonder that we need them.
How many people have cravings for spinach?
Be that as it may, desires for ice cream, chips, soda, and cookies are a whole other matter. In order to overcome these perilous food addictions, you must retrain your body, change old habits and change tastes. It takes time and effort, but, it can be done.
Not just the fruit and vegetables are among the tastiest natural and healthiest foods on the planet, but junk food is also the lowest common denominator.
It might tempt you with its rock ’n’ roll swagger, but junk food offers absolutely no vital nutrients and zero health benefits.
Is it really worth taking a chance with your health and possibly enduring chronic disease as a result?
Why Eating Junk Food is Bad for your Health?
Here are 10 reasons why you should finish eating it:
Junk Food Is Linked To Diabetes
Diabetes is caused when the pancreas becomes so under siege that it can no longer produce adequate amounts of insulin.
Insulin is the hormone that turns sugar into fuel, and as experts point out, junk food is loaded with unnatural sugars that can lead to type-2 diabetes that unfortunately can result in serious complications and premature death.
Junk Food Causes Digestive Issues
For all intents and purposes, everyone on the planet will encounter digestive issues at some time or another. Among these issues are irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, bloating and excess gas.
Nevertheless, some complain that they suffer from digestive issues all the time, and the reason behind this could be that they eat too much junk.
Junk food is full of oil, sugar, trans fats and chemicals that wreak havoc on your stomach. In addition, once your stomach is irritated, your digestive system goes out of whack.
Junk Food Causes Brain Fog
Numerous individuals simply accept that only our bellies, thighs, and double chins are affected by a poor diet. However, fats don’t just make their way to your protruding belly – they also attack your brain.
When bad fats – such as those found in junk food – reach your brain, they cause brain fog, which is that feeling you get when you can’t focus on anything.
Junk Food Causes Fatigue
Junk food contains very few nutrients, vitamins and protein, all of which are essential for an energized you who seizes the day.
If you live on junk food alone, you’re going to struggle to do anything at optimum power. You’ll largely feel sluggish and run down.
Junk Food Is Linked With Depression among Teenagers
In the United States, one in three teens eating junk food each day. And on top of the deterrent to their physical health, it is likewise imperative to consider what effect junk is having on their mental well-being.
Research has shown that the more junk food we eat, the more we are prone to depression. This is especially the case for teenagers because they are more susceptible to hormonal changes, which can be enormously affected by their diet.
Junk Food Can Cause Elevated Blood Sugar Levels
Junk food is rich in sugar, which puts a strain on the metabolism. Moreover, because it’s low in carbs and protein, your blood sugar levels are more at risk of dropping when you stop eating.
This can make you feel moody and make you want to eat even more junk food.
Junk Food Can Increase Your Risk of Heart Disease
Coronary illness is in fact truly terrifying. However, there are preventative measures we can take to ensure we don’t struggle with it later on in life.
Staying away from junk food is one such strategy because such food is rich in bad fats that increase your bad cholesterol levels. And in turn, encourage plaque to form and heart disease to develop.
Junk Food Can Damage Your Liver
Once your liver becomes overloaded with all the junk you’re tossing at it, it will surely let you know. You’ll feel sluggish, stressed, irritable, and you may develop headaches, skin conditions and a whole lot more.
Junk food has been linked to liver disease on more than one occasion, and it turns out that it can be just as bad for your most overworked organ as alcohol.
Junk Food Increases Your Risk of Cancer
The main reason behind the connection between certain foods and cancer is a lack of fiber. Moreover, junk food is low in mostly everything that’s good for you – including fiber.
Junk Food Is Linked To Kidney Damage
Fries are soaked in finely processed salt. When combined with a fatty, greasy hamburger, you’re essentially double downing on kidney disease, which comes about when too much salt increases blood pressure on a consistent basis.
Now that you know the reasons for eliminating junk food in your diet let us proceed on some ways to remove junk food from your food routine.
How to Eliminate Junk Food from Your Diet?
Did you know that there are thousands of fitness conscious people who NEVER touch any junk food? Yes, it’s really true!
Removing junk food from your diet is an important way to become proactive when it comes to your health.
Now, going back to the question, how to get rid of junk food from your diet?
It starts with some common sense or sound judgment.
Numerous individuals say that it is less expensive to eat junk food than it is to eat healthy food. On the other hand, perhaps, they use the excuse that they just don’t like the way healthy food tastes.
To start, you will have to reprogram your taste buds to get used to eating healthy foods. You have been eating junk food all of your life, this is what your body is used to and what it will crave. But it is up to you to retrain your body and your mind to yearn for healthy foods.
It is not cheaper to eat junk food!
Let’s forget about the fact that you will save thousands on medical bills by eating healthy and we should look at what you are spending right now.
Potato Chips versus Oranges
A bag of potato chips costs about $3.99 this will usually last a family of four one day, if that long.
Now let’s look at a bag of oranges. One bag of oranges costs about $4 on average.
When you buy a bag of oranges you will get 8-10 oranges. This can make as many as 16 snacks which can last up to four days for a family of four.
Now you have to look at which you would rather your family or yourself eat.
Potato chips are loaded with fat, salt and a lot of calories. 1 ounce of Lays plain chips has 160 calories, 1 grams of fat and 170 grams of sodium (7% of daily allowance).
An orange has 0 fat, 0 salt, and only 45 calories. Plus, it’s loaded with essential nutrients, like vitamin C (a whopping 85% of the daily recommended allowance), plus potassium and fiber.
When eating a bag of potato chips you may be watching television, letting all of that fat attach itself to your body, but, when you eat that orange, you are energized simply by the smell of it.
What’s more, this is just one example of how junk food compares to healthier options. Next time, you go to the market and do some comparison shopping. From there, you will see that the prices of healthy food are not so different from junk food.
There are also plenty of healthier snack options available that can fill kid’s lunch boxes with healthier alternatives.
Planning
It may take some planning when you are removing junk food from your diet, but, it is possible to eat healthy on the same budget you have at this moment.
Healthier Replacements for Junk food
When you remove junk food from your diet you will find that you suffer from cravings.
Here are a few substitutions you can use to get past the cravings.
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A square of dark chocolate instead of a chocolate candy bar
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Unsalted pretzels or no butter popcorn instead of chips
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Baked vegetable strips instead of chips
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Raw nuts instead of chips for a crunchy snack
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Plain yogurt with fruit, honey, or nuts instead of ice cream
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Flavored sparkling water instead of soda
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Fresh fruit instead of cake and cookies
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Raisins instead of candy
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Cherries instead of candy
Substituting In Recipes
There are also ways that you can alter your favorite recipes to create a healthier version. For instance, as opposed to utilizing using butter in your cakes and cookies you can create a healthier version by substituting the butter with apple sauce.
You can also use non-fat plain yogurt rather than sour cream or mayonnaise. If you are a real lover of mayonnaise then try replacing it with avocado on your sandwiches. It has the same texture and you never miss the empty calories of the mayonnaise.
These are only a couple of things that you can do to get rid of the junk food from your eating regimen. There are so many different choices that you can do.
Be that as it may, rest assured it is possible to remove the junk food from your diet and replace it with much healthier alternatives. This will guarantee your good health and the health of your family.
I’m cutting junk food too. This is a nice article to be more motivated.