Top 10 Reasons Why You Should Stop Eating Junk Food
Tanya is an ISSA certified Specialist in Fitness & Nutrition. She specializes in writing articles on ingredients that benefit skin, hair, and health. She believes in the right health and lifestyle practices and strives to promote the same to everyone around her.
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Burgers, French fries, donuts—need I go on? All these are definitely mouthwatering delights, but are they good for our health? Junk food gained popularity because they not only tasted great but were also cheaper than the healthier foods. Plus, they had better shelf life and were easily accessible too. However, things have changed. With healthy foods becoming accessible and tastier, why are we still indulging in junk food? Now you may ask why NOT?
The 10 Reasons Why You Should Stop Eating Junk Food:
There are endless reasons to stop eating junk food. I have listed the 10 best reasons. These should be enough to swear you off your yummy yet unhealthy eating habits!
1. Your Waistline Will Get A Boost:
According to a study that appeared in CBS News, children who indulge in junk food are known to gain 6 pounds more annually than non-junk food eaters. With the rate of obesity skyrocketing at an uncontrollable phase, you definitely need to stop junk food cravings.
2. Beware Of Saturated Fats And Trans Fats:
While saturated fats from pasteurized animal sources are acceptable, but saturated fats from other sources and trans fats are not good for you. Both these fat variants are known to cause various life threatening cardiovascular conditions, including stroke and atherosclerosis.
3. Sources Of Empty Nutrition:
Most junk foods contain zero nutritional value. They are nutrient-deprived, but are generally stuffed with various chemicals and additives that add to their shelf value. These chemicals may not decrease your lifespan, but they do no good for your health either.
4. Packed With Hormones And Antibiotics:
Many a time, these fast foods come packed with various types of chemicals and antibiotics. While certain dishes contain tertiary butylhydroquinone, a life taking hormone, others contain dimethyl polysiloxane. And it is not just the meat-based dishes, even the fruits and vegetables are not spared as these also contain pesticides and chemicals.
[ Read: Junk food vs. Healthy food ]
5. You Could Be Eating Slime:
Are you sure about what you are putting inside your mouth? All these fast food joints may look all fancy and posh but they are the breeding ground for bacteria of all kinds! In fact, a few years ago, various fast food joints in Wrigley Field, in the US, were in the news because slime was found on the ice machines used in these places. Don’t you remember McDonald’s being in the spotlight for removing pink slime from their hamburgers? Yuck!
6. You Might Be Eating Uncooked Food:
Since most junk food joints are always packed with people, you are like to end up eating half cooked or even uncooked food! Many a times, the frozen food items are just stuffed into an oven for a few minutes and served to save time. While this saves time and money for the joints, it is up to you to put up with the contamination and its aftermath.
7. You Could Be Under The Attack Of Carcinogens:
The deep fried junk foods are prepared using cheap hydrogenated fats to increase their shelf life. Plus, for profit! The hydrogenated fats, when used in extremely high temperatures for a certain duration, transforms into carcinogens. So eating deep fried junks mean you could be ingesting carcinogens!
8. The Risk Of Infertility:
Studies conducted on various junk foods have proven that most of the meats used in these food items are sources of growth hormones. And researches suggest that these hormones can actually lead to infertility!
9. Beware Of Refined Sugar:
Refined sugars are known to deplete the nutrient levels in your body and hamper your immunity levels. These are quite different from the natural sugars present in fruits. The absence of nutrients impair the metabolic process, which in turn, could leave you at the risk of toxic metabolism triggered by lack of oxygen. It could even cause an unwanted spike in your blood sugar levels and lead to diabetes.
10. You Could Be At The Risk Of Depression:
While all of us do love junk foods, teenagers, in general, flock to these fast food joints. Be it the pizza parties or the burgers, they all are known to trigger depression. While these are definitely filling, they do not impart the necessary quality nutrients. And, nutrition deprivation could actually trigger unwanted mood swings and depression.
Indulging your palate once in a while with these tasty dishes is okay. Give yourself permission to enjoy fast food, once in a blue moon. But do not make it a habit! These were just 10 reasons, I can list 100s! But the ultimate choice is yours to make!
Do you enjoy junk food? How often do you indulge in them? Or have stopped eating junk food, why? Share with us in the comments section below.
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