The ABCs - J is For Junk Food

According to the Medical Dictionary, junk food is defined as 'any various prepackaged snack foods high in calories but low in nutritional value'. Junk food are also often very highly salted, high in refined carbohydrates and high in saturated fats. (*Taken from here)

The term 'junk food' is a slang for foods with limited nutritional value. My question would be, would consuming these types of food be detrimental to one's health? Strictly in my opinion, I think if you were substituting junk food for nutritious food every single day, three meals a day, that would be wrong. But if it is an occasional indulgence, how wrong could it be? Unless you have multiple allergies or even by eating it you would swell up and die from an anaphylactic shock, I guess an occasional, once a BLUE MOON is fine, in my book of strict eating.

Junk foods too have different grades. The cheapest and absolutely-finger-licking-lips-smacking-ones can be filled with all sorts of colouring, additives and flavourings. You can choose the ones that are lightly salted and also ones that state they do not use any preservatives and etc (although many times we do know that they are bullshitting to some certain extend). How about you make your very own homemade junk food? THAT would be the best and healthiest junk food that you can ever put in your body!

Did you know that there are junk foods masquerading as HEALTH FOODS?

YES!

IT'S TRUE!

1. LOW-FAT & FAT-FREE FOOD

Did you know that fat-free food tastes HORRIBLE? In order for the packaged fat-free or low-fat food to taste scrumptious, LOADS of sugar are added to it. How fat-free can that be??!

2. FRUIT JUICES

Whenever we enter supermarkets, rows of fruit juices will greet us screaming, 'BUY ME! I'M GOOOOOOD FOR YOU!!!!' Just take a minute to think. The juice that we juice at home, does it not oxidize and go bad if kept for a day in the fridge? What more these bottles and boxes of juices are kept at the shelves for weeks and months and some even YEARS (although there are some which are refrigerated). How can this be?

Basically you're just drinking FLAVOURED SUGAR WATER. And it has preservatives to keep it fresh for a period of time. By the way, did you know fruit juices have a same amount of sugar as a sugar-sweetened beverage? Don't believe me? Click on LINK to read.

3. MARGARINE

When the health fads started rolling in and butter became a luxury food, butter was seen as the devil himself. Margarine was birth forth as the saviour Jesus. The thing is, margarine is not what it claims to be. Margarine is made from refined vegetable oils and packed with chemicals. You're replacing good old butter with trans-fats! How healthy can that be? Click on LINK to read how the margarine has been disguised in sheep's clothing. I would say to you: EAT THY BUTTER!

4. SPORTS DRINKS & FLAVOURED WATER

Why does anyone need flavored water? Why must flavour be added in anything and everything that we consume? Yes, we do need to replenish our body of electrolytes after an exhaustive session of exercise. You can drink the ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts) AND water!!! And then eat nutritious food and have plenty of rest. That would do wonders for your body rather than the SPORTS DRINKS which has added sugar and the flavoured water which has F.L.A.V.O.U.R added to it.

5. VEGAN JUNK FOODS

Here's an example of a supposedly healthy vegan junk food. VEGAN BACON. What the bloody hell is that supposed to even be?! Vegan bacon is actually marinated strips of tempeh or tofu which is then deep fried. I guess occasional home made ones are fine. But everyday of deep fried stuff isn't healthy. Imagine the ones that are commercially manufactured.

Here are some bacon flavoured foods.

6. PROCESSED ORGANIC FOOD

I think the words processed AND organic raises red flags. Anything that is processed isn't healthy. To me that is. And the term 'organic' today has become an overkill and overly used word. Organic this and organic that. We even have 'organic salt'. Wow! You mean you planted the salt plant and harvested the salt from the organic plant?! Organic sanitary pads. Organic notebook. Amazing. Just amazing.

Lots of processed food use an overly abundant amount of sugar. And just because they replaced white sugar with organic cane sugar does not mean it has become healthy to eat. It is still glucose and fructose.

7. GLUTEN-FREE JUNK FOOD

Let's be honest to ourselves. The term 'gluten-free' has somehow become a fad.

'Oh, I am on a gluten-free diet,' does not make you any healthier than a gluten eating person.

The problem with gluten-free food is that they are made with refined starches that still spikes the blood sugar immediately after consumption. And they are loaded with sugar, fats and salt.

Click on LINK to read on the gluten-free junk food.


Let's indulge in some healthy junk food shall we?