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Junk-Food
It's the 21st century and "junk food" has gone global. For better or for worse (mostly worse), junk food is now available all over the world. We see it most everywhere we go -- in grocery and convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, on television -- usually looking very appealing. But just what are the facts about junk food?
"Junk food" generally refers to foods that contribute lots of calories but little nutritional value. Of course, what's considered "junk food" depends on whom you ask. Some might say pizza is junk food, for example. But I personally don't think so, since it contributes real food with nutrients, like cheese and tomato sauce. Add whole-wheat or part whole-wheat crust, plus veggies as a topping, and I'd say pizza completely exits the junk food category.
One problem with junk foods is that they're low in satiation value -- that is, people don't tend to feel as full when they eat them -- which can lead to overeating. Another problem is that junk food tends to replace other, more nutritious foods. When people drink lots of soda, for example, they are usually not getting plenty of low-fat dairy or other healthful beverages like green tea or orange juice. When they're snacking on chips and cookies, they're usually not loading up on fruits and vegetables.
Most "junk food" falls into the categories of either "snack food" or "fast food." And then there are things like breakfast cereals. They seem innocent enough, but some of them could definitely be considered "junk food," as they mostly contain sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and white flour or milled corn.
Calories From Snack Foods
Popular snack foods are usually commercially prepared and packaged, like chips, cheese puffs, candy bars, snack cakes, and cookies.
The contribution of snack food to the calories we eat should not be underestimated. Between 1977 and 1996, the contribution of snack calories to total calories for American children between 2 and 5 years old increased by 30%, according to an article published in the Chilean medical journal, Revista Medica de Chile.
Fast Food and Overeating
Of course, junk food is also readily available at restaurant chains across the country in the form of French fries, chicken nuggets, shakes, soda, etc. Not only are most fast foods not terribly healthy, one study indicates that there may be something about fast food that actually encourages gorging.
In the study, from the Children's Hospital in Boston, teens age 13-17 were given three types of fast-food meals (all including chicken nuggets, French fries, and cola). In one meal, the teens were served a lot of food at once. In another, a lot of food was served at the same time, but in smaller portions. And in the third test meal, a lot of food was served, but in smaller portions over 15-minute intervals.
The researchers found that it didn't seem to matter how much food was served -- the teens still took in about half of their daily calorie needs in that one meal. The researchers suggested that certain factors inherent to fast food might promote overeating:
• It's low in fiber.
• It's high in palatability (that is, it tastes good).
• It offers a high number of calories in a small volume.
• It's high in fat.
• It's high in sugar in liquid form.
Junk Food and TV
As we all know, many of the food commercials aimed at children are for foods high in fat, sugar, and/or salt, and low in nutritional value. And some research suggests that watching ads for processed foods encourages children to eat more.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom exposed 60 children, ages 9 to 11, to both food advertisements and toy advertisements, followed by a cartoon and free food.
The children ate more after the food advertisements than after the commercials for toys, the study found. The obese children in the study increased their consumption of food the most (134%) after watching the food ads, compared to overweight children (101%) and normal-weight children (84%).
Taking the 'Junk' out of Junk Food
Now that you've got the facts about junk food, how can you try to eat more healthfully in our junk- food-filled world? Here are three tips:
• Choose fast-food restaurants that offer healthier choices. And no matter where you are, opt for food and beverages that are made up mostly of ingredients that offernutrients along with calories. Enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice or a whole-wheat bagel instead of soda or donuts. Buy a bean burrito, pizza topped with vegetables, or a grilled chicken sandwich on a whole-grain bun instead of tortilla chips with processed cheese sauce; frozen pizza rolls; or fried chicken pieces and French fries. Avoid sweetened beverages.
• Look for products low in sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, milled grains, and partially hydrogenated oils. Choose a 100% whole-wheat cracker made with canola oil, for example, or snack on a cheese and fruit plate instead of a bowl of cheese puffs.
• Limit TV viewing, for yourself and your kids. Certain TV shows seem to attract more junk food commercials more than others, so parents might want to discourage kids from watching these shows. Or try TIVO (where you can fast-forward through commercials) or watch DVDs.
Trans fats in junk food impair brain function, cause memory loss
It's no secret that eating junk foods contributes to weight gain and can lead to health complications, but new information about dietary trans fats (dTFA) -- which exist in most junk foods -- shows that consumption of such items is also destroying people's minds. Specifically, memory function among men aged younger than 45 years has been shown to worsen with consumption of foods loaded with dietary trans fats.
The study, conducted by researchers from the University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, discovered that men falling within the aforementioned age bracket were able to recall 86 words during a word recall test. However, for every additional gram of trans fats eaten every day, their recall fell by 0.76 words compared to men who did not consume trans fats. In simpler terms, what this boils down to is that men who had the highest levels of dTFA remembered 12 fewer words than those who did not eat trans fats.
Problematic for people who need to focus on productivity, workplace performance
Experts note that the age impacted unfortunately involves men who are typically in the midst of their career, where focus and effectiveness in the workplace is of utmost importance. "Trans fats were most strongly linked to worse memory in men during their high productivity years," said Beatrice A. Golomb, MD, PhD, and lead author of the study.
While women were involved in the study, and analyses involving them were similar to those of the men, "women were too few in number to draw separate conclusions." Therefore, the findings home in on men, who make up half of the population.
The researchers also noted that this study, which was published in PLOS ONE, was among the first of its kind. "Trans fat consumption has previously shown adverse associations to behavior and mood—other pillars of brain function," Golomb said. "However, to our knowledge a relation to memory or cognition had not been shown.
Physical, mental benefits of eliminating trans fats from diet
As stated in PLOS ONE, the benefits of removing trans fats from diets are plenty:
These findings, in which greater dTFA consumption is linked to worse wordmemory in adults during years of high productivity, adults [younger than 45], add to evidence for unfavorable health correlates of trans fat consumption. They extend findings to a third pillar of central nervous system function, cognition—complementing evidence for adverse dTFA relations to behavior (aggression/irritability) and mood.
Through the years, there's been a rise in awareness regarding the detrimental health aspects of junk food consumption. Everything from obesity and inflammation to insulin resistance and an increased risk for cardiac problems is linked to eating the likes of potato chips, donuts and vending machine snacks. While lack of exercise and stress are also factors that lead to the onset or worsening of such health problems, it's clear that the excessive amounts of sugary foods laden with unpronounceable additives and loads oftrans fats have fallen under the watchful eye of health-minded people.
Today, it's not uncommon for restaurant chains and food corporations to voluntarily announce plans to create healthier menus and eliminate harmful ingredients.
Thankfully, a large-scale effort to get trans fats out of processed foods is in place
In 2013, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made a preliminary announcement about trans fats, saying they're not generally recognized as safe anymore. Flash forward to recent news this year in which the FDA came down even harder on suchfats, saying that food makers have three years to stop using trans fats. Microwave popcorn, pie crusts and frostings are just a few examples of foods that would need to eliminate them.
These fats are used to enhance flavoring, prolong shelf life and maintain a product's appearance. However, the eye and taste appeal simply isn't worth the possible health consequences. "As I tell patients," said Golomb, "while trans fats increase the shelf life of foods, they reduce the shelf life of people."
Article Sources :
Ebbeling, C.B., et al., Pediatrics, May 2007,vol 119: pp 869-875. Jackson, P., et al., Revista Medica de Chile, 2004; vol 132: pp 235-42. St-Onge, M.-P., et al., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2007; vol 85: pp 1503-1510. Institute of Medicine, April 25, 2007: "Nutrition Standards for Healthy Schools: Leading the Way toward Healthier Youth." Press release, University of Liverpool, April 24, 2007: "TV food adverts increase obese children's appetite by 134 percent."
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