Debunking the Junk Food Craze of Today
By Dr. Nigma Talib, October 8th, 2009
We see junk food everywhere- at gas stations, grocery stores,
schools, work, on television and even on billboards as we innocently
drive home from work or school. Not a day will go by where we are not
exposed to junk food. Junk food, although immediately satisfying, as
the saying goes “a moment on the lips and a lifetime on the hips,” has
negative consequences over time and may not seem so appetizing after
all.
According to researchers from McMaster University, the ratio of
protein to carbohydrates in your diet will determine your waist-to-hip
ratio. Most junk food is carbohydrate-rich and protein deficient.
According to The Journal of Circulation, women and men ages
45-79 that had the highest waist-to-hip ratio also had the highest risk
for diseases including heart disease and most of them reported eating
junk food on a regular basis.
We know that junk food is not good for us and when we consume junk
food, our body gives us negative signs just like a car if it is not fed
the right substances. Your body gives you hints similar to that of an
engine light on the dashboard of your car being turned on in the event
of engine trouble. Junk food will present itself in symptoms such as
chronic fatigue , acne, rashes, digestive problems and mood disturbances
like depression. The long term side effects of improper eating can
cause chronic inflammation in the body that contributes to almost every
disease state. Weight gain is the equivalent to that of an engine light
going on in the car signaling you that you are on your way to becoming a
statistic for heart disease, cancer and diabetes, similar to eventual
engine failure in a car.
Now, if a light turned on in your car telling you that you need to
fill up some gas, check your engine oil or breaks, you would certainly
take your car in to be fixed, whatever the cost in order to prevent the
vehicle from incurring engine failure or further damage. Why not do the
same for your body?
Our everyday food supply contains artificial colors, flavours,
sweeteners, preservatives, pesticides and other chemicals. Furthermore,
our food supply consists of hidden and delayed allergens that most
people are not aware of as it can sometimes take four minutes to four
days for the body to react. Lastly, our food supply is plagued with
inflammatory foods that can accumulate and damage our body’s metabolic
processes, making us inefficientast fighting various diseases.
Other research from high profile institutions such as Stanford and
Harvard have shown that people who eat more vegtables not only reduce
their risks for various cancers, but other inflammatory diseases such as
heart disease and start by eating a variety of colorful fruits and
vegetables. Look for these colors- green, yellow-orange, red,
blue-purple and white- as the more colorful fruits and vegetables you
eat, the wider the range of nutrients ingested. Each color offers
something unique to your diet, such as disease-fighting phytochemicals,
vitamins and minerals as well as fibre that all work synergistically at
supporting a good healthy foundation for your diet. Phytochemicals,
vitamins and minerals may act as antioxidants that work at deactivating
cancer causing toxins and fibre works by suporting digestion and the
elimination of toxins from the body.
The first step to debunking the junk is to be aware that just because
it is found everywhere, it doesn’t mean that it is good for you. It is
important to change the way you eat and educate yourself on some of the
toxins that exist in our everyday foods like refined sugars, artificial
flavours and pesticides. The toxic burden of these substances over
time will lead to diseases, especially in children, whose little bodies
are in need of nutrients, not chemicals that eventually build up and
cause illness.
Think of all the things about your body that you would like to
change: chronic neck and back pain, muscle pain, fatigue, depression,
acne, digestive disturbances and high blood pressure. You can change
the biochemistry of your body and avoid these unpleasent and
life-threatening symptoms and treat the root cause by including healthy
foods into your diet.
Just as different cars require specific gas, oil and parts, different
people require different foods. The right food for you can be
determined by the delayed food allergy test IgG, also called an ELISA
blood test. These tests are routinely preformed by naturopathic
doctors. More than 70% of people have delayed food allergies, otherwise
known as hidden food allergies. Avoiding delayed food allergies
specific to you coupled with nutritious foods, can modulate and boost
your immune system, reduce your risk for cancer, change your mood and
even make you feel and look younger.
Research led by John Hopkins University studied how vegetables and
fruit, with emphasis on broccoli, reduced cancer growth by up to 40%
and, according to the World Research Cancer Fund, people who ate more
vegtables also reducedtheir risk for other inflammatory diseases such as
heart disease and diabetes, to name a few.
Increase your fruit and vegetable intake by chowing down on the
following:
- Blues and Purples: blueberries, purple grapes, plums, purple
cabbage, eggplant and purple peppers
- Greens: avocados, green apples, honeydew, kiwi fruit, artichokes,
asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cucumbers, leeks and peas
- Whites: bananas, brown pears, white peaches, cauliflower, garlic,
ginger, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes and white corn
- Yellows and Oranges: apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, papayas,
pineapple, butternut squash, carrots, yellow summer squash and sweet
potatoes
- Reds: red apples, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, strawberries,
red peppers, radishes, radicchio, tomatoes
You can make shopping a fun and educational experience for your kids
by allowing them to pick out different colored fruits and vegetables and
explaining that these rich colors are good for them. At meal times,
you can identify the colors and name all the healthy foods.
Colorful eating is an easy and important concept to teach your
children at a young age so they too will adopt healthy eating habits and
will then teach their children, passing good health and wellness from
one generation to the next.
