Junk Food Redefined

[Airbrush]

Here is the basic definition in Wiki:

"Junk food is unhealthful food that is high in calories from sugar or fat, with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals, or other important forms of nutritional value.^[1][2][3]

Precise definitions vary by purpose and over time. Some high-protein foods, like meat prepared with saturated fat, may be considered junk food.^[4] The term HFSS foods (high in fat, salt and sugar) is used synonymously.^[5][6] Fast food and fast food restaurants are often equated with junk food, although fast foods cannot be categorically described as junk food.^[7][8][9] Most junk food is highly processed food.

Concerns about the negative health effects resulting from a junk food-heavy diet, especially obesity, have resulted in public health awareness campaigns, and restrictions on advertising and sale in several countries."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_food

I think that healthy foods can be enhanced to such a degree that it is so delicious that it is hard to stop eating.  Obesity may be the result of people eating too much of the wrong things.  I like all kinds of food, good healthy food and I also like some junk foods.  But I always try to minimize the junk in my diet and maximize the water (drink lots of water) and SIMPLE healthy foods.  Even food that seem harmless to many may be deadly to some, such as peanuts.  In the same way, I think, that people may be unknowingly eating stuff that is not good for them.  People will suffer until a doctor asks them what they have been eating and tells them to correct their diet.  Many may not listen to their doctor.  I prefer simple foods because I won't eat too much of it.  What do you think?  If people ate correctly (a tall order) and exercised, they could be much healthier and have better immunity to disease.  If people ate correctly there would be less obesity and more immunity.  Maybe many of the people who didn't suffer much bad effects getting infected by Covid-19 were healthier eaters?  We could potentially save trillions in medical expenses, if people ate right.

Edited May 29, 2020 by Airbrush

[Airbrush]

2/3 of Americans are either obese or overweight.

Any fans of "Real Time With Bill Maher?  His last 2 episodes had nutritionists who made the case for about 80% of Americans are not metabolically healthy.  Bill keeps asking them why doesn't the government ever mention that people could be healthier and have better immunity by healthy living habits, including healthy eating.  It is hard to get an answer so I'm beginning to suspect the topic is a can of worms that governments don't want to open.  Because it questions personal freedom.  The most important personal freedom people have is to eat all they want of whatever the hell they want.  Who wants a government to tell them what to eat?

Edited June 13, 2020 by Airbrush

[San Liu]

I'm on a keto diet. That's high in fat. Based on that definition, I'm eating mostly junk food.

I eat very high-quality food. Junk food cannot be defined. It's about quality and quantity... it's like porn. What is porn? What is junk food? You know it when you see it. 😷

[Airbrush]

22 hours ago, San Liu said:

I'm on a keto diet. That's high in fat. Based on that definition, I'm eating mostly junk food.

I eat very high-quality food. Junk food cannot be defined. It's about quality and quantity... it's like porn. What is porn? What is junk food? You know it when you see it. 😷

Any food that so fun to eat that the average person will probably eat too much of it, that is bad for them.  That is their "junk food."  There are lots of food that are not junk foods, but are engineered to be so very delicious that people will inevitably eat too much of it.  People love freedom, especially when it comes to eating.  Also people will structure their day around having more opportunities to enjoy their favorite foods.  I like to think of it like gas for your car.  Food is fuel and medicine, not a form of entertainment.  That is why 2/3 of Americans are over weight or obese.  People should get their jollies in other ways than eating.

Edited June 17, 2020 by Airbrush

[Airbrush]

On 6/16/2020 at 9:59 AM, San Liu said:

I'm on a keto diet. That's high in fat. Based on that definition, I'm eating mostly junk food....

"An extreme form of low-carbohydrate diet – the ketogenic diet – is established as a medical diet for treating epilepsy.^[4] Through celebrity endorsement it has become a popular weight-loss fad diet, but there is no evidence of any distinctive benefit for this purpose, and it may have a number of initial side effects.^[4] The British Dietetic Association named it one of the "top 5 worst celeb diets to avoid in 2018".^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-carbohydrate_diet

"The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that in medicine is used mainly to treat hard-to-control (refractory) epilepsy in children. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates.

"Normally carbohydrates in food are converted into glucose, which is then transported around the body and is important in fueling brain function. But if little carbohydrate remains in the diet, the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies, the latter passing into the brain and replacing glucose as an energy source. An elevated level of ketone bodies in the blood (a state called ketosis) eventually lowers the frequency of epileptic seizures.^[1] Around half of children and young people with epilepsy who have tried some form of this diet saw the number of seizures drop by at least half, and the effect persists after discontinuing the diet.^[2] Some evidence shows that adults with epilepsy may benefit from the diet and that a less strict regimen, such as a modified Atkins diet, is similarly effective.^[1] Side effects may include constipation, high cholesterol, growth slowing, acidosis, and kidney stones.^[3]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet

Edited June 24, 2020 by Airbrush