Here’s a healthy homemade vegan cream of tomato soup that will remind you of the kind that you might have had from a can when you were a kid — but this one is so much better! This easy and comforting soup is ready for you to enjoy within a half hour, and it’s delicious […]
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No matter what, you can’t seem to silence your sweet tooth. You always opt for dessert, even when your meal has left you stuffed. To you, anytime is snack time — and snack time is just another excuse to reach for something sugar-coated. If this sounds a lot like your relationship with sweets, you might have a sugar addiction.
Your relationship with sugar is like any other bad relationship. You probably know it’s bad, but you just can’t convince yourself to walk away. Maybe you can’t convince yourself you need to leave sugar for good, but the information in this article might.
Let’s look at the different types of sugar, why you’re so convinced you need sugar in your life, and, most importantly, how you can beat your sugar addiction once and for all and quit the bad habit for good.
There’s a lot of confusion out there about the difference between carbohydrates and sugar. Let’s make it a little easier: sugar is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are what’s known as a macronutrient, alongside protein and fat. You get carbs from the foods you eat. Once you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into energy — eventually, a molecule called glucose. (The term blood glucose, or blood sugar, refers to how much glucose is in your blood after you digest food.)
What makes this more complicated is that there is more than one type of carbohydrate. Different types of carbs behave differently in your body. The way they’re digested is completely different. Therefore, not all carbs are bad — and not all of them are good, either.
Let’s discuss the different types of carbohydrates and how your body breaks them down.
When you see a section on a nutrition facts panel labeled “sugar,” this is the kind of carbohydrate it’s referring to. These are known as simple sugars or simple carbohydrates. They’re made up of one or two molecules of sugar, which makes them very easy to digest. Your body digests simple carbohydrates quickly, which releases large amounts of glucose into your bloodstream. This flood of glucose causes a sharp spike in your blood sugar. Eventually, in healthy individuals, insulin kicks in, and your blood sugar drops. Fruits and vegetables, as well as refined grains, processed foods and sweets, all contain simple sugars. Not all simple sugars are bad for you — but many are considered harmful.
Fiber is what is known as a complex carbohydrate — it’s made up of many sugar molecules, making it harder to break down. Your body digests it very slowly, which means the uptake of glucose in your bloodstream is also much slower. This leads to a much smaller spike in blood sugar, which is one reason why high-fiber foods are so healthy. This is the type of carbohydrate you will find in fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy, and grains. The higher a food’s fiber content is, in general, the better that food is for you. However, this also depends on its other nutritional benefits, such as vitamins and minerals.
Like fiber, starch is also a complex carbohydrate that releases glucose into your bloodstream slowly. You’ll find starch in many vegetables and grains, as well as foods like beans, breads, and cereals. Starch is not bad for you if it comes in a food that’s highly nutritious. However, like simple sugars, if it’s present in a food that is otherwise unhealthy, it’s not going to do you much good.
Sometimes food manufacturers take the sugar from healthy foods and add it to foods during processing — thus, they become added sugars. Added sugars contain all the simple sugars found in fruits and vegetables and many other healthy foods — without the nutrition that comes along with those foods. This is why foods with added sugars — everything from candy to cookies to chips, syrups, and soft drinks — are so bad for you. They contain plenty of sweetness, but almost no nutrition whatsoever.
For the purposes of this article, when we refer to “sugar,” we’re talking about added sugars — the highly processed chemicals that do not occur naturally in foods. Do not fear foods that contain sugar naturally. In reasonable amounts, they will usually not cause harm the way processed sugars will.
If you suspect you have a sugar addiction, you’re most likely craving foods high in simple sugars and extremely low in other nutrients. Some of the most addicting foods in the world are loaded with added sugars and other synthetic, highly processed food additives. The science behind why it’s so easy to get hooked on sugar is complex, but if you’re at all familiar with addiction to any substance or activity, it’s not that foreign of a concept.
The different parts of your brain communicate through neurotransmitters, which travel between neurons to transmit different messages. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, many drugs interfere with this process, completely scrambling the brain’s normal communication systems. Sometimes, this ends up stimulating feelings of pleasure. If a drug ends up flooding your brain with dopamine, it tricks your brain into thinking you’ve consumed something nice. Your brain wants more of that nice thing — thus, you start craving more of it, even when you no longer want it.
This is an extremely simplified explanation of how drugs can mess with your head, but it’s all you need to know in order to understand why eating too much sugar is so dangerous.
Sugar addiction isn’t much different than an addiction to any other substance. While sugar itself is not a drug in the traditional sense, it can act a lot like one. Drugs can essentially stimulate the overproduction of dopamine, which makes your brain feel good. Eating too much sugar also raises the levels of dopamine in your brain — and the same thing that happens when you take too many drugs happens when you overdo the sugar.
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Mac and cheese is such a classic comfort food that it’s no wonder that the vegan version has become a classic, too. There are so many great ways to make vegan mac and cheese — some of which involve no (vegan) cheese at all. So indulge all you want — these recipes will please kids […]
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Weeknights rarely feel like a good time to experiment with exotic ingredients and elaborate preparations. If you’re craving, let say, Indian flavors and want dinner in a hurry (without doing take-out — again!), you may feel like you’re out of luck. So for today’s vegan menu, we dived into our collection of Vegan Dinner Hacks and pulled […]
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Heading into the summer months, its useful and fun to have an easy vegan picnic menu at hand. Here are a few savory, sturdy dishes that can be packed into a cooler. To round out the plan, add some seasonal fruits and refreshing beverages. Sure, the food is great and tastes even better when enjoyed in […]
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When you think of going on a diet, you probably start to worry about how hungry and bored you’re going to be while following a plan. Yet all the experts are saying this diet or that program will help you lose weight, burn fat, and keep your heart in excellent shape. What’s so great about heart-healthy diets, anyway? Do they really work? It depends on whether or not you’re willing to try one out. If you’re ready for a big but worthwhile lifestyle change, the Mediterranean Diet might be the right choice for you.
In 2017, the Mediterranean Diet was ranked No. 2 in the U.S. News & World Report’s best diets overall, just behind the DASH diet. Not only is this diet good for your heart, but it’s also proven to be extremely effective for large numbers of people. The best part about this diet is that it’s not difficult to follow. There aren’t strict rules for when and how much you should eat. No food groups are completely off limits. There is no membership fee. You don’t have to track your intake if you don’t want to, either.
All you have to do is learn which foods experts recommend you should eat the most, and which ones you should eat the least. You can then apply this knowledge to your daily eating habits. Let’s take a closer look at what the Mediterranean diet is all about.
People who live in regions of the world like Italy and Greece are known for living longer than those who live elsewhere. Those residing in these Mediterranean regions also tend to contract fewer chronic diseases, like heart problems. That’s why so many, experts and non-experts alike, claim this diet is one of the best you can try. Take a look at the many benefits of this omega-3, fiber, and whole grain-rich way of eating to see for yourself.
This diet isn’t as hard to follow as you might think. Take a look at the guidelines and see for yourself. You might already be eating a number of the foods suggested — it’s just a matter of choosing the best options possible in each food group.
The Mediterranean diet does not tell you when to eat or exactly which foods you should have on any given day. However, there is a general set of guidelines that are simple to follow. Adjusting to a new diet can seem complicated, but if you take these new rules to live by one at a time and incorporate them gradually into your meals and snacks, you’ll find it’s not as challenging as you first thought it might be.
The benefits of plant-based foods are widely studied, and great indicators that you should eat more plants regardless of which diet you decide to adopt next. Plants are free of saturated fats and only contain healthy, natural sugars that are essential for energy and overall health. Plant-based foods also tend to be high in fiber, which is good for digestive health.
Fruits and vegetables are the most important staples on a Mediterranean dieter’s plate. However, they aren’t the only plant-based foods you can eat to reel in the benefits. Beans, chickpeas, whole grains, nuts, and seeds are also extremely healthy examples of foods that don’t come from animals. You don’t have to go totally vegetarian on this diet, but the majority of what you eat — about three quarters of your plate at each meal — should come from plants.
A consistent, high sodium intake eventually raises blood pressure, which can severely damage your heart. While you might not think you’re sprinkling that much salt into that pot of boiling water or onto your baked potato, it adds up more quickly than you realize. Besides, sodium is added to most processed foods to add flavor and extend shelf life. If you’ve never taken a close look at a nutrition label, check the food packages in your fridge and pantry and look at how much sodium is in each one. As a frame of reference, experts recommend you consume no more than 2,300 milligrams in a single day.
The Mediterranean diet doesn’t just swoop in and say, “No more salt” and force you to eat flavorless foods for the rest of your life. Instead, it suggests a much healthier alternative: herbs and spices. Everything from pepper to basil to garlic and thyme can add unbelievable flavors to your meals without raising your blood pressure to unreasonable heights.
Sometimes, we throw a lot of shame at people who like to eat bread. While it’s true that white breads and other refined products are severely deprived of beneficial nutrients, whole grain products — as long as they aren’t heavily processed — are actually good for you. Often, it’s what we spread onto these breads — or the things we choose to dip them in — that pose greater health risks. When it comes to bread, you should already know the major culprit: butter, and its not so healthy partner in crime, margarine.
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Tofu and potato hash browns is a simple, comforting skillet dish that’s just as good for dinner as it is for brunch. Have potatoes cooked ahead of time, and this easy and tasty dish will have your family or guests eating in short order. Leftovers are wonderful for breakfast. Or, if you make this expressly to serve […]
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This easy vegan mac and cheese is rich and comforting. Using pureed silken tofu as a base makes it super creamy. Boost the nutrition of this comfort food meal by serving with plenty of fresh veggies — this goes well with simply prepared broccoli or kale — and a colorful salad or platter of fresh cut […]
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What could be better than a comforting casserole at the end of a long, busy day? A comforting casserole that takes almost not time to prepare, like our Baked Polenta Casserole with Zucchini and Spinach, that’s what! And while it’s in the oven, all you need to do is kick back, because bagged fresh broccoli […]
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Vegan casseroles are always comforting, and it’s nice to know that they’re also good for you, not starchy and heavy like the old-fashioned kind. Choose from these vegan casserole recipes whenever you need a hearty dose of comfort food without the guilt! Creamy Pasta and Butternut Squash Casserole (at top) will remind you of macaroni and cheese. […]
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Excerpted from Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness: The Complete Guide to Building Your Body on a Plant-Based Diet by Robert Cheeke, the world’s most recognized vegan bodybuilder: For vegan bodybuilders, the second most popular question after “how do you get your protein?” is “What supplements do you take?” There were periods of my vegan bodybuilding life […]
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You’re about a diet away from giving up. Nothing ever works. Every time you try to eat healthy and start exercising, the whole thing falls apart. One doughnut, and it’s all over. Again. Losing weight, eating right, exercising — it’s all too much. But it doesn’t have to be. If you’re feeling burned out and betrayed by a dozen diets gone sour, you just haven’t tried an effective, credible diet that works yet. If that’s what you’re looking for, you might want to consider giving The Mayo Clinic Diet a try next.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is ranked No. 4 on the U.S. News & World Report’s list of best diets, and for good reason. Instead of trying to help you lose massive amounts of weight quickly — which usually ends in weight regain not long after a short-term diet ends — it teaches you how to transform healthy habits into a healthy lifestyle that lasts forever.
Let’s take a closer look at what makes this diet one of the best. The experts don’t lie — you’re going to love the results you’ll get. It’s a diet that’s simple to follow, and you won’t even have to give up the foods you know and love. We’ll even provide a one-day sample menu to show you how easy it is.
The Mayo Clinic Diet is not your stereotypical fad diet. Created by experts affiliated with the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, this diet is an evidence-based approach to adopting healthy habits for life. What does that mean? It means this diet isn’t going to tell you to do something that doesn’t work. Mayo claims this is “the last diet you’ll ever need,” claiming that if you follow the resources you’re given, eating healthy will stop feeling like a diet and start feeling like normal life.
The Mayo Clinic Diet can be beneficial for a number of reasons
Above all, this diet is fairly simple to follow. There are no long lists of rules or detailed lists of “approved” and “unapproved” foods. You have a lot of freedom to make this diet work for you, your preferences, your schedule, and your budget.
Unlike many diet programs out there, the Mayo Clinic Diet and all its resources are free. Tools offered include recipes, sample menus, tips, and even a downloadable iOS app that can help you keep track of your habits, make better choices, and see how you’re improving. All you have to do is sign up for a profile and you’re cleared to get started.
Once you set up your free profile, you begin the first of two phases of the Mayo Clinic Diet. Don’t worry: the rules aren’t going to take over your life. In fact, you’re probably going to learn more about healthy eating and exercise in the first phase of the diet than you thought you ever needed to know. Let’s go over how these two phases work.
As the title implies, the first phase of the Mayo Clinic Diet focuses on positive habit-forming and its resulting effects on weight loss. During this phase, you will typically lose anywhere from 6 to 10 pounds over a two-week period (results differ with every person). This is a much healthier, safer, and more realistic approach to weight loss than diets that tell you losing 10 pounds in a week is effective long-term. It’s still not an easy feat to achieve.
However, Mayo doesn’t just give you a list of “good” and “bad” foods and send you out into the wilderness to fend for yourself. The diet actually teaches you to pinpoint and work on overcoming your diet-sabotaging habits. You’ll learn to develop new, healthy habits to replace the old, less healthy ones — a positive weight loss approach you’ll come to love.
Now that you know the best techniques and strategies for losing weight and living healthfully, it’s time to really put your knowledge to good use. During this life-long phase, you will continue to lose one to two pounds per week on average until you reach your goal weight. You’ll use everything you learned in the first phase of the diet, plus a continued abundance of resources, to maintain a healthy weight and continue living as healthy of a life as possible.
This isn’t a diet that has a fixed endpoint. It’s meant to teach you how to apply everything you learn to your everyday routine. Health isn’t a one-week expedition you return from after a set time frame: it’s a journey that lasts a lifetime.
The Mayo Clinic Diet’s healthy eating and activity guidelines are based on the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid. This looks a little like the now outdated Food Guide Pyramid, except it’s arranged with the foods you should eat the most on the bottom (fruits and veggies). It also combines Protein and dairy and separates healthy fats from sweets, an important distinction to make when choosing the right meals and snacks to incorporate into your day.
These are the pyramid’s groupings:
The idea is to eat more foods from the base of the pyramid and fewer from the top. Therefore, fruits and vegetables should make up the majority of your diet, while sweets should make up a very small portion of your daily calories.
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Maintaining a vegan diet during pregnancy always seem to cause concern, but it can be done! Here are some tips and valuable information. During pregnancy, your need for all nutrients increases. For example, you will need more calcium, more protein, and more folic acid. But calorie needs increase only modestly during pregnancy. In fact, you […]
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There’s something about pesto that immediately brings summer to mind — of course, it’s that magical aroma of basil. And though basil is a must-have ingredient of classic pesto sauces, there are countless variations on the theme when it comes to vegan pesto recipes. Here are 10 recipes for pesto as well as dishes that […]
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It can be fun to make tasty spreads when the mood strikes, but sometimes that mood doesn’t. That’s when these delicious ready-to-eat vegan spreads come in handy. Just add fresh bread, whole-grain crackers, or healthy chips. Here, we’re going to sample sesame spreads, artichoke pesto, vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, and guacamole. All of Sesame Kingdom’s […]
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This creamy pesto zucchini noodles recipe is truly noteworthy. The combination of avocado, broccoli, and mushrooms gives the sauce a fluffy yet rich texture that’s beautiful to look at. Not a broccoli fan? Opt for a more traditional pesto flavor and use fresh chopped basil instead of the broccoli. For added flavor and texture, garnish […]
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Brown and white rice are often compared to each other in terms of their nutritional value. Brown rice vs. white rice — which is best? — that’s a common question and one that we’ll explore here. Among the numerous varieties of rice in the world, the two most prominent ones are brown rice and white rice. There […]
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This easy baked polenta casserole uses prepared polenta (the kind that comes in a tube) layered with zucchini and spinach. Smothered in marinara sauce and topped with melty vegan cheese, it’s almost so embarrassingly easy to make, but such a crowd-pleaser. Use a really flavorful prepared marinara—roasted tomato, garlic, mushroom, or chunky vegetable. Adapted from Vegan Express […]
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When warm weather settles in, there are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy comforting fare like this easy Greek Potato Stew with Zucchini and Green Beans. Though it’s bursting with summery flavors in a mellow tomato base, it can actually be enjoyed any time of year. My favorite time to make it is in late […]
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Everyone wants to know how to lose weight fast. How quickly you’re actually able to lose weight really depends on your own personal definition of “fast.” However, you can start to shed pounds in no time not just by cutting back on processed foods and working out regularly, but also by choosing the right foods and establishing healthy habits that last a lifetime.
There are several keys to effective weight loss, and there aren’t any smoothies, soups, or magic pills involved. All you need is some protein and fiber, a whole lot less sugar, and a healthier balance between your fitness, your food, your sleep, and your stress. In this article, we’ll discuss how all of this fits together to create your fast (ish) weight loss plan that won’t leave you starving.
According to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, eating more foods high in protein actually does make you feel fuller. Though more research is needed to better understand exactly why this is, hormones are likely a key player. When you’re full, your body produces a hormone that essentially triggers that feeling of fullness you’re so familiar with. Eating more quality sources of protein is likely an important part of this process.
Studies have shown diets high in fiber are generally associated with lower body weight. Fiber is a slow-digesting type of carbohydrate, which means eating foods rich in fiber will slow down your digestion and keep you fuller for longer periods of time. Vegetables, for example, tend to be high in fiber as well as other nutrients. You are much less likely to overeat at meals if you include a serving or two of grilled, baked, or steamed vegetables on your plate.
Carbohydrates are generally either simple or complex. Complex carbohydrates include dietary fiber, which helps your food digest more slowly and keeps hunger at a distance. Simple sugars usually refer to refined or added sugars, including those found in many processed foods. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, sugars like fructose are less effective than glucose at signaling to your body that you’re full and don’t need to eat more.
The glucose found in fruit and honey is the good kind of sugar. The high fructose corn syrup found in 90 percent of your favorite junk foods should be avoided as much as possible when you’re trying to lose weight. Calories from added sugars add up quickly, especially when it comes to sugar-sweetened drinks, like sports drinks and soda.
Working out for two hours straight actually isn’t all that effective, especially if you’re trying to lose weight. The other issue here is that many people don’t work out because they don’t have the time to spend two hours at the gym. You don’t have to spend hours sweating every day to see results, though. In fact, you’re much better off powering through a 15-minute high intensity workout, which requires you to keep your heart rate up and your body moving almost constantly, but for a much shorter amount of time.
Experts generally recommend 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If you don’t typically work out this much, or at all, this is where you should start — 30 minutes of exercise five days a week, with two rest days somewhere between. The key to working out and sticking to it is starting slow and going harder the more you adjust. Combine both strength and cardio training for the best muscle-building and fat-burning results.
The old “calories in, calories out” dieting mindset doesn’t carry much weight these days — no pun intended. Just because you burned 500 calories while jogging this morning doesn’t mean you’re automatically entitled to 500 extra calories of dessert after dinner tonight. Weight loss doesn’t work like that. You need to eat the right foods, in addition to engaging in moderate exercise, to see results. Working out, but eating a ton of junk food afterward, won’t do anything to help you lose weight.
While it’s true that you have to eat fewer calories to lose weight (about 500 less than your normal daily requirement, to be exact), the quality of the calories you continue to eat also matters. 200 calories of vegetables is not the same as 200 calories of french fries. Therefore, it’s important to choose low-calorie foods full of protein and fiber — especially because, at first, eating less will throw you off balance. You will be hungrier than normal. This will not last forever.
Many people don’t even try to change the way they eat because they associate healthy eating with hunger. Extreme hunger is not a normal part of a healthy lifestyle. Rather than depriving your body of nutrients, healthy eating is supposed to include eating more healthy food, and less junk food. There’s a balance to it that can take time to figure out. This is one reason why, for some people, weight loss can take months — even years.
Do not confuse hunger and appetite while you are trying to make positive lifestyle changes. Your appetite is your body’s way of trying to trick you into giving in to your food cravings. Hunger is your body’s distress signal that it needs nourishment — or else. If you notice you are craving a specific food, it’s probably your appetite talking. If your stomach is growling, you’re hungry — you can, and should, eat.
Never ignore the mental or physical signs of hunger, even when you are trying to lose weight. Depriving yourself of nutrition will only make you hungrier, and much more likely to binge on junk food later. When you are hungry, have a meal or a snack. If you cannot tell whether you’re hungry or craving sweets, have a healthy snack anyway — it’s not going to hurt you.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, people who sleep less than seven hours per night are more likely to be obese than those who slept seven or more hours nightly. There are a few reasons why lack of sleep could lead to weight gain — and why sleeping six to eight hours a night could possibly help you lose and maintain a normal weight. Sleep deprivation leaves you feeling fatigued and more susceptible to stress. Both of these things are common reasons why people overeat. Also, who wants to work out when they’d rather crawl back into bed and stay there?
You will sleep much better at night if you engage in a short “technology fast” an hour or so before you go to bed. Keep away from phones, computers — anything with a screen. Also do your best to create a sleep schedule you can and will follow consistently. For example, if you go to bed at 11 p.m. and wake up at 6:30 a.m., you should do this not just Monday through Friday, but on weekends, too. As long as you are getting as much rest as you need, your body will adjust without much fuss.
Think stress has nothing to do with your diet? Think again. Mayo Clinic warns that stress can cause you to eat larger amounts of high-calorie foods than you normally would, even when you don’t want to. High levels of stress can also negatively impact your sleep, which can also interfere with the way you eat and the lifestyle choices you make.
Everyone has their own methods for keeping their stress levels under control. Find a healthy coping mechanism that is most effective for you. For some, it’s yoga or a more intense form of exercise. For others, it’s journaling, reading, meditation, or a combination of these. You might find that simple chores like washing dishes while listening to your favorite music calms you down. Whatever keeps you feeling tranquil — minus food, alcohol, or any other unhealthy amounts of any substance — should do the trick.
There’s no weight loss “fix” guaranteed to work for everyone. But the right foods, exercise routine, and attitude are much more powerful than you think. No matter what happens, don’t get discouraged. You’ll have ups and downs along the way, but in the end, results aren’t that far away. It might seem overwhelming now, but in the weeks to come, you’ll realize it’s worth the effort.
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When you have a delicious, nourishing (and quick) dish like Salsa Verde Quinoa Pilaf as the centerpiece of a dinner plate, the rest of the meal comes together quickly. Here, we’ve completed the veg-centric meal with a late spring flavor, though it can be enjoyed almost any time of year. Asparagus used to be a […]
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Finally, an easy wholesome raw brownies recipe that tastes like real brownies! Nuts, dates, coconut, cocoa powder, maple syrup, and salt combine to create a shockingly divine traditional-style brownie. Although the ingredients sound virtuous (and they are), your taste buds will only register one flavor: chocolate. It’s the most popular recipe on Laura-Jane’s blog, probably […]
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Healthy Mediterranean diet recipes are among the most delicious on the planet, filled with fresh produce and whole grains. And a great perk is that many classic dishes are naturally vegan — not veganized — making this group of cuisines perfect for the plant-based diet. The value of the Mediterranean diet has been borne out by […]
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For many people, junk food is simply a part of life. Every single one of us takes advantage of any opportunity we can find to eat cake … or cookies, or brownies, or whatever our go-to snack of choice may be. We know it’s not good for us. Yet we just keep eating it.
Though you might know junk food is bad for you, if asked, you most likely couldn’t explain exactly why. Is it the calories? The sugar? The fat? It turns out most junk foods have specific ingredients hidden deep in their labels that act as the most dangerous culprits here. Let’s look into the worst junk foods you can get, and what makes them so terrible for your body.
Not all components of your junk food are bad. Ice cream, for example, has a few grams of protein and a little bit of calcium in every serving. However, it’s so packed full of sugar and artificial ingredients that the good things almost don’t even count. These are the most common ingredients you will find in your junk food — and why you should do your best to stay away from them.
Too much fructose in your diet can have serious health consequences. It increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, can cause you to gain weight, and virtually contains zero nutrients that benefit your body in any way. High fructose corn syrup is found in a variety of junk foods, including canned fruit, breads made with refined grains, candy, salad dressings, and granola bars. Even your breakfast cereal likely contains high fructose corn syrup.
Overloading your system with salt is bad news. You likely already know this. According to the American Heart Association, diets high in sodium increase your risk for developing high blood pressure and related heart problems as a result. Part of the problem is that you probably don’t realize how much salt is actually in the foods you’re eating — it’s not just in junk food. However, large amounts of it are often found in your junk food, as it’s used as an additive for both flavor and as a preservative to make the food last longer.
Many of the ingredients you’ll find in your junk food do not occur naturally in the environment. Instead, they’re created synthetically in a lab. As you can probably guess, many people’s bodies don’t respond well to this — especially when it comes to yellow dye #5. You’ll find this in everything from macaroni and cheese to candy corn, but that doesn’t mean eating too much of it is OK. More and more companies are finding alternatives to potentially harmful flavorings and dyes. It’s going to be awhile though before we have to stop keeping an eye out for them in our favorite foods.
Believe it or not, some brands of junk food still have traces of trans fats in them. The United States Food and Drug Administration now recognizes that trans fats are unsafe, and now requires manufacturers to remove them from their products by 2018. This is because research has found trans fats to be a risk factor for heart disease. Trans fats are stealthy. If a product has 0.5 grams or less of it, companies are allowed to say on the nutrition label that it has 0 trans fat. However, an item’s ingredients list reveals trans fat’s go-to alias: partially hydrogenated oil. Do your best to avoid foods that are still made with trans fats.
Believe it or not, some junk foods are better for you than others. The worst of the worst are not only the least healthy — they also tend to be the most addictive. Before we get into why you can’t stop eating junk food no matter how hard you try, let’s look at the industry’s worst offenders.
Many fast food establishments still fry their food in partially hydrogenated oils, which is just a fancy name for one you’re likely much more familiar with: trans fat. Donuts, onion rings, even french fries often fall victim to the food industry’s most stealthy villain. Yes, fried food tastes amazing. That’s why you crave it so often, and can’t seem to stop eating it once you get your hands on it — that’s the point. You don’t have to stop eating fried food completely, but you really shouldn’t eat it more than a few times a month at most.
A scoop of ice cream has 137 calories, 14 grams of sugar, and about 4 grams of saturated fat. Many brands of ice cream, depending on the flavor, are also full of artificial colors and flavors. Ice cream may technically be a dairy product, but it has nowhere near the same amount of benefits as milk or Greek yogurt.
If anyone’s ever told you macaroni and cheese counts as a real meal, they lied. Homemade macaroni and cheese isn’t so bad, but the stuff that comes from a box — yellow powder and all — is just as bad as eating cake for dinner. It’s full of artificial coloring, and the majority of the ingredients found in that cheese powder aren’t even real cheese. One cup of macaroni and not-actually-cheese has 3 grams of saturated fat. It also has 3 grams of sugar, and almost 1,000 milligrams of sodium — about half of the amount experts recommend you’re supposed to eat in an entire day.
A serving of potato chips, on average, has 10 grams of fat and 360 milligrams of sodium per ounce. You’ve never eaten just one ounce of potato chips in a single sitting, and you know it. They may be crunchy, and they may satisfy all your cravings for something salty, but any ounce of nutrition that might be left over in those potatoes isn’t nearly enough to make them worth eating. Homemade potato chips aren’t quite the same, but if you bake them, the potatoes actually retain a lot of their original nutrition. Give it a try!
Want to know even more about the worst foods on the market? These processed foods might be hiding in your cabinets and you don’t even know it.
You may start pointing all your fingers at advertisers for pushing you to eat all these terrible, yet great-tasting foods, but marketing is only a small part of a much bigger issue. Once they start eating certain foods, many people are simply unable to stop. For many people, it isn’t even a conscious choice. They might even try to swear off junk food for good — but they can’t.
While experts used to blame saturated fat for obesity and heart problems, junk food contains something much more dangerous than unhealthy oil. Most of these foods are addicting because they are high in added sugars. Sugar — the kind you will find in junk food — essentially trains your brain to crave it more and more the more you eat. If you regularly over-consume foods with added sugars in them, you will become dependent on these foods. It’s not exactly the same as an addiction to an actual drug, but the same mechanisms are behind an addiction to foods high in synthetic sugar.
Junk food is not nutritious — not even a little bit. It’s high in calories but extremely low in actual nutrients. That means you can eat a ton of junk food in one sitting and still feel hungry. You won’t find much protein, complex carbs, or dietary fiber in these foods — which means you have to eat large servings of it before you start to feel full. If you’re legitimately hungry, but you try to satisfy that hunger with junk, you are much more likely to overeat.
Junk food is hard to avoid. It seems to lurk around every grocery and convenience store corner these days. Your best defense against it is to slowly swap your favorite terrible foods for healthier alternatives. You don’t know it now, but pretty soon, you won’t even miss the junk food you used to call a friend. And remember: just because it’s bad for you doesn’t mean you have to outright quit eating it. You can still enjoy a handful of potato chips or a scoop of ice cream every now and then. Consider it a treat, not a curse.
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