10 Healthy Alternatives to Junk Food

Guest Post by: Michael Gorman

 

It can be tempting to indulge in junk over real food. A burger here and a bar of chocolate there won’t do much harm. While you won’t experience any side effects by indulging a little from time to time, eating junk food regularly can lead to a wide range of health issues including stroke, heart conditions, and diabetes.

Junk or highly processed foods contain a lot of calories especially in the form of sugar and fat with minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Some of the common examples of junk include chips, soda, cookies, pastries, doughnuts, cake, and candy.

Other unknown junk food

Most of the foods that are considered healthy are actually junk food. For instance, fruit drinks contain minerals and vitamins. However, they contain a similar amount of calories and sugar to soda. Manufacturers have succeeded in marketing breakfast bars and granola as free of fructose corn syrup and full of healthy whole grains that are good for your heart. Yet these bars are loaded with sugar just like candy bars.

According to the essay writer, manufacturers also market gluten-free products like cake mix, cookies, and chips as healthier options compared to their counterparts that contain gluten although both foods have the same nutrition profile. Also, products free of gluten such as specific chocolate bars, juices, and hot dogs are made to appear healthier while they aren’t.

You should avoid junk food for the following reasons:

• It is a leading cause of depression: While junk food saves time and brings joy in your mouth, it’s one of the leading causes of depression. A research study conducted by the Manchester Metropolitan Science Center found that consuming junk food promotes inflammation and increases your chances of developing depression by 40 percent.
• It has been linked to mental and digestion problems: Junk food leads to chemical reactions that not only irritate the hippocampus in your brain area which is associated with recognition and memory but also digestion problems. It also contains lots of fats and sugar which leads to breathing problems.
• It contains a lot of calories: This is one of the reasons why people gain weight quickly after consuming junk foods. They are normally made up of cheap ingredients that contain high sodium levels. People who consume junk food regularly tend to feel stressed, tired, and lazy because the body demands a lot of energy to digest these foods.
• Overeating junk increases the risk of heart diseases: Junk foods are high in cholesterol and preservatives. One of the reasons junk food is tasty is due to the oily ingredients and sodium.

    

Alternatives to junk food

One of the best ways to avoid junk food is to find alternatives. If you are used to eating junk every day, it’s not going to be easy to avoid it totally when you start this journey. However, you can do it by ensuring that you have alternative foods within reach.

1.      Dark chocolate

According to mbaessay writing service, dark chocolate is way better than white or milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is nutritious and rich in magnesium, fiber, copper, phosphorous, selenium, zinc, and potassium to name a few. And all these nutrients are good for you. Dark chocolate is also rich in antioxidants which helps in preventing cancer.

2.      Sweet potato wedges

You need to stop eating chips and go for a healthier and tastier option. Sweet potatoes are rich in beta carotene which increases vitamin A levels in the blood. They also contain vitamin B, C, and D. Vitamin B is responsible for reducing the risk of heart attacks and other degenerative diseases.

3.      Frozen yogurt

In essence, ice cream is churned fat rich in sugar that has been frozen. Instead of consuming ice cream, go for frozen yogurt. Frozen yogurt contains low amounts of fat and sugar. Plus, it’s rich in probiotics which is good for the digestive system. As you take your yogurt, try including fresh fruits and nuts.

4.      Spirit or Wine

Did you know that drinking five pints of beer every week adds up to around 44000 kcal –the same as consuming close to 200 doughnuts? A pint of beer has around 180 calories while one measure of spirits has only 61 calories. Match this with some lime juice or soda water and you have a healthier and tastier alternative. Wine only has 159 calories per glass.

5.      Chicken burger

Instead of consuming a standard burger that only has around 350 calories, why not replace it with a chicken burger that only has 220 calories. And that’s a large chicken piece.

6.      Margarine

There have been a lot of debates on butter vs margarine. Investing in a high-quality olive oil spread will make you feel and look better. You can make your cupcakes tastier and lighter by using margarine with olive oil instead of butter.

7.      Pitta Pockets

Layers of dough, cheese, and salty sausages are tasty but not healthy. Instead of going for a pizza, why not make your own pitta pockets and fill them with salad and chicken?

8.      Popcorn

Unlike crisps which are full of saturated fats and salt, popcorns are healthier since they contain a lot of antioxidants, fiber and are low in calories. Plus, you can always measure its quantity when you are preparing it at home.

9.      Dried fruit 

Sweets contain a lot of sugar and have no essential nutrients. You should replace sweets with dried fruits like apple, mango, or cherry.

10.  Banana bread

Most cakes contain a lot of sugar and calories which aren’t healthy for your body. You should go for banana bread since it's rich in magnesium, potassium, and zinc.

Conclusion

Junk food is addictive and dangerous in the long run. You can limit your intake by going for alternative healthier options such as the ones that we’ve discussed here. You’ll be amazed at the results that you’ll get by simply making a few adjustments.

About the author:

Michael Gorman is a highly skilled freelance writer and proofreader from the UK who currently works at essay writing service, top essay writing services and bestcustomessay.org. Being interested in everyday development, he writes various blog posts and discovers new aspects of human existence every day.  Feel free to contact him via Twitter.