4 Reasons That Make a Food ‘Unhealthy’
The main factors of calling a food unhealthy
We are getting self-awareness of food and eating habits. Because we started to think that there is something harmful in every kind of food we are consuming.
We are actually right about this topic. In TV, documentaries or newspapers it is very common to see this kind of news ‘If you eat that food, might get cancer!!’, ‘Sausage? Don’t eat it!’… These claims are getting common and it is threatening all foods. Each day any other food is declared as unhealthy but then it is found that actually the claims are wrong(!) Thus, the consumer gets confused.
In this article, I will try to explain the basic things that caused a food to be declared ‘unhealthy’ in the industry in order to eliminate this confusion to some extent. Because almost all foods are declared ‘unhealthy’ according to these parameters. So you can decide for yourself which food is unhealthy.
Here are four main reasons to claim any food as ‘unhealthy’;
1. Sugar
Let’s start with a familiar face. This naughty boy can be found in almost any junk food. It is generally considered harmful as it promotes excessive weight gain.
#Unhealthy?
Although sugar consumption can cause getting weight, its chemical compound is not harmful to our body. And it’s an efficient energy source for us. That’s why we perceive sugar as delicious and instinctively tend to consume too much. Moreover, it creates leptin(satiety hormone) resistance to increase hunger and it makes us to consume more. More consumption causes obesity. And obesity causes;
Sugar consumption also linked with acne, tooth problems, lipidosis on liver, and some kidney problems. To sum up, it has a mile long crime record.
#Result
All of the sugars are harmful to us? No. For example, the sugars in fruits are useful and necessary. But instead of these fruit candies, high-fructose corn syrup which is much cheaper and has a higher sweetness rate(×250) is used in its processed food products. It is the most important reason for the increase in sugar consumption in the world. We need to avoid it.
2. Salt
Another whipping boy is salt. It can be found hugely in many fast food, ready-to-eat, and processed meat products, etc.
Salt is often used in processed food products, resulting in excessive salt consumption.
Therefore, scientists tell us to reduce salt consumption for a long time, and WHO emphasizes that it would be healthier if less than 7g (2800 mg/day sodium) is consumed. It is debatable but accepted daily intake is 3000–5000 mg/day sodium.
#Unhealthy?
Over consumption has some negative returns such as; many heart diseases and gastric cancer.
On the other hand, low consumption of salt has more negative effects on us. It is linked with high LDL(bad cholesterol) level, heart diseases, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.
Some researches point that there can be salt addiction.
When salt is added to foods, it makes foods more ‘edible’ and increases our appetite. There is no harm to be edible-tasty but it stimulates the reward system in our brain and releases dopamine. So we want to consume more.
#Result
As a result; over consumption is risky likewise low consumption. If you are consuming processed foods a lot, it doesn’t seems to be possible for low consumption. Because 75% of salt in the diet comes from processed foods and 25% is from naturally. That’s why salty foods are called as ‘unhealthy’.
3. Fat
I will approach to this topic without mentioning the chemical compound of fat(To learn more, check the link). We can divide the fats in food into three categories as saturated, unsaturated, and trans.
Saturated fat: In general they are solid at room temperature such as Butter. Since it is an expensive product, it doesn’t preferred in processed foods. It was defined unhealthy in the past, but today this claim is broken.
After the industrial revolution, eating habits changed and it caused more diseases. Thus, the fast food sector and big corps wanted to point out something else to blame. Saturated fats. Still, there is no solid proof to defend unhealthy claim. — See the researches.
Unsaturated fat: These fats can be found in liquid state such as sunflower oil. They are generally placed among harmless fats and also it is claimed that heart disease and mortality risk decreases.
Trans fats? — It is the guilty one!
Trans fats can occur in natural or artificial ways such as ruminants can have it and these fats are considered harmless(even sometimes healthy). The main point is the artificial trans fats that are used in the industry very often.
We can also call them the ‘solidified’ version of liquid fats by chemical methods. It is used a lot(especially processed foods) due to low cost and long shelf life.
#Unhealthy?
Other fats generally tend to increase both LDL and HDL and create balance. But trans fats only increases LDL(bad cholesterol) massively and that leads to heart diseases. It is also linked with type 2 diabetes, inflammation, and breast cancer.
#Result
Trans fats can be easily found processed foods like biscuits, chips, etc. and it poses a serious threat to human health.
Unfortunately, it is not enough to check product label to understand if there is a trans fat in it.
In many countries, if the product has trans fat less than the accepted value, it can be tagged as trans-fat-free. Even if canola oil and soybeans has no information on the labels, they might have trans fat in them.
The best solution for avoiding trans fat is to decrease processed food consumption.
4. Food additives
When we heard additives, “harmful things” comes up to our minds. You are right, but there some exceptions.
Some additives are needed to be used and partially ‘harmless’, some are only used to seduce consumers and very harmful. — See the harmful additives.
Unfortunately, it is not enough to check product label to understand if there is additives in it, like trans fats. Many additives are not mentioned in the product labels/tags if used less than a certain amount. The mentioned ones are stated with their chemical names or E codes.
Sugar, salt, fats, and additives are not directly harmful to us — trans fats and some additives are excepted. Moreover, it is known that some trans fats and additives under a certain amount doesn’t cause any troubles. However, if these become a part of our diet, we start to eat more and then they become harmful to us. But when these ingredients included in our diet, we unconsciously begin to consume food excessively. That’s when these foods start to be harmful to us.
This article can seems a little confusing.
I know you want something certain when it comes to food science and eating but it is not possible. Science and human body are changing every day and the human body is still too complex to understand. Just to talk about harms of cigarettes, 30 years needed to be passed. Although if someone says “cigarette is harmless(if less than 3/week) or drinking water is harmful(if more than 6lt/day), that might be true.
You need to know
If food is said to be ‘unhealthy’, know that one of these parameters is much in the food.
