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The Truth About Your Diet: What Are You Eating and Why It Matters

Food is one of the necessities of man. This necessity however can affect the physical and mental health of man in ways that he doesn’t know, this piece of writing would be teaching various foods and their effects

Foods that affect man negatively can be in the form of junk. “Junk food” refers to processed foods that have little nutritional value. Indeed, some may contain downright harmful ingredients.

Unfortunately, these foods are typically tasty, inexpensive, and widely available. However, research suggests that frequent junk food consumption may lead to food addiction, overeating, and obesity.

The United States consumes the highest amount of junk food in the world. Yes! Surprised? According to a study, 38% of men eat fast food on any given day, compared with 35.4% of women. Young men are massive users, with 46.5% of men 20 to 39 eating fast food, compared to 43.3% of women the same age. All these fast foods are junk, and what effect do these have on these people? In the short-term, junk foods can make you feel tired, bloated, and unable to concentrate. Long-term, junk foods can lead to tooth decay and poor bowel habits. Junk foods can also lead to obesity and associated diseases such as heart disease.

Junk Food and Their Adverse Effects

1. Soda: Soda is one of the unhealthiest liquid junk foods you can consume due to its high fructose content. Research suggests that consuming fructose in beverage form may be especially risky concerning heart disease and obesity. A 16-ounce bottle of soda contains 200 calories and 52 grams of sugar, at least half of which is fructose. There is no nutritional benefit to taking soda, either regular or diet. The high amounts of sugar in regular soda can cause blood pressure to spike, which can impact the brain. There have also been studies that linked soda consumption to depression. The caffeine in many soda brands can also be bad for you if you’re someone who struggles with anxiety. Instead of Soda, Fruit juices and Greek Yoghurts are better substitutes.

2. White Bread: White bread is made from heavily processed white flour, which is quickly turned into sugar by your body. This can create energy spikes and crashes that are bad for both anxiety and depression. So when making toast for your sandwiches, you might want to substitute for whole-grain bread.

3. Energy Drinks: We’ve all hit that wall of tiredness before, but maybe don’t chug an energy drink next time that happens. These drinks have been known to cause irregular heart rhythms, anxiety, and sleep issues. These beverages have extremely high levels of caffeine, sugar, and artificial sweeteners. Drinking water and eating whole fruit is a better way of giving your body natural energy!

4. Fried Foods: Deep-frying anything makes it better, but while the food’s taste may improve, the impact it will have on your body does not. They contain high levels of unhealthy fats and sodium, which have been linked to mood changes, irritability, and decreased energy levels. Not only are fried foods bad for physical health, but they’ll also negatively impact your mental health. As cliche, as it may sound, eating a diet high in vitamins and healthy fats, like nuts or fish, will noticeably impact your overall mood. Avoid eating breaded and fried foods as much as possible.

5. Coffee: Caffeine addictions are so common today that we rarely talk about them. While a cup of coffee, or two… or three, in the morning, may feel like a routine, it may be negatively impacting your mental health. Caffeine can make you feel jittery and nervous, and it also leads to withdrawal and impacts sleep patterns. Try switching to decaf or swapping out coffee with tea, which has lower levels of caffeine. If you like having coffee as part of your breakfast ritual, try to limit consumption only to the morning, as caffeine can affect you for several hours, even interrupting your normal sleep schedule

Healthy Foods and Balanced Meals

I would have proposed a timetable for your diet but because of the difference in people’s diets (Veganism or Vegetarianism), I won’t be proposing a table because it would be unsuitable for all kinds of people. However, these are tips that you need to add to your dieting to improve your health

1. Eggs: Eggs are a ready source of protein. They are rich in high-quality protein and many essential nutrients that people often don’t get enough of, such as choline. Eating eggs, especially for breakfast is a brilliant idea if you want to improve your health. Eating eggs gives the feeling of fullness causing people to consume fewer calories at later meals. It can be quite helpful for weight loss if that’s your goal. Eating an egg-based breakfast reduces the feeling of hunger and reduces the number of calories taken in a day as compared to cereal-based diets.
2. Drink enough water: Many studies have shown that drinking water can increase weight loss and promote weight maintenance, and it may even slightly increase the number of calories you burn each day. That said, the most important thing is to drink water instead of other beverages. This may drastically reduce your intake of sugar and calories
3. Bake Or Roast Instead Of Grill Or Frying: Grilling, broiling, frying, and deep-frying are all popular methods of preparing meat and fish. However, during these types of cooking methods, several potentially toxic compounds are formed. These include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, advanced glycation end products, and heterocyclic amines. All of these compounds have been linked to several health conditions, including cancer and heart disease. Healthier cooking methods involve baking, broiling, poaching, pressure cooking, simmering, slow cooking, and stewing.
4. Eat Your Greens First: By doing so, you’ll most likely finish all of your greens while you’re at your hungriest. This may cause you to eat less of other, perhaps less healthy, components of the meal later. It may lead you to eat fewer and healthier calories overall, which could result in weight loss. Plus, eating vegetables before a carb-rich meal has been shown to have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels.

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