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What is Junk Food?

There is a lot of talk about junk food in the public domain. Junk food is not a medical term but more of a glamour & fitness industry term used to denote food that is non-conducive to their idea of a physique. Consequently, every food that add some weight to the human body (such as sugary and fatty food) is called junk. But sugars and fats serve a purpose in the human body; and therefore, it is ignorance and stupid to blanket label such food as junk.

What's makes food unhealthy are:

• the amount of nutrients in it,
• the timing of your meals,
• the quality of ingredients used,
• the quality of utensils used, and
• the cooking process.

The timing and amount of food

The quantity and timing of food are intertwined. If you consume food whose nutrients and their amount is not required for the body in the next few hours, that food is not required. The excess of nutrients is damaging to the body much like their deficits are. Perhaps the safest of them all is the excess of sugars and fats since they are stored as future energy reserves.

The gist of this section is to consume food as and when it is required except unless you are in some survival situation where you don't expect to find/get food for your next usual meal — in which case, eat to your fill.

The quality of ingredients used

Generally speaking, the quality of ingredients is the primary culprit for low quality food you get on your table. Fake cheese, used and hydrogenated oil (because they contain trans fats) and frozen vegetables can be termed as unhealthy because of their effects in the body.

Most 'fast food' joints rely on these ingredients to meet the turn around time for 'hot and freshly prepared' food, and to meet economic targets. So ask before you eat.

The quality of utensils used

Every utensil withers overtime and the material that it is made up of leaches into the food while cooking. So, avoid food cooked in non-stick cookware, especially those cookware whose coating has already peel somewhere.

Most restaurants use non stick cookware that is past it's lifetime. That is not to say that those using metal and alloy cookware are 100% trustworthy. Every cookware has a lifespan and only diligent health inspection can ensure healthy food in restaurants.

Very soon, we'll be publishing a guide to cookware with more information.

The cooking process used

There are four primary ways to cook food — boiling, frying, baking, barbecuing and smoking. Every fancy cooking method and technique are a variation of one of these five methods.

Boiling and frying are healthier forms of cooking since food doesn't have a direct contact with fire or smoke. Food cooked over fire or smoked can contain levels of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are carcinogenic.

A study of smoked meet from Bangladesh revealed higher levels of PAHs than accpetable limits recommended by European commission. However, another study in south east Asia didn't reveal higher levels of PAHs. Meanwhile, a study of smoked meat from Nigeria revealed PAH levels higher than acceptable limit.

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