The Real Problem with “Junk Food”
When it comes down to it, most people can spell-out the constituents of a healthy diet: eat lean proteins, colorful vegetables and fruits, whole grains, nuts, seeds and legumes. As author Michael Pollan puts it, “Eat [real] food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” In order to maintain a healthy diet, there are many paths to this same destination. It can be accomplished with or without dairy, with or without eggs, and with or without red meat. It can be accomplished with higher fat foods, such as avocados, salmon and whole milk yogurt, or lower fat foods, such as chicken breast, white fish and skim milk. Overall, there is a lot of simplicity and flexibility in a healthy diet.
In fact, a healthy diet is more of a theme than a set of rules. This is why dietary patterns, or habits, are more important than individual foods. Most people understand this concept as well: eating a Snickers bar on Halloween is different than eating a Snickers bar every day for breakfast, just like eating an apple once a year at an apple Orchard is different than eating a piece of fruit every day.
So if it’s the patterns, or habits, or routines that matter in a diet, where does “junk food” fit in? Or does it?
Most people also have an innate understanding of what we call “junk food”. Perhaps they don’t have a hard and fast definition, but they typically can identify that skittles are different from blueberries (even though both of them supply sugar to the body) and that fresh mozzarella cheese is different from battered and fried mozzarella sticks (even though both of them supply fats to the body). To get specific, “junk food” is nutrient-poor, calorie-dense, processed food. Typically, the more the food has been tampered with, including removing fiber, adding salts, sugars and preservatives, and frying or cooking in fats at high temperatures, the more likely it is to fall in that “junk food” category.
There is a lot of talk about what these highly processed foods do to our bodies – perhaps they cause inflammation, or are addictive, or have toxic ingredients and dyes that impair our health. Some of this might be true, but the real problem with “junk food” is quite simpler than we let on.
When a dietary pattern heavily emphasizes junk foods, there are two basic outcomes:
If a person regularly consumes junk foods without consuming excess calories, that person will miss out on essential nutrients for their health. The nutrient-poor junk foods will crowd-out the nutrient-rich healthy foods in the diet. Essentially, there won’t be room for those healthy foods we listed earlier.
If a person regularly consumes junk foods in addition to the nutrient-rich healthy foods, they will likely consume excess calories and, consequently, gain unnecessary body weight. Essentially, the junk foods will cause them to exceed their caloric budget and tip the scale towards weight gain.
This is the bottom line: a dietary pattern that has a lot of processed foods will either cause poor health through a lack of essential nutrients (i.e., proteins, fibers, vitamins and minerals) or through excess body weight. As such, it is less about the “junk foods” themselves and more about what those foods are or are not displacing in the diet.
However, notice the underlying concepts of frequency and quantity. “Junk foods” eaten frequently and in large amounts cannot produce a healthy diet, but an individual following a healthy dietary pattern can certainly enjoy some “junk foods” without hesitation. The real problem with junk foods is not their inflammatory, toxic, addictive nature, but their nutrient-lacking, calorie-surplus effects when overemphasized in the diet.
If you want to build a dietary pattern that is sustainable, supports your health, and doesn’t completely exclude the “junk foods”, schedule a FREE Discovery Call with me!