Healthy Food Versus Junk Food

In today’s society there is so much hype about eating healthy, but what exactly is considered healthy food and not junk food? There are many strategies that can be used to identify what is healthy food and what is junk food, but the division between the two is not absolute. Reading the nutrition labels on food will offer the most effective tool to help determine whether it is junk food or healthy food. The biggest differences between the two is that if the food is healthy it will contain more minerals and vitamins, have healthier fats and oils, and lower chemical additives and lower levels of sodium. Junk food is thought to be high in calories and low in useful minerals and vitamins.

Junk food will often get many of their calories from saturated fats that are unhealthy for you, plus it is also full of sweeteners that add calories, chemicals, and sodium. Snack foods and desserts are considered junk food. Foods that are minimally-processed like fatty cuts of meat are usually excluded from the junk food category even if they are not very healthy. In most nations food is required to carry nutritional information labels. Some foods that may be exempt from this restriction include meats, vegetables, unprocessed foods, or minimally-processed foods. When there are nutrition labels you can read you can easily see the difference between junk food and healthy food.

The food that is considered healthy should provide your body with the essential macronutrients like fiber, which is a useful form of roughage, proteins, minerals, and vitamins. If the food contains a high level of saturated fat, trans-fat, or calories from sweeteners that have been added, it is most likely junk food. If the food that you are considering buying does not have a nutrition label there are a few rules of thumb that can be used to determine if it is junk food or healthy food. Chemically processed foods fall into the junk food category unlike natural foods that are usually healthier for you. Vegetables and fruits, especially if eaten raw, are usually considered to be a healthy food. When eating out, visual inspection can help distinguish between healthy and junk food. If the food you ordered is shimmering under a layer of fat, it is most likely junk food. Sweetened drinks and desserts are junk food.

In some cases, the food could be considered healthy food, but the techniques that are used to process it could move it to junk food. For example, an apple is healthy food but if you cover it with a layer of caramel it becomes junk food.