The Dangers of Soda, Fast Food & Junk Foods

The Dangers of Soda, Fast Foods & Junk Foods

Obesity can be preventable if better diet and lifestyle choices are made. For example, snacks like chips, cookies, donuts and candy should be avoided. According to healthaliciousness.com, many junk foods contain about 560 calories per serving. An 8-ounce bag of cheese puffs contains around 1,269 calories which is more than half of a person's daily recommended calorie intake.

Some restaurants known for having healthier options also have questionable unhealthy choices such as Subway. While on their website, they claim the 6-inch Meatball Marinara to be only 480 calories with 18.0 grams of fat, 7.0 grams of unsaturated fat and 920 milligrams of sodium, WebMD reports that the sandwich is actually 860 calories with 42 grams of fat, 18 grams of unsaturated fat and 2,480 milligrams of sodium. This sandwich has been declared as one of the unhealthiest sandwiches to eat.

Sodas should definitely be avoided. According to an article on CNN, sodas have been noted as being a huge contributor to obesity. The high fructose corn syrup found in sodas have also been linked to higher blood sugar and insulin which can increase the risks of strokes, diabetes, heart diseases and cancers.

According to nutritionvista.com, sodas can also cause teeth damage, particularly through the erosion of enamels due to acids from sodas. Diet sodas can even cause dizziness, cramps, migraines and memory loss. Sodas also cause premature aging, skin and bone issues, kidney problems, dehydration, problems with sleeping and indigestion.

According to an article from Fox News, drinking excessive amounts of soda also contributes to deaths when they reported a story about a 30-year old woman, Natasha Harris who died from cardiac arrest due to her unhealthy obsession with drinking at least 10 liters of Coca Cola daily. It also caused her teeth to decay and caused one of her eight children to be born without enamel on its teeth due to his or her mother's addiction. It was noted that drinking that much soda amounts to over two pounds of sugar and 970 milligrams of caffeine. According to CNN's article, The American Heart Association suggests drinking no more than three cans of soda a week although not drinking soda at all would be a much healthier decision regarding a person's diet.

Healthier Alternatives To Soda, Fast Food and Junk Food

Fruit smoothies, fruit juices and vegetable juices are a healthier alternative to sodas as many of them contain less sugar than sodas and also contain vitamins and nutrients needed for the body to replenish itself. When making juice selections, it is important to choose juices that are labeled as 100 percent juice. According to fruitjuicefacts.org, just one 4-ounce glass of 100 percent fruit juice is the equivalent to 1 serving of fruit. Studies have also suggested that the proper consummation of 100 percent juice is linked to an overall better eating pattern which can help prevent obesity.

Healthier food choices such as fruits and vegetables are lower in fat and provide many vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the body needs to sustain itself. According to drgily.com and livestrong.com, fruits and vegetables also have many health benefits including healing injuries, providing energy and fighting acne and other preventable diseases including heart diseases, cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, strokes, osteoporosis, cataracts and obesity. 

Healthy Recipe Alternatives To Fast Food & Sodas

"To watch what you eat, cook it yourself."- Ching-He Huang

Poached eggs are very low in calories. According to livestrong.com, one large raw egg contains 75 calories. 60 of those calories are in the yolk and the other 15 are in the white part of the egg. If you poach a large raw egg, it will contain 80 calories. 

Other Ways To Prevent Obesity

Having a more active lifestyle contributes to preventing obesity. World Health Organization recommends 60 minutes of physical activity per day for children and 150 minutes of physical activity per week for adults to prevent obesity. According to Time, playing three or more sports lowers the rate of overweight teens by 27 percent and the risk of teen obesity by 39 percent. A researcher at Dartmouth University, Keith Drake has estimated a 26 percent decrease in obesity among teens if all high school students played at least two sports.