Junk foodsJunk

Food intake varies based on availability and accessibility. Different push and pull factors directly or indirectly affect the food intake of individuals. We may have more control over our regular meals to make those healthy, diversified, and balanced. Occasionally we must eat foods that are unhealthy like fast foods/processed foods/instant noodles, etc.

First, we need to keep in mind that it’s not a regular meal that may consist of some ingredients which are claimed to be unhealthy. So, you may reduce the negative effects of that food by eating infrequently as well as increasing the consumption of healthy foods frequently in your follow-up regular meals. It’s also important to keep in mind that if you’re panicked to consume some foods while you’re in need such as in travels, natural calamities, busy schedules, etc. then you will deprive yourself and your family members of having those foods. As a result, you will miss the opportunity to eat something. It also may hamper your nutritional needs and productivity in the short term or long term. So, keep trying to develop a habit of consuming foods that are not prepared at home less frequently if possible. Then to overcome the negative effects try to consume homemade foods containing fresh and healthy foods.

Thus, complementing unhealthy foods with healthy foods will help us to live healthily, and maintain our expected nutritional status by reducing stress from having infrequently or occasionally consuming unhealthy foods.

*Featured image credit goes to https://www.pexels.com

By Md. Khurshidul Zahid, Ph.D.

Md. Khurshidul Zahid Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science (INFS) of The University of Dhaka (DU) of Bangladesh. He has completed his Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University (TTU), USA. He was a finalist in the Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Competition organized by the American Society of Nutrition (ASN), Experimental Biology (EB) meeting held in Boston in 2015. He was also awarded a gold medal by “Professor Dr. Quazi Salamatullah trust foundation” of INFS, DU in 2005.

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