Difference between Healthy and Unhealthy Food

Junk Out, Health In

Colourful Diet, Healthy Life

Do we really think, what we are eating is actually healthy for us and our family?

Do we really think about how some foods are going to affect our health?

We are bombarded with lots of healthy and unhealthy food in grocery stores with a long list of ingredients. As we all are well aware that to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy food is very confusing and not easy to understand. These days, young people (25- 45 years of age) need to make better healthier choices today for a healthier tomorrow.

In this article, we will explore the difference between healthy and unhealthy food and how it’s affecting our health.

What is healthy food?

What is healthy food, this question comes to our mind whenever we eat something. Healthy food is basically food that provides all the nutrients and energy which our body requires. What makes a healthy balanced diet? Vitamins, mineral, protein, fat, fiber and carbohydrates all adds in the balanced diet. Healthy food means a diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and grains, meals rich in proteins, and good carbohydrates which provide our body overcome illness, increase immunity, and helps in better metabolism.

List of healthy food items

Vegetables (high in iron and fibers)

• Leafy Green vegetables
• Mushrooms
• Onion
• Tomatoes
• Herbs &
• Peppers

Nuts, Grains & Seeds (High in fibers)

• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Flex Seeds
• Sunflower Seeds
• Pumpkin Seeds
• Whole Wheat Bread
• Cereals
• Oats &
• Quinoa

Meat & Poultry (rich in proteins & Omega 3)

• Organic Chicken
• Fish
• Sea Food
• Lean Meat

Dairy Products ( High in calcium )

• 100% Organic Eggs
• Almond Milk
• Coconut Milk
• Non-fat Yogurt

What is unhealthy food?

In today’s time when everyone has a busy schedule, junk food or fast food is an easy and convenient choice for everyone.  All the junk food is unhealthy food. Unhealthy food defines as food that is rich in calories, oil, and sugar. Any food which has little portion of fiber, protein, vitamins, and good fats and have less nutritional value.

Excess use of unhealthy food can cause chronic diseases like obesity, heart diseases, and other major illness. Obesity is one of the main diseases which results in blocked arteries ultimately leading to heart attacks. 

List of unhealthy food items

Sugary Drinks (high in sugar)

• Packed Fruit Juices

Carbonated Drinks (high in sugar)

• Fizzy drinks

Oily – Starch Rich Food (high in salt and oil)

• Chips
• Deep-fried Chicken

Cookies & Bread (high in gluten)

• Gluten rich bread
• Pastas
• Cakes
• Pastries

Fast Food Items (low in fiber & nutrients, rich in saturated fats)

• Burgers
• Pizzas
• Hot dogs etc

Health Effects of Healthy and Unhealthy Food

Energy Levels

Normally, healthy food provides energy to our body and with the help of energy we are able to do our work all day. Fresh fruits, leafy green vegetables, beans, nuts, and cereals are healthy choices to intake and are high in energy.

Whereas, unhealthy food cannot provide sufficient energy to our body. High consumption of unhealthy food causes fatigue; we feel exhausted, headaches and joint pain etc

Mental Health

An assistant professor of Columbia University says,

“But diet is potentially the most powerful intervention we have. By helping people shape their diets, we can improve their mental health and decrease their risk of psychiatric disorders.”

With more research on health, we come to know that unhealthy food is not only harmful to the physical aspect of the body but it also affects the mental health of the person. Young people with high consumption of unhealthy and junk food are facing learning and memory problems.

Felice Jacka, President at International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research, says,

“A healthy diet is protective and an unhealthy diet is a risk factor for depression and anxiety.”

Addictive

Unhealthy food is very addictive because of excess sugar and fat. Researches show that when fats and sugar are combined together, they become hard to resists. This combination is linked with addiction to unhealthy food. Also, the people get tempted towards the vast variety of tasty unhealthy food for example pizza and burgers.

Whereas, healthy food is less in taste as compared to junk food. Researches show that people are now moving towards a healthy diet plan and focusing more on healthy habits.

 Weight Gain

Obesity or weight gain is the major problem linked with unhealthy eating patterns. Obesity is just not the physical aspect but it also causes many chronic diseases like diabetes, heart attack, and blood pressure.

We can eliminate the chances of obesity with healthy eating habits.

How to make Junk Food into Healthy Food

How we can change our unhealthy food to healthy food? The answer to this question is not difficult. We just need to do few changes to make our meal healthy and tasty.

Fried Food to Baked Food             

Fried food items are the better choice for everyone when it comes to taste and happiness. But from a health point of view, it is not. We can easily swap fried items with baked items for example baked chicken, baked fish, and many other options are available.

Canned Food to Fresh Food

Canned fruits and vegetables for example canned pineapple, canned cherry, canned peas, and mushrooms to name a few are readily available in the supermarkets. We can replace all the canned fruits and vegetables with fresh and raw fruits and vegetables. Like this, we can avoid preservatives added in the canned food and get the complete nutrients out of it.

Refined Grains to Whole Grains

Whole grains have more nutritional value than white and refined grains. Whole grains are rich in fiber and support digestive health. While purchasing bread and pasta, we should buy brown rice instead of white rice, whole grains items other than white pasta, and bread.

Milk Chocolate to Dark Chocolate

For healthy food intake, we don’t have to really miss out on chocolate. Dark chocolate is good for health and can be consumed.

Frizzy Drinks to Fresh Juices

We can easily swap frizzy and carbonated drinks with fresh juices. Fresh juices are healthier and tasty and nutritional value is much higher.