From Junk Food To Healthy Food Through Substitution

We all know junk food is not good for us. Why is it then so difficult to remove junk food from our diet?

The truth is that our brains seem to love fatty and sugary foods. The “feel good” hormones washing through your brain after eating junk food actually mimic the effects of powerful addictive drugs like cocaine and heroin. It is no wonder that giving up on those foods is no easy task.

Junk food is full of calories that do absolutely nothing for the body. The empty calories inside have no or very little nutritional value. The truth is that most of these calories come from sugar and fats.

Eating those less than nutritious food items will cause weight increase weight, higher body fat ratios. Especially salty and savory junk food can also cause you to retain water which will make you feel bloated and sluggish.

After a short energy high you will feel tired and feel less motivation to move and get things done. Many times we eat these food items to get much needed energy but at the end we feel even less energy to get up and move around. The long term effects? Becoming overweight, diabetes, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, heart attack – depending on where you have the weakest link in your body you might get a variety of illnesses.

Cravings for chocolate, ice cream, chips, soda, cakes…. Those cravings can take over and all good intentions to eat healthy might be gone in matter of seconds. Why can’t we just crave spinach?

To overcome these perilous food addictions, you must retrain your body, change old habits and change tastes. It takes time and effort, but, it can be done. And in fact you can crave fresh veggies and fruits as much as you crave sweets.

Healthier Substitutions For Junk Food

The best idea is to find the healthy food items that you can substitute for the junk food you would like to eliminate. If you crave something sweet, you don’t have to deny yourself. Instead of a candy bar (that is mostly just sugar in different consistency) with some nuts and chocolate added for more flavor, you can eat a banana or any other really sweet fruit. Now those sweet fruit have a high sugar content but still it is fresh food and full with vitamins and nutrients that you will never get from a candy bar. As the next step you substitute bananas with strawberries (or any berries) for an even healthier snack.

Craving soda? Try spa water (water infused with fruit) or lemon water. As the first step you can prepare lemonade at home where you have control how much sugar you add to the mix. A home-made lemonade with minimum sugar and lots of lemon juice is a healthy option. You can even take this beverage with you to the office!

Here are a few substitutions you can use to get past the cravings:
• A square of dark chocolate instead of a chocolate candy bar
• Unsalted pretzels or no butter popcorn instead of chips
• Baked vegetable strips instead of chips
• Raw nuts instead of chips for a crunchy snack
• Plain yogurt with fruit, honey, or nuts instead of ice cream
• Flavored sparkling water instead of soda
• Fresh fruit instead of cake and cookies
• Raisins instead of candy
• Cherries and berries instead of candy