10 Harmful Effects Of Junk Food On Your Mental And Physical Health
No one can deny that junk food is everyone’s favorite, and people love to enjoy it worldwide. It may be hard to resist sweet, fat and tasty food. But daily high consumption of junk food is bad for your health and has negative effects. Junk food has high calories of fat, sugar, salt and carbohydrates and does not provide essential nutrients like minerals, vitamins and fiber for your body’s needs. In this article we will cover 10 harmful effects of junk food in detail
Why is eating junk food bad?
Much research shows That eating junk food like burgers, fries, cakes, biscuits and sugary soda drinks leads to obesity and other serious diseases, like heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Let’s look at the major 10 harmful effects of eating junk food regularly you must know.
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular problems
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Kidney damage
- Liver disease
- Dental cavities
- Cancer
- Depression
- Skin problems Diabetes
Diabetes
Research shows that junk food is bad for health and causes the disease of diabetes. Junk and processed foods that break down quickly in the human body lead to blood sugar rising rapidly.
Continually eating junk food can rapidly increase weight and excess body fat, which are big risk factors for type 2 diabetes. High salt in junk food usually develops high blood pressure.
Junk food also raises triglyceride levels, and it has a lot of trans and saturated fats. High triglycerides can cause the risk of type 2 diabetes because trans and saturated fats are found in them. Healthier food choices help lower the risk and manage diabetes if you already have it.
Cardiovascular Problems
One of the major side effects of junk food consumption is cardiovascular disease. A large “Harvard study” found that eating too much red meat and sugary snacks may lead to inflammation, which may raise the risk of heart disease and stroke.
However, a rich diet like fruits, Vegetables and anti-inflammatory foods can decrease the risk, improve your cardiovascular health and save you from many heart diseases.
High Cholesterol
Junk food contains unhealthy fats that may increase your body’s cholesterol risk. The function of these fats is to increase the bad (LDL) Cholesterol in the blood and promote the risk of heart disease.
Eating junk food regularly reduces the (HDL) good cholesterol, and it is very typical to remove bad cholesterol. So it’s important to eat healthier food because more HDL and lower LDL protect your heart and make you healthy.
Obesity
Junk food increases the risk of obesity, which is a major factor in heart disease, respiratory problems and cancer. Junk food stores high calories, sugar and extra fat in your body.
However, eating junk food regularly can cause weight gain and develop into obesity. Junk food also makes you feel full without providing healthy nutrients. A healthier lifestyle helps to avoid unhealthy weight gain and keep your body strong.
Kidney Damage
Research shows that the consumption of junk food and processed food can be harmful to your kidneys. The journal Experimental Physiology, published in 2016, found that junk food can harm your kidneys in the same way as diabetes. This represents the importance of maintaining a healthy diet to protect your kidneys.
Liver Disease
Diet affects your liver health a lot. A lot of studies reported that excessive consumption of unhealthy food like junk food, unhealthy fats, sugar, refined carbs and meat can promote nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Regularly eating this food doesn’t stay active; it can damage your liver and increase the chance of liver cancer.
Dental Cavities
Everyone likes to taste junk food, but the danger of junk food can badly destroy oral health. Sugar and salt in junk food increase the number of harmful bacteria and feed to make them strong in your mouth.
These bacteria in your mouth convert the sugar into acid, break down the tooth enamel(the hard outer layer of your teeth), and make cavities. So, prioritize a rich diet of healthy food and avoid junk food to prevent dental issues.
Cancer
Eating unhealthy foods like fat, sugar, and salt can develop many types of cancer. PLOS Medicine Published people who eat junk food can be at high risk of stomach, colorectal and respiratory tract cancer.
Eating a balanced, rich diet of unprocessed food like vegetables, whole grains and plant-based proteins can help to reduce the cancer risk and protect your health.
Depression
Junk food not only affects physical health, but it also damages mental health. “Molecular Psychiatry” journal reported eating high quantities of junk food can cause depression. A deficiency of brain health nutrients like (omega-3, fatty acids, vitamins B and magnesium) negatively impacts mood and promotes depression.
Furthermore, eating a lot of junk food makes you lazy and negatively affects your mood. Eating a healthy, balanced diet is important to feel better and maintain your mental health.
Skin Problems
Eating a lot of junk food can cause skin problems in many ways. High sugar and unhealthy fats can develop pimples and acne breakouts. 2021 research indicates that fatty food, refined carbs and sugar promote acne risk.
Even though dairy products, which are often found in junk food, also cause acne. Adopting a balanced diet with all important nutrients keeps your skin healthy and saves your skin from several skin issues.
Conclusion
We see how 10 harmful effects of consuming junk food impact our health. Eating too much tasty junk food is harmful and causes many diseases. We suggest adopting a balanced diet with rich nutrients to make you healthy and save you from the bad effects of junk food. With the choice of better foods, people can lower their health risks.