Junk Food: Cheap and super easy to access - moderation might be the best way to exit

Junk food is known around the world majorly because it's relatively cheap compared to fruits or say vegetables. They are everywhere, you can get a snack or a junk meal anywhere and anytime. In most grocery stores, instant meals are ever readily available, little snacks (small chops) and sodas are more common and easily accessible than ever, just as anything else in this century, you can simply place a buy order online from your mobile phone and depending on how fast the dispatch rider is, it can arrive your door in quick few minutes.

They are tasty, rich in sweets, fats, or salt, which obviously gives the rich taste, junk food feels smooth and creamy to take in while taking stuffs like vegetables might taste slightly bitter as they always have that illusion of good look and smell to them, which makes the temptation to resisting them quite hard. That explains the saying that humans are driven by sight, thus, whenever we see something that looks or smell delicious, we crave to take a bite from it.

For someone, whom barely exercises and/or consume alcoholic beverages, a constant lack of inactivity and physical exercise can leave you feeling tired, while also it has been estimated that drinking enhances the brain's response to food smells, this might make a person become prone to overeating.

Adopting healthier eating options might become difficult for someone whom eating junk foods has become habitual, as it can be quite challenging to break an old habit, say someone already used to eating pies for breakfast or little snacks by nighttime, it's relatively hard to stop such an habit, like the adage goes "you can't teach an old dog a new trick".

It's also quite necessary to understand why some people meanwhile can and do crave for junk food, fair to say there are two major factors that makes the experience of eating of tasty food highly desirable.

First, would be the sweet sensation of the food, the sensation here describes what the food tastes like, either of whether it is sweet, salty or otherwise, and of course how it feels once it's in the mouth. Food makers worldwide budget a lot of money towards research, such research includes the need to identify say the premium satisfying crunch levels in fries, etc. This explains the sensation the brain associates with certain foods or drinks.

The second factor would be the actual macronutrient makeup of the food. that is the blend of proteins, fats and carbohydrates that it contains.

A person that consumes these junks on a daily basis is more prone to having health deficits, compared to one who eat these less frequently. The reality is that, these items are made to be really really good so as to keep you coming back or having you continuously purchasing them. The most scary part of these items will be there exposure to children, either through TV Ads or social influencers, as kids that consume a regular and constant diet of these junks might suffer from childhood obesity, and also are exposed to the risk of having diabetes. While for those of us as adults there is the need to worry about our cholesterol levels, sodium and several other issues these junks can cause.

Most consumers know for a fact that the consumption of junk foods, soft drinks, etc is unhealthy, but if they are eaten in MODERATION, then maybe it will not be an issue because being moderate might be the best way of not falling into being a junk food addict or enthusiast. These junk items in general have a high concentration level of salt, fat and sugar which can be very alluring to the brain making you want them more, that shows why it is near impossible to open a bag of chips just so you could eat a chip or a box of chocolates, just so you could taste just one block, these items taste very delicious, and therefore trigger the release of certain pleasure inducing neurotransmitters in the brain, moreso, humans are evolutionary designed to eat a lot more than we need.

Meanwhile, research has it proven that the less junk food we eat, the less we crave it, there are some certain methods that can be adopted to curb the cravings for these junks. Such as

1. The need to avoid buying processed and packaged foods; say while you are in a store, you can totally avoid the aisle where processed and packaged foods are kept because when you refuse purchase it, then you cannot eat it. Conversely, when you decline the temptation of thinking about it, then you can't be lured by it.

2. Dealing with your stress issues better; just as no sane doctor will recommend the use of hard drugs or smoking as a way of dealing with stress issues. In the same spirit, I could not advise the consumption of junk items either. Stress is a phenomenon that occurs in virtually everyone's lives from time to time. Identifying better ways to deal with stressful circumstances can help to overcome the addictive pull of consuming junk foods or fizzy stuffs. This can be through simple breathing methods or my favorite, which is guided meditations. A couple of meditation apps on my phone takes care of it.

3. Mixing what you eat; this doesn't involve adding strong supplements to your food at least but rather it's just the need to vary what you eat to keep things interesting and not monotonous or repetitious. For example, there are several cook shows on TLC that can teach you one or two ways to add new spices and flavors and seasonings to your dishes that can make eating healthy foods a lot more pleasurable and fun experience. Bottom line, making sure you consume several food that are made of several flavors, spices and whatnots helps you get over the lure of eating the same junk over and over again.

4. Conscious eating over mindless eating; it's an habit for some people to always want to chew on something while say watching TV, so rather than making and eating an healthy meal before sitting your butt down to watch your favorite show or movie while not just mindlessly grab some quick fries and candy. In addressing this, is the need to replace mindless eating with a more conscious eating and you retraining your taste buds to settle for subtle flavors and good nutrition.

Again these junk items do taste really good, but eating and drinking them in moderation will be best way to keep one's self on the right path. The need to eat and drink wisely cannot be overemphasized, and if you decide to rather completely distance yourself from junks intake, then you could adopt certain measures to see it through such as; when you feel the want for a "soft drink" you can rather buy yourself some coconut water or a fresh fruit juice.

For a start change might seem difficult, but in no time your body will adjust to them and get used to it.