Junk Food discussion

[Faris]

I'm a health freak, and i was browsing randomly, when i came across this site. Reading each headline in this link gave me the shivers...what the fuck is up with this shit.

There is absolutely nothing out there to eat anymore...anything and everything will kill you, seriously sometimes i wish i could just go out and hunt my own fucking food.

This is really messed up, decieving youth like this, just to feed their big money choggin bellies. But governments dont say shit, its money, governments are benefiting from all this.

What do we do?!
Jesus, this is scary....I swear, when/if i get blessed with kids, no friggin way im going to feed them any fast/junk food, or any food with preservatives. Moments ago, i ate a ready-packed pineapple slices..now im thinking: "was that juicy taste real?" "Is it going to kill me?" "did i benefit anything from it, other than change the taste of my mouth, and kill my hunger?"

http://www.newstarget.com/junk_food.html
Feature articles on junk food:
Junk Food Ads, Fast Food Increasing Teen Obesity
(NewsTarget) Many of the television commercials seen by teenagers are for junk food products. According to research released this week by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, this may be a major reason obesity rates continue to rise among 12-17 year-olds. The studies examined by researchers...


Legislative effort targets school junk food, aims to upgrade nutritional guidelines
The Senate Agriculture Committee recently held a hearing on school nutrition that has inspired the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) to keep driving toward national action that will help get junk food out of the public school system. Congress could move this year to restrict...


Animals are smarter than humans when it comes to feeding their children (opinion)
Humans are the only species on the planet who actually go out of their way to feed their children crap. All other animals instinctly seek out the best nutrition they can find. Birds find grubs, worms and insects to feed their young, honeybees painstakingly collect pollen and create a nutrient-rich superfood...


Junk food giants form "task force" that claims to combat child obesity
An alliance of major food corporations, entertainment companies, advertisers and the FCC has created a task force to combat childhood obesity. The task force, which calls itself "Media and Childhood Obesity: Today and Tomorrow," held its inaugural meeting March 21, 2007. The task force was first announced...


The health care reform legislation that Congress should pass, but won't
All of a sudden, everyone's talking about health care reform in the United States. From corporations like Wal-Mart to the newly-elected Democratic majority in the House, it seems that everyone -- business, government and the public -- recognizes our health care system is broken. And it is widely recognized...


Researchers seek to insert caffeine into baked goods
(NewsTarget) With a new technology involving caffeine being researched, bakeries might be adding more than just sugar and spice to pastries. Leading the charge is Robert Bohannon, who invented a patent-pending method to encapsulate caffeine into baked goods. However, initial results ended up with...


7UP drops "all natural" claim after CSPI threatens lawsuit
(NewsTarget) Cadbury-Schweppes announced last week that it would stop marketing its lemon-lime 7UP soda -- which contains high-fructose corn syrup -- as "All Natural," after consumer watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) threatened a lawsuit. According to a CSPI press release...


Acrylamide content of most foods remains a mystery
(NewsTarget) Acrylamides -- a cancer-causing agent created when foods or fried or grilled -- is beginning to concern consumers. However, those concerned hard having a hard time getting a handle on the problem. Consumers are finding it impossible to get data on acrylimides in their favorite baked...


Kraft Foods faces suit over "all natural" claim on Capri Sun drink
(NewsTarget) A Florida resident, backed by consumer group Center For Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), recently filed a lawsuit against Kraft Foods for marketing its Capri Sun fruit drink as "all natural" despite the presence of high-fructose corn syrup. Although Kraft has marketed its foil...


Pediatricians call for ban on junk food advertising to children
(NewsTarget) The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Monday that Congress should pass legislation prohibiting junk food commercials on TV shows aimed at children, and pediatricians should support a ban or severe restrictions on unhealthy food ads appearing in schools. The AAP's policy asks...


UK consumer group reveals junk food companies' misleading ad tactics
(NewsTarget) A new report by UK consumer group Which? charges junk food manufacturers with engaging in "underhand" marketing techniques aimed at selling high-sugar, fattening foods to young children. Which? researchers kept track of the marketing techniques of 12 food companies -- Burger King,...


American Diabetes Association receives millions each year from junk food companies, candy manufacturers and pharmaceutical firms
(NewsTarget) The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently rewrote its guidelines on accepting corporate sponsorships from companies that sell unhealthy foods in an effort to appear unbiased, but critics say the charity group's willingness to take money from junk food companies and pharmaceutical...


FTC demands junk food companies disclose money spent marketing to children
(NewsTarget) The Federal Trade Commission has announced that it may soon require food and beverage manufacturers to release detailed information on their expenditures for marketing to children and adolescents. Before the demand can be made of firms, the FTC must subject the proposal to public comments...


Americans know junk food causes weight gain, but they eat it anyway
(NewsTarget) According to a new study published by researcher AC Nielsen, many Americans know that poor nutritional choices lead to increased weight -- and even obesity -- but continue to eat these foods anyway. With standard nutrition labels as the only guide for millions of consumers to judge...


Eating junk food during pregnancy raises newborn's risk of diabetes, obesity
(NewsTarget) Eating junk food during pregnancy may raise the chance of having obese children who are more susceptible to diabetes, according to a Royal Veterinary College, London study. Researchers at RVC fed female rats doughnuts, muffins, chocolate, potato chips, cheese, cookies and candy during...


Junk food makers join with Clinton to announce unenforceable guidelines on marketing junk foods to schoolchildren
(NewsTarget) Although the rising level of childhood obesity in the United States has spurred many schools to ban junk food from their cafeterias and vending machines from their halls, thousands of schools still supply unhealthy fare to their students. A nutrition deal between former President Bill Clinton...


International taskforce calls for global ban on junk food advertising to children to combat obesity epidemic
(NewsTarget) The International Obesity TaskForce (IOTF) recently released a report urging UN agencies and governments to develop globally enforceable regulations to ban or severely limit exploitative marketing techniques aimed at children to sell junk food. At the International Congress on Obesity...


Disease Economy: How the United States economy runs on "treating" chronic disease
This is an article about the disease economy. That's a term I coined because I could find no other existing term to describe what I'm observing in our economy today. I call it the disease economy because such a huge percentage of the economic activity and economic growth I see in this country is based...


The raw foods diet: The taste alone is worth it!
Why would a person make raw foods part of their diet? There are a number of reasons, but perhaps the most important is the health benefit of eating raw foods. There is nothing healthier for the human body than the natural foods it was designed to consume. So, what was it designed for? Was it designed...


Health Ranger hails CPSI effort to stop Kellogg Co. from marketing junk food to children
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently announced its intention to pressure Kellogg Co. to halt its practice of advertising junk foods to children. Spearheaded by CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson, the effort promises a lawsuit to protect children from junk food marketing...


Commercial Alert vs. USDA: How one non-profit is fighting to eliminate junk food from America's schools
Parents have expectations of what will happen once they drop their child off at school. The two most basic expectations are that their child will learn and that they will be safe while at school, but the once-insular school environment has changed. Advertisers are realizing more and more that children...


Taste inflation revealed: why sugar, salt and fragrance make you stupid
America is a nation that suffers from "taste inflation." Virtually all prepared foods in this country, whether they're restaurant foods or convenience foods, are made with such outrageous levels of salt, sugar and MSG that they can only be called extreme foods suffering from taste inflation. What...


Where's the health in health care reform?
In the months and years ahead, you're going to hear a whole lot of talk about health care reform, but most of what you're going to hear is about reform, not health. You see, there's this great lie out there, this huge misconception, this big shell game, where all these politicians and power-hungry people...


"Vending Machine" documentary looks to expose childrens' junk food habits in public schools
Jennifer Mattox hopes to someday enjoy the same kind of attention as Morgan Spurlock, director and producer of the Oscar-nominated 2004 fast-food documentary "Supersize Me." In fact, Spurlock's film inspired Mattox not only to film her own feature-length documentary, but also to launch an entire independent...


Interview with Jennifer Mattox, founder of Faerie Films and director of school nutrition documentary "Vending Machine"
Jessica: I'm talking with Jennifer Mattox, founder of Faerie Films and director of the upcoming documentary, "Vending Machine." Can you tell me a little bit about Faerie Films and why you launched the company? Mattox: Faerie Films was created because I was very interested in social...


American Diabetes Association peddling nutritional nonsense while accepting money from manufacturer of candy and sodas
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently announced a three-year, multi-million dollar alliance with Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB) to help combat obesity and diabetes in America by stressing the importance of making smart nutritional choices. According to an ADA press release...


Changing food choice and dietary habits requires breaking old behavior patterns
It's quite interesting being a health nut, especially when you try to eat at a restaurant with family or friends. People always look at the food I'm eating, and they say "What is that?" And I'm often bringing something with me that looks like a green piece of cookie dough. In fact, I call it dough, but...


How to slash national health care costs by 90% through education, nutrition, and a ban on junk food marketing
Want a real solution to skyrocketing health care costs? Forget about all the so-called "cost saving" schemes dreamed up by politicians, drug companies and HMOs. All they do is create new levels of bureaucracy that don't address the real problems of why health care costs are so high in the first place...


How to quit the soft drink habit: new ebook reveals proven five-step strategy for ditching obesity-promoting beverage
For people looking to quit the soft drink habit, a new ebook is now available that reveals a simple five-step technique for kicking soft drinks for good. The ebook is entitled, "The Five Soft Drink Monsters," and is authored by holistic nutritionist Mike Adams who created the technique and has been free...


The food industry denies links between foods, nutrition and health; bad science meets aggressive marketing
New research published in the British Medical Journal is revealing a game plan that can be used to fight the health-destroying efforts of the food industry. Lessons learned from the fight with Big Tobacco can be applied to fighting the food industry. These results indicate there's a great deal...


The Top Ten Technologies: #10 Superlearning Systems
One of the great failures of modern society is public education. In the United States, the public education system has been denied adequate funding for so long that teachers frequently resort to buying textbooks for their students with their own money. Many schools lack even fundamental instructional...




Concept-related articles:
soft drinks:
The unauthorized history of Coca-Cola (satire)
The health effects of drinking soda - quotes from the experts
Consumption of soft drinks and high-fructose corn syrup linked to obesity and diabetes
Benzene in Some Soft Drinks Prompts Call for Halt on Sales in Schools (press release)
food industry:
The food industry denies links between foods, nutrition and health; bad science meets aggressive marketing
food manufacturers:
How food manufacturers trick consumers with deceptive ingredients lists
overweight:
Overweight in early childhood increases chances for obesity at age 12 (press release)
junk foods:
Poor nutrition, junk foods lead directly to pharmaceutical industry profits
parents:
State-sponsored medical terrorism: Texas authorities arrest parents, kidnap their teenage daughter, and force her through chemotherapy against her will
candy:
Halloween sugar, food additives and the commercialization of holidays
fast food:
Fast food giants prey on parents' gullibility to sell unhealthy food to children
restaurants:
New York may require restaurants to disclose calorie content of food products
obesity:
DHEA for weight loss: miracle drug or unproven experiment?
sugar:
American Diabetes Association peddling nutritional nonsense while accepting money from manufacturer of candy and sodas
diabetes:
American Diabetes Association peddling nutritional nonsense while accepting money from manufacturer of candy and sodas
soft drink companies:
Soft drink company marketing tactics: the experts sound off
cancer:
The mineral selenium proves itself as powerful anti-cancer medicine
public health:
Mandatory AIDS testing proposal is public health lunacy

true story: I once bought a microwave, my mother saw it..and destroyed. Thank you /bow

[Slapper]

Indian hair tampons dont work that well.

[Popeh]

I eat heathilly but to be honest, i've stopped reading whats good for me and just gone for what i feel is good for me (chicken, fruit, water etc).

About a year ago I looked into this and was pretty much 'what the hell can we eat that's not gonna kill us! Our own garden of animals and plants the only way?', but now stuff it.

If you eat decently, excercise regularly and left with decent energy levels then to hell with the other stuff.
Everything somewhere along the line has been claimed it's good for you and it's bad for you.

Every restaurant you go into, unless you're the head chef you;ve no idea how the food is prepared/made, you've no idea how it was grown/captured/handled and chances are, you never will.

Imo unless your looking for a specific diet (bulking/dieting etc) just eat what you believe to be healthy.

[Zanz L. Barre The 3rd]

I'm at the point where I'm eating fast food 1-2 times a day now.

Any advice for breaking the habit? "loldon't go fatass" isn't going to cut.

[sephir]

Dont supersize, eat one meal elsewhere and exercise? My rez at university doesn't offer the best food in terms of health so I often have to go to Subway or Pizza Pizza. Basically I walk a lot and go to the gym and this helps greatly in keeping at weight off.

Don't worry too much about these new age health nuts, eat a balanced diet and you will be fine.

[Intense]

I'm at the point where I'm eating fast food 1-2 times a day now.

Any advice for breaking the habit? "loldon't go fatass" isn't going to cut.

Honestly, there is no "easy" way to break yourself from these eating habits, in my opinion.

I used to do the same (fast food 1-2 times a day), and I basically forced myself to cut it out. Now, Ill eat fast food once every 2-3 weeks. Even then, when I do eat it, I start feeling queasy a little bit after.

I replaced my meals, which were larger and 1-2 a day, into smaller portions at around 6 times a day. For example, I get to work, have a cup of oatmeal, 2 hours later, I'll eat a yogurt, then 2 hours later for lunch Ill go out for sushi, 2 hours later Ill have a granola bar. This is how I pace things, and its worked out quite well for me. I do cheat though sometimes, which is why I'll go out for fast food every now and then, or I'll order a pizza.

This all came out of the realization that Im putting really gross things into my body, lowering my energy levels which affected my mood. So I made, and still do make honestly, conscious decisions to eat better and exercise daily.

[Saga]

likely you wont be able to just stop going all at once, so it's important to ween yourself off it slowly. make a schedule for yourself. if you're eating it twice a day now, cut that down to once a day for a week, then try once every other day for a couple weeks, then go to 2-3 times for two weeks. then once a week for a couple weeks. after that if you can do it a couple times a month, couple that with exercise and dont eat past 10:00 at night and you're on a good track, at that point a couple times a month wont matter.

it's a mindset change.

[Serif]

Meh it is called discipline and sadly a lot of people don't have it.

I used to drink so much caffeine, cokes/red bulls/etc., back in HS and in Jr High but for god 5-6 years the only thing I drink with caffeine in it now is LITs, which is a small amount. The only junk food I eat is on my birthday really when I eat some cake and when I come home to my parents and my Mom makes chocolate oatmeal cookies.

I usually eat from Subway or Calypso Cafe when I do eat out and if I HAVE to go to like a Sonic/Wendy's which is likely seeing how I work construction I try to get the Grilled Chicken and just take it off the bread and eat that. When at home, I try to eat healthy by eating Tuna/Peanut Butter and Crackers and drink mainly water. I haven't worked out in over 4-5 monts and yet I am still in shape because of just my diet.

[dritero]

It's not the caffeine from those drinks that are bad for you persay. Caffeine may actually help burn fat on a low carb diet, examples being green tea and coffee (with no sugar). On a traditional high carb diet however (hello fast food) caffeine has been seen to negatively impact weight loss. The real problem with red bull and soda as I see it is the high sugar content in those drinks, which corresponds to their high carbohydrate and calorie levels. People would be so much better of if all they drank was water (and beer of course :D )

I agree, slowly ween yourself off fast food until you rarely eat it, at this point you will hardly crave it anymore, and most likely feel sick when you do eat it.

[Maguspk]

Make lunch/dinner/breakfast/snack, whatever you're eating out as fast food, before you leave the house make the item you will later eat out. Not only will this be much healthier for you but you can also save a great deal of money. Waking up say 5 minutes earlier to make 2 sandwiches with lettuce and tomatoe is not only going to be great food later in the day but it will also be a good habit to get into. You can even eat a bowl of cereal while you do this, or eat a bowl of "Cream of Wheat" (I love that shit with sugar) so that you are full and not tempted so early in the day to get fast food.

The response "lol just don't go fatass" is really the best response. Asking to omit is really difficult because like alot of others have said it's a battle of willpower and how willing you are to change despite what you might think if you're having trouble you obviously aren't ready to change. Fast food is great but if you have the willpower you can stop.

Anyone can tell you, when you do something that feels really good you end up doing it alot more often simply because you love that positive feeling you get. It may seem like a strange parallel to be drawing but masturbation is alot like eating fast food. You will end up going back to it as a quick means of self gratification but with some willpower you can avoid it. Also, just like masturbation by not eating fastfood you better yourself in other areas. By not devoting your time to finding the best way to masturbate or whatever, you may increase your sex drive and have the motivation you need to develop a real relationship with a female (depsite how carnal you might intend that relationship to be initially); in the case of fast food by not eating the fast food you change your mindset to live without the fast food and you can look forward to it as a reward for eating right during the week.

Saga's suggestion of eating it once a week is great, but I wouldn't ween yourself off by going once again, it's a cop out. Start rigidly by just making your own meals and bringing them in a lunchbox with an ice pack or some shit, rewarding yourself at the end of a week like after work on friday will be so much more gratifying when you've earned it and been eating maybe shitty sandwiches all week haha :D

[Stolin]

Don't take general healthy eating habits too seriously. Everyone's body is different, one food can be healthy to someone and be deadly to another.

[Exoduso]

Too lazy to read all that, but junk food sucks... i've actually stopped eating pretty much every junk food on the planet in the last couple of years and I feel a heck of a lot better (and there's still enough stuff to eat.. just gotta pick your restaurants..)

[Ryany]

For Americans at least, all you really have to do is to be able to read and interpret the Nutrition Information label on the back of just about everything you buy. It's too bad maybe 5% of all Americans actually use the labels.

The more processed food is, the worse the nutrition information usually is on it. Most preservatives they put in processed food are not good for you. Of course, the less processed food is, the more work it is on your part preparing your meals. (which actually consumes a good chunk of time if you are hardcore into things)

[Faris]

It's too bad maybe 5% of all Americans actually use the labels.

That is a problem, but i think the bigger problem is when you feel hungry, you look around and all you can see is fast food joints surrounding you.
We're put in a circle. we work 8-9 hours, go home cant be fucked to cook, or sometimes there is no time to eat at home. So, we are forced to eat out/order, thats when we find out we are surrounded by fast food joints, and hey! they are so cheap. So what the heck, next thing you know, you are overweight, feeling lazy all the time, can't breath properly, your mouth is always dry from all the cheese in your burgers and huge amount of salt in your food. your fart smells aweful...Goddamn, its a nasty way to live.

As for cutting out, get yourself used to salads, fruits, and organic food. Look for something you like, to replace the taste of fast food in your mouth. I found sushi (fucking expensive, but its worth it) i hate fish, but i fell in love with sushi.

My father was hit with cancer years ago from eating too much (in a nut shell, dont wanna get into detail) thats when i freaked out, lol.

The U.S's national food is burger and fries right? God help you.

[Intense]

As for cutting out, get yourself used to salads, fruits, and organic food. Look for something you like, to replace the taste of fast food in your mouth. I found sushi (fucking expensive, but its worth it) i hate fish, but i fell in love with sushi.

Im not really sure how it is in other states, but theres a HUGE demand for sushi in California. There are sushi bars all over the place. 8)

[Faris]

As for cutting out, get yourself used to salads, fruits, and organic food. Look for something you like, to replace the taste of fast food in your mouth. I found sushi (fucking expensive, but its worth it) i hate fish, but i fell in love with sushi.

Im not really sure how it is in other states, but theres a HUGE demand for sushi in California. There are sushi bars all over the place. 8)

Is it expensive?

like in Dubai, example, a 6 piece maki roll (Crunchy California, not so big) is for $6.50.
Maybe prices would differ from one shop to another, but slightly.

[Vinen]

I eat terribly. My diet consists of Energy Bars, Energy Drinks, Diet Caffeinated Soda, Oatmeal and... Dried Fruits and Nuts. Thats what 99% of my diet is everyday. Sometimes I will go out for lunch with coworkers but most of the time I just eat mixed dried nuts and fruit -.-;;; for Dinner I will usually have some sort of stir fry. I personally don't touch Candy or Fast Food anymore (Walking into Burger King or McDonalds almost makes me vomit; my stomach cannot handle the smell of them anymore). I also exercise daily for around 30 minutes to an hour depending on when I get out of work since the gym is down the street.

Honestly, although my diet is shitty now... it used to be far worse (I used to weigh 230, I weight 140~150 now)... people just need to find alternative foods. Instead of grabbing a king sized candy bar; grab a bag of dried fruit... etc. Or fuck, just cut down on portions..........

[Faris]

http://www.kentuckyfriedcruelty.com/
thats one restaurant exploited. (lol@pamela)

[Ishido]

go home cant be fucked to cook

This is the main problem. It's rediculously easy and fast (and usually cheap) to make yourself a simple meal. I think a lot of people just don't know how or are intimidated by cooking something themselves.

Personally I don't eat too healthy, but I substitute things. I rarely eat candy, instead I eat fruit or yogurt or something. I don't drink soda very much, instead I usually drink juices, milk, etc.

[Calais~]

If you're drinking something called "fruit drink" instead of "fruit juice" don't be surprised when you find out it's not exactly good for you. Seriously, take five seconds to read the label. Is it 10% fruit juice and mostly concentrated whatever and high fructose corn syrup? Don't fucking buy it. Is it 95% juice, water and 2% long ass words you can't pronounce? Great, you've found yourself a winner. Drink that. Buy fresh fruit, vegetables, and unprepared lean cuts of meat and make it yourself. It's not hard and it doesn't take a long time. Throw chicken on the stove, add stuff like peppers, onions, whatever floats your boat and maybe a little flavored olive oil. Throw brown rice in another pot. Tada, you just made yourself a tasty dinner in less than a half hour and won't have to undo the button on your jeans while you sit down.

Like someone else said, you can have fast food once and a while. Get grilled chicken, water, and a baked potato (go easy on the butter/cheese/sour cream) instead of a triple bacon cheeseburger, coke, and fries.