By Dr. Nigma T. Sciortino, ND

We see junk food everywhere, at gas stations, grocery stores, schools, work, at home watching television and even on billboards as we innocently drive home from work, junk food is hard to avoid.Not a day will go by where we are not exposed to junk food; the thought of a quick taste on the lips provides us with a moment of satisfaction, however the far greater consequences of a lifetime on the hips might not seem so appetizing after all.

We know that junk food is not good for you and can give you negative signs like a car can if it is not fed the right substances; your body gives you hints similar to that of an engine light on the dashboard of your car being turned on in the event of engine trouble. The junk food you have eaten will too give you signs to your body that appear as fatigue, acne, rashes, digestive problems and even mood imbalances like depression. The long term side effects of improper eating can cause chronic inflammation in the body that contributes to almost every disease state. Weight gain is equivalent to that of an engine light going on in the car signaling that you are on your way to being a statistic for heart disease, cancer, and diabetes similar to eventual engine failure in your car. Now, if a light turned on in your car telling you that you need to fill up some gas, check your engine oil or brakes, you would certainly take your car in to be fixed in order to prevent your car from incurring engine failure or further damage to your vehicle.

So if we know junk food is so bad for us and can cause disease, why do we eat it? Many of us indulge in junk food for the very reason that it simply tastes good and that we feel we deserve a sweet “reward” after a long hard day. The money spent on marketing junk food is alarming. The junk food industry spends a budget of approximately $30 billion and target young children aged 3 years and above. Large corporations such as McDonald’s spend millions of dollars on advertising to the point that they spent $500 million dollars on just one ad campaign, whereas important institutions such as the National Cancer Institute had a budget to spend only $1 million a year to promote the consumption of five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Now we know why our population is obese and dying of disease more than ever before, our marketing is polluting our diets.

Debunk the Junk food list

Let's look at the condition of our everyday food supply, it contains, artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, preservatives, pesticides and other chemicals that link risks for various cancers. Our food supply also consists of common allergens that most people wouldn’t even be aware of as well as inflammation promoting foods.

Our food is manipulated with junk and is stripped of vitamins, minerals, fiber and flavor. These artificial colors, artificial flavors, flavor enhancers and preservatives are used to cause people to be addicted to the flavor and to make food look more appetizing for marketing purposes.

In addition, we are ingesting a greater amount of pesticide residue than what is considered safe and reasonable by the FDA. The waxy pesticide coats our fruit and vegetables to enable longer shelf life. By the time we have hit 5 years of age we have we have ingested up to 35% of an entire lifetime dose of some carcinogenic pesticides. We know this from looking at the statistics of brain cancers rising in children from 1973 to 1990 to 32% increase in brain cancer and leukemia.

Food allergies are not a new concept, as far back as 400 B.C., history reveals that the famous Greek physician Hippocrates observed that milk can cause stomach irritation and hives in certain individuals. He also noted in some of his writings, the anaphylactic/shock effect of shellfish and nuts in certain people. In 100 B.C., Roman philosopher Lucretius wrote, “what is food to some may be poison to others.”

Since food allergies affect the body at many levels and systems, it can manifest in many different patterns. To mention a few, conditions such as asthma, eczema, fatigue, ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, headache, insomnia, bladder infections, infertility have all been shown to be correlated to dairy allergies. Some common food allergies include milk, eggs, corn and corn gluten, peanuts, soy and wheat, however since we are all unique genetically you may want to get your food allergies tested by your Naturopathic doctor.

Last but not least for you sweet tooth’s out there, sugar is one of the most common toxins in the junk food industry and its addictive properties make it a must for fast food restaurants and junk food promoters in order to sell more products. Sugar eaten everyday poses a risk for your body to be in a continuous acidic state where more and more minerals are required and are extracted from our bones to rectify the imbalanced state which leads us to increased risk of many diseases. Sugar affects every organ in our body and is stored in the most inactive areas, the belly, buttocks, breasts and thighs.

Also, sugar cane and sugar beets are also contaminated with many different forms of fungi. Beware that even if you try to avoid sugar in its raw state, it is often hidden in our food supply such as in pasta sauces, ketchup, salad dressings, and teriyaki sauces to name a few so read the labels carefully.

Debunk the Tempation of Junk food

The first step to debunking the junk is to be aware that just because it is found everywhere, it doesn’t mean that it is good for you. It is important to change the way you eat and educate yourself on some of the toxins that exist in our everyday foods such as chemicals and artificial flavors. These will over time lead to disease, especially in children’s whose little bodies are in need of nutrients not chemicals that eventually build up and cause disease. Think of all the things about your body that you would like to change, for example chronic neck and back pain, muscle pain, fatigue, depression, acne digestive disturbances and other chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. Nutritious foods can modulate and boost your immune system, change your moods and can even make you feel and look younger. Research led by John Hopkins University studied how vegetables and fruit with emphasis on broccoli reduced cancer growth by up to 40%.

Other research from high profile institutions such as Stanford and Harvard has proven that people who eat more vegetables, not only reduce their risks for various cancers, but other inflammatory diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Color your diet

Start by eating a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables. Look out for these colors, green, yellow-orange, red, blue-purple, and white, the more colorful fruits and vegetables you eat, the wider the range of nutrients. Each color offers something unique to your diet such as disease fighting phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals as well as fiber that all work synergistically at supporting a good healthy foundation for your diet. Phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals may act as antioxidants that work at deactivating cancer- causing toxins and fiber works by supporting digestion and elimination of toxins from the body.

Blue/purple: Blueberries, purple grapes, plums, purple cabbage, eggplant and purple peppers

Green: Avocados, green apples, honeydew, kiwifruit, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cucumbers, leeks and peas

White: Bananas, brown pears, white peaches, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, parsnips, potatoes and white corn

Yellow/orange: Apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, papayas, pineapples, butternut squash, carrots, yellow summer squash and sweet potatoes.

Red: Red apples, cherries, cranberries, pomegranates, strawberries, red peppers, radishes, radicchio and tomatoes.

You can make shopping a fun and educational experience by having your kids pick out different colored fruits and vegetables. At mealtimes you can identify the colors and name the all the healthy foods. Colorful eating is an easy and important concept to teach your children at a young age, they too will adopt healthy eating habits.

Including more fruits and vegetables in the diet is much easier than most people think.

Alternative Anti Aging Tips:

• Eat organic Fruits and Vegetables

• Avoid foods with added colors that are not naturally occurring

• Eat healthy whole grains: quinoa, amaranth, kamut, spelt, milleto

• Make fresh fruit and vegetable salsas as snacks and with your main meal such as grilling fruit and serving it with meat or fish, and even serving sliced fruit on low-fat soy ice cream or yogurt.

• Avoid Coffee: roiboss, green, black teas, chicory, dandelion

• Dairy Alternatives: rice, soy, almond, oat, pea milks

• Sugar alternatives: stevia, honey, brown rice syrup, fruit

• Get your food allergies tested: IgG blood test through your Naturopathic doctor

Increasing your Fruits and Vegetables

• Pre-cut vegetables ready to eat as snacks

• Add fruit to your cereal every morning

• Blend your favorite protein powder with various fruits and or vegetables and carry it in a thermos for when you are on the run

• Wrap a bunch of vegetables up in a tortilla

• Vegetable soup

• When at a buffet raid the salad bar

• Order salad instead of french fries when out for dinner

• Steamed vegetables with every dinner

• Baby carrots, shredded cabbage, or spinach to add color and nutrients to a green salad.

• Apple chunks, pineapples, and raisins perk up coleslaw, chicken or tuna salads.

• Dress your greens with fruit: blended fruit and apple cider vinegar, olive oil and herbs to make low-fat salad dressings

• Spread your bread with grinded vegetables

• Add almond butter on top of your vegetables

• Grab your health: Fill your zip lock bag with some of the following healthy choices for easy to grab snacks
  
  
  • Fruit— apples, with sweet cherries, grapes, dried dates, figs, prunes, and raisins
    
    
  • Vegetables— carrot sticks, broccoli, or some red, yellow, and green pepper.

The proof is in the pudding- junk food advertising is everywhere and can corrupt our overall health if we are not careful. Junk food offers extra calories, toxic substances, chemicals and artificial flavors and over time can become expensive to your health care budget as it can increase your need for drug medications in the future.

Being aware and incorporating alternative healthy snacks instead of junk food that are quick and easy can increase your life expectancy. The next time you think of indulging in a chocolate bar or chocolate covered doughnuts are the foods that are disease causing and the ones that will even make you sick afterward. Instead, grab a healthy colorful fruit or vegetable snack- be creative and add these nutrients to your everyday eating and make your way to living a long and healthy life, not to mention a better quality of life free of the rising epidemic of disease. Think about picking the food you eat everyday in the same way you would pick the home you live in and the car you drive. More than often, one will research these such items before they purchase them; make your health one of these important items and empower yourself to pick the best choices for your health instead of eating foods that are cheap, greasy and nutrient-deprived.

Dr. Sciortino is a well respected Naturopathic doctor practicing in West Vancouver, BC. For more information please go to www.healthydoc.com