Morning Affirmation~ I am thankful to be choosing meals that support superior health.

Junk food is amazing stuff. It tastes great, easily accessible, and cheap. Did you also know it’s addictive? “Eating junk food alters the brain activity in a way similar to addictive drugs do, such as cocaine and heroin“. (1) Junk food contains “negative nutrients.” This means your body has to use essential vitamin and mineral stores in order to digest the junk and chemicals in the “food”. Here are a few other interesting facts about junk food…(1) Follow this link for other junk food facts.

A single fast-food hamburger can contain meat from hundreds, or even thousands, of different cattle.
Eating fast food regularly has the same impact on the liver as hepatitis. French fries, fried chicken, and onion rings are particularly harmful.
Alloxen, a byproduct of bleaching white flour which is often found in junk food, leads to diabetes in healthy experimental animals by destroying their pancreatic beta cells.
Chicken meat is not the main ingredient in chicken nuggets. Rather, the main ingredients are fat, epithelium, bone, and nerve and connective tissue.
Fats from junk food trigger the brain to want more food. This effect can last for several days.
The shiny covering around jelly beans is called shellac, which is derived from the secretions of the female Kerria lacca, an insect native to Thailand.
Researchers suggest that breast cancer rates in China are rising because of an increase in Western-style junk food and increasing unhealthy lifestyles.

Here we have these food like substances, which are purposely made to be as addictive as possible. We know they are horrible for us but we eat them anyway, because they taste so good. How do we go about staying away from them? Well…don’t stay away from them. Are you surprised by that?

Have you ever gone on a diet or fast, then suddenly you are starving and wanting to eat everything in the house? It’s the psychology of deprivation. When the mind is told it can’t have something, that’s all it wants. If I tell you “don’t think about a pink elephant.” What are you thinking about?

One of the best things I learned while getting my degree was the 85/15 principal. With this principal, you eat very healthy 85% of the time, then you can eat what you want 15% of the time. This way, your mind knows the good stuff is coming and the cravings are lessened. You know what I’ve found? The more you eat healthy food, the less you want to eat the junk. Your taste buds change…your tastes change. The other benefit to eating this way means your body will build excess stores of nutrients and can handle the negative nutrients in the junk food. So, go ahead, treat yourself occasionally. It’s okay, really.