HARMFUL EFFECTS OF JUNK FOOD AND HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES IN AYURVEDA

1. MD Scholar, Department of Swasthavritta, Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram. 2. Professor and HOD, Department of Swasthavritta, Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History Received: 05 June 2020 Final Accepted: 10 July 2020 Published: August 2020


ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 8(08), 285-291 286 packaged sugar sweetened beverages more than once a week; 53% consume these products at least once in a day. Almost one fourth of the school children consume ultra-processed food high in fat, salt or sugar such as pizza and burger, more than once in a week. The major harmful effects related to intake of fast foods and fruit juices are obesity and its associated complications, microorganism contamination leading to infections, allergies and risk of cancer due to carcinogenic and allergenic properties of some food additives. As per National Family Health survey 2015-16, the number of people with obesity has doubled over last 10 years in India, with an increasing trend of overweight in adolescents. Energy drinks also have added adverse effects due to their high caffeine content leading to neurological and cardiac dysrhythmias.
In this article, efforts are taken to compile healthy alternatives of junk food in Ayurveda and thereby reducing associated complications among public.

Review of Literature:-
Increasing globalization, improvements in transportation and technical development have changed dietary practices and lifestyles especially in cities. A wide variety of foods such as bread, chapatti, rice, milk, fruits, vegetables etc. are often consumed. Besides this, pulses, legumes, beans, nuts, egg, meat, fish, etc. are part of our daily meals. However, many foods are manufactured or modified in the food industry, such as soya nuggets, non-dairy cream, instant noodles, beverages, ready to eat snacks, breakfast cereals, etc. A wide range of processed foods are available, some of which are good for health but some may have unfavorable effects. Interestingly, many unhealthy foods are more attractive, palatable and irresistible. Many of them are made by street vendors and help in satisfying appetite. Frequent indulgence in such foods, due to ignorance about their health outcomes, may have adverse effects on health and nutritional status.

Junk Foods
Junk food implies that food which has little nutritional value and contains excessive fat, sugar, salt, and calories with little fibers, protein, vitamins or minerals. The term 'Junk food' was coined by Michael Jacobson, director of Centre for Science in 1972. Junk food is more popular because of experience of great taste, better shelf life and easy transportation. The junk food advertising also plays a great role in junk food's popularity. But it should be avoided, because of lack of energy, high cholesterol and poor concentration of mind. It causes a lot of harmful effect on the body as in obesity, diabetes, heart disease and various types of skin diseases and even cancers. Eliminating the temptation for junk food and developing awareness for fitness help to avoid the junk food from healthy diet regimen.

Common Junk Foods
Various types of junk foods are available in market out of which the most popular junk food is soft drink, pizza, hamburgers, potato chips, ice-creams, hot dog, pakora, chowmins, French fries, cheese chilli, pav bhaji etc

Pizza
The pizza is heavily laden with sodium and carbohydrates, flour and cheese. They contain high calorie counts a cause for cardiovascular diseases.

Burgers
Burgers with its deadly combination of mayonnaise, cheese, high levels of dairy fat topped with unhealthy sauces filled with sugar and sodium, they tend to increase cholesterol levels owing to saturated fats. Hence, Burgers occupy a primary position as being one of the worst junk foods, offering 1360 calories per serving.

Deep fried stuff
Deep fried stuffs such as French fries, fried chicken, potato chips, kebabs and the most popular Indian samosas are the ultimate sources of trans fat, elevating cholesterol levels and leading to clogging of arteries on the arterial walls of the heart. They are overloaded with sodium that increases the risk of obesity, hypertension and heart diseases.

Breakfast cereals
Cereals like porridge, oats and cornflakes, covered with unhealthy sugars are junk itself.

Candies
The easily available vibrant colorful array of desired candies, toffees, jellies and candy buttons packed with high doses of fructose and sucrose create an instant feel good factor increasing blood sugar levels.

Donuts
The epitome of junk food and a universal favorite, Donuts drizzled with sinful mouth-watering chocolate, jam and tempting sugar toppings increase the risk of developing cancer. They jeopardize health due to the blending of these ingredients along with hydrogenated oils, refined sugar and white flour deep-fried in extreme heat. When fried they release harmful cancer causing carcinogens causing harmful effects on the body.

Pastries and cakes
Cakes happen to be one of the best options for desserts. However, wedge contains sugar in high magnitude combined with a highly raw processed variety of carbohydrates that contain high glycemic index thereby increasing the blood glucose levels in the body. Besides the cream prepared with rich chocolate and eggs, dense with trans fat, is detrimental for health.

Ice Cream
It is rich in sugar and fat; generally cause an expanding waistline, due to metabolic imbalances caused by the elevated levels of fat in the dessert. Therefore, this leads to obesity and decreased appetite resulting in an unhealthy digestive tract.

Carbonated beverages
With high quantities of sugar, insignificant amounts of minerals and harmful chemicals, fizzy carbonated drinks, popularly known as soft drinks available in the market. Apart from this, they contain high levels of caffeine that are harmful for health. These cause acidity caused by the carbon dioxide released in the body. They affect development of bones due to the elimination of calcium that help counteract the balance of acid in the body. Other drinks available with a sugar free tag contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener, which when taken for long periods cause dangerous health consequences.

Instant noodles
Due to the inclusion of certain sodium additives, instant noodles contain increased carbohydrates and sodium, lacking in essential proteins, vitamins, fiber and minerals. Another aspect is that the containers of instant cup noodles discharge certain substances and chemicals akinto hormones, along with dioxin, a chemical which saturate the noodles when hot water is added. Covered with wax, substances like propylene glycol and ajinomoto (monosodium glutamate) have negative effects on health often resulting in hypertension, stroke, organ damage, cancer and a weakened immune system.

Processed Food
It applies to any food that has been altered from its natural state in some way. Anything that's been processed may contain added salt, sugar and fat. Examples of common processed foods include, breakfast cereals, cheese, tinned vegetables, bread, microwave meals or ready meals and soft drinks. These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar, salt or fat in them. Processed foods are bad for health. They are hyper rewarding and lead to overconsumption. They are often high in refined carbohydrates, low in nutrients and low in fibers. This category of foods includes a lot of harmful substances like MSG, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup and soda.
When junk food is consumed very often, the excess fat, carbohydrates and processed sugar found in junk food contributes to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, weight gain and many other chronic health conditions.

Disadvantages of Junk Food
Here is some junk food facts that help to understand the harmful effects associated with them. Some of them are long term while others are short terms effects.
The fat content has high cholesterol level. High calorie content with sugar can lead to obesity. Cholesterol and salt can increase blood pressure, stroke and heart disease in chain. Excessive salt can impair the functioning of kidney too. 288 1. Lack of energy: This is known as short term adverse effect resulting from eating junk food as they don't provide the essential nutrients like vitamins, protein and fibres. 2. Poor concentration: This is another result of junk food habit. These are traced to effect in immediate and medium term periods when people have a splendid junk meal rich in oil, they feel drowsy and fail to concentrate. Over sustained periods of junk food eating, blood circulation drop due to fat accumulation, lack of vital oxygen, nutrients and protein particularly can stale their brain cells temporarily. 3. High cholesterol: Apart from forming plaques and constricting arteries cholesterol also affects liver where it is metabolized. High cholesterol due to junk food and diet strains liver damaging it finally which is a long term effect. 4. Heart diseases: Junk food is a major cause of heart diseases (Myocardial infarction) due to plaque formation in arteries which demands heart to put in extra effort to pump blood on the downstream. On the upstream there is lack of returning blood to heart, this causes damages to heartheart fatigues due to continuous extra effort and deficient oxygen supply. 5. Low nutrition value: The nutritional value of junk food is about one on a scale of 1 to 10, which is the least.
This value is lost in the process of making

Harmful Effects Of Junk Food Obesity
It is defined as an excess of body fat or body weight, i.e. 20% over the ideal. It is attaining epidemic proportions in developed nations and now be considered as a chronic disease. Obesity is a multi factorial disorder of energy balance in which chronic calorie intake is greater than energy output. It is characterized by an excessive body mass index (BMI), which is weight (kg) divided by the square of height (m). A subject with a BMI of 20-25 is considered as having a healthy body weight, one with a BMI as 25-30, overweight and BMI> 30 as obese. Suitable diet and proper exercise play an important role in the treatment of obesity.

Diabetes mellitus
It is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia, glycosuria, hyperlipidemia, negative nitrogen balance and sometimes ketonemia. Diabetes mellitus is of two types, Type I (insulin dependent) and Type II (insulin independent). Over 90% cases are of Type II diabetes, which are mainly due to irregularities in food consumption like excessive intake of junk foods.

Hypertension
Regular use of junk food can be a cause of hypertension. Junk food consists of salt in abundance which raise the blood pressure causing hypertension. If hypertension is not effectively treated it may end up in coronary thrombosis. One of the causes for primary hypertension is obesity.

Heart diseases
Junk food is a major cause of heart disease. The onset and remedy both take a long time.

Dental cavities
Excess consumption of junk food can cause accumulation of food items on teeth spaces and plaque formation which finally results in dental cavities.

Kidney disease
Junk food is rich in salt, sugar and fat, so it causes kidney impairment like polyuria, renal failure and hyperuricaemia.

Neurological disorders
Mental disorders i.e. drowsiness, laziness, dyslexia, attention deficient hyper activity disorder [ADHD], loss of balance and lack of concentration occur due to excessive eating of junk food.

Skin rashes
Hypersensitivity disorder occurs due to excessive use of junk food. Junk food consists of a lot of additives and chemicals which causes skin rashes. 289

Cancer
Obese people have an increased risk of Cancer in colon, breast, prostate, gallbladder, uterus, ovary and skin.

Hypoxia
Lack of oxygen supply in the body causes hypoxia due to accumulation of fat in the arteries.

Behavioural problems
Consumption of junk food in early childhood can result in behaviour associated problems like hyperactivity, aggressiveness etc.

Amra Panakam
Method: Unripe mango is boiled in water and pasted with hand and mixed with sugar, water, camphor and black pepper. Benefits: Tasty (Ruchikara), nourishing (Balya), Nourishment to sense organs (Shighramindriyatarpanam)

Thakram
Method: Sour and concentrated curd is added one fourth of its quantity of water. Churned well and filtered. Fried asafoetida, cumin seeds, salt and small quantity of mustard seeds all are grounded and added to it. Benefits: Tasty (Ruchikaram), digestive (Vahnideepanam), satisfying (Truptikarakam).

Shashkuli
Method: Flour of rice made as dough, then pressed through a small hole to come out like cylindrical / threadlike and arranged in circular discs. These are deep fried in oil and consumed. Benefits: Causes dryness, Mitigates kapha, pitta and rakta, heavy (Guru)

Conclusion:-
The dietary habits of present era are highly causative of various life style disorders and related complications in the body. Modernization and Industrialization are broadly associated with an increase in the risk of health problems. Consumption of the junk food invites various health problems. The habit of the consumption of junk food is continuously increasing in young generation especially in children. The main problems with junk food are increasing childhood obesity, which further leads many health complications in children. Parents should take care of the eating habit of their children and protect them from junk food by increasing the awareness about the health problems associated with junk and fast food. The habit of junk food can be avoided by strong will power and awareness of the side effects associated with them and also by replacing junk food with healthy alternatives.