New Junk Foods by R.Borgacci

What are

Article by Ivan Mercolini

What are junk food?

The existence of some foods that are not really healthy or even harmful are now commonplace; we're talking about junk food or junk food.

Ivan Mercolini, Author of the Article

Because of the importance it has on collective health - due to the almost disastrous nutritional impact and the possible statistical correlation with serious pathologies such as certain tumors - the list of these foods, which dates back almost to the time of our grandmothers, is now even taught in schools. This list includes:

hamburger (sandwich) - of any kind
cuts of fatty meat - such as bacon, burgers, low-quality meatballs, chicken wings, etc.
hot dog (sandwich) - of any kind
cooked and raw sausages - for example, sausages
all kinds of fried food - especially French fries
carbonated and / or sweetened drinks - for example cola
industrial production snacks
certain spirits - especially beer
alcoholic beverages - all distillates and mixtures containing sugar syrup
sweet and savory snacks - for example, chips and tortillas in a bag, popcorn with added butter or oil, chocolate or toffee caramel bars or peanut butter, etc.
caloric sweeteners - such as granular table sugar, both white and brown.

But we must admit that, especially in the homeland of the Mediterranean diet, obesity is more or less continuously growing in the general population. What is perplexing is that this phenomenon seems to expand mainly in typically Mediterranean locations; a typical example is the Campania region - where durum wheat semolina pasta and pizza were born. Recently, unlike what happened in the 1990s and 2000s, the activity of fast-food restaurants across the Ocean is showing a progressive decrease, to the advantage of "our" fast foods - which, however traditional, are delicious and tasty, often they are anything but genuine - or even "ethnic" cuisines - unknown or almost until only a decade ago.

And yet, even excluding catering, analyzing the domestic food supply of the community, fairly evident data emerge, albeit worrying. Not only the well-known junk food would determine the worsening of the general nutritional status, but also the local foods.

Dangers

Why do junk food hurt?

Junk foods have many unwanted nutritional properties. Among the various:

they often have an excessive glycemic load; moreover, among the present carbohydrates, many are of a simple soluble type - therefore monosaccharides or disaccharides, such as table sugar, maltose and syrups - or have a high glycemic index
they contain high percentages of saturated or hydrogenated fats; once the hydrogenates or fats subjected to improper heat treatment were also very rich in trans fats
they often hide considerable quantities of additives, including sweeteners, colorings, flavorings, etc.
carcinogenic molecules; the most feared are: acrylamide, acrolein, formaldehyde, all polycyclic aromatics and therefore carbonization residues.

We are "really" what we eat!

To understand the danger of these products, it is necessary to see food in a slightly more modern way, that is not as a simple "fuel" for the organism, but as a multifunctional, plastic substrate, rich in biological catalysts, precursors and essential factors. It must be borne in mind that the "secret of youth" - but also of a good state of health - is the balance in the cellular exchange of tissues - which must be neither too fast nor too slow. All the cells of the blood system are totally renewed within three months, those of the soft tissues within six months and of the skeleton within one year. In practice, it is as if the human body was totally made up of what we ate, absorbed and metabolized in the last 12 months. Every cell of the skin, eyes, muscles, bones, nervous system and blood is totally and continuously rebuilt or renewed or repaired. As can be deduced, the construction material is entirely made up of what we eat, drink and breathe.

By deduction, the junk foods listed above should be poor fabrics. Fortunately, the organism is equipped with complex biological systems and mechanisms capable of reworking, synthesizing and discarding what is necessary. On the other hand, however effective and efficient, it certainly cannot be perfect and infallible. The human body can transform one sugar into another, an amino acid into a derivative, a fatty acid in the necessary amount; it is also capable of transforming and excreting catabolites and toxins with the liver and kidneys, but at what price? Science has shown dozens of statistical correlations between the composition of the diet and the onset of diseases or even the early degeneration of some apparatuses - for example, an excess of "bad" fats, to the detriment of the "good" ones (especially the polyunsaturated ones essential omega 3) can promote an incorrect composition of the brain matter and the relative decline in mental performance in old age.

Therefore it is a bit as if the body had a "predetermined maximum mileage" which, although extremely subjective, is increased or decreased according to the lifestyle - here also motor activity comes into play, which however will not be taken into examination in this article. Without "the right materials" and "maintenance", sooner or later, the "machine-man" will run into a breakdown of some kind: obesity, metabolic pathologies - hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, hyperuricemia, etc. - ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux disease, diverticulitis, biliary lithiasis, kidney stones, tumors, etc.

Sometimes, already from a person's outward appearance one can deduce how one feeds.

Those who feed exclusively on junk food often do not convey a good visual impact. The first obvious characteristics of a compromised nutritional status are overweight and fat distribution. This is because, in addition to supplying the actual "fuel" for the cells - or acetyl-coenzyme A - the foods, or rather the factors that constitute them, also act as modulators of the endocrine and paracrine system. Foods have a drastic effect on insulin secretion and secondarily or indirectly on: catecholamines, prostaglandins, corticosteroids, other steroids, etc. The diet can affect, in addition to the percentage and distribution of fat, also on the possible retention of liquids - especially in those suffering from certain metabolic disorders - on muscle efficiency, blood fluidity, concentration and memory. Indirectly, body composition also has numerous other statistical correlations, ranging from the incidence of idiopathic or autoimmune organic diseases - for example psoriasis - to emotional and / or psychological compromises - with particular reference to eating disorders, to the tone mood (depressive, anxious symptoms, etc.), sexual problems etc.

What are they?

New junk food: what are they?

After a more than exhaustive introduction, let us analyze the "other" junk foods, which would have the right to be included in the same list, but which are unfortunately known only to a small circle of professionals.

More precisely, the list that follows will not contain "properly" junk foods. Or rather, these foods do NOT contain objectively harmful nutritional factors, but are widely used incorrectly in the diet. In practice, these are foods with a high energy density, coming from carbohydrates - therefore with a high glycemic load - and from fats, sometimes even animals - mostly saturated. Taken in the right portions and frequency of consumption, these foods are not only not harmful, but are also quite nutritious; unfortunately, this is not usually the case.

The tendency to abuse it, extended to the whole peninsula, is complicit in the worsening of the state of general nutrition, with particular reference to the increase in the incidence and severity of overweight. We then enter into detail; the new junk food are:

White flour and recipes that contain it, especially pizza, pasta, bread and other similar doughs (piadina, tigelle, taralli, grissini, pinzone, focaccia, gnocco fritto, schiaccia etc.)
Polished rice and recipes that contain it, especially sushi - which also contains salmon, a fatty fish, although rich in good lipids
Whole milk derivatives and recipes that contain them, from the first and second courses to desserts and snacks
Kebab and other recipes from the south-eastern European and middle-eastern cuisine
All processed recipes
Products rich in sweeteners .

New ethnic junk food

Above we referred to some preparations of ethnic cuisine. With regard to kebabs, being Italian, there is no reason to prefer it to our street-food; it is not a question of "parochialism", but of common sense. The meat of kebab sandwiches has a questionable hygienic level, just as the modality that restaurant owners use to defrost it is not very suitable. With reference to the nutritional impact, the local products, such as the piadina, the sandwich with the spleen, the panino with lampredotto, the panino with porchetta, etc. are to be considered hypercaloric and hyperlipidic.

Instead, it's amazing how they can deceive the various sushi proposals. Composed mainly of plain white rice and raw fish, this type of ethnic food is contributing enormously to the caloric excess of the center and above all northern Italy. One leads to another and the increasingly widespread all-you-can-eat trading system encourages diners to stuff themselves more and more. It is not clear whether the new generations resent the aftermath of "the era of hunger" - the second post-war period, which has greatly affected food education throughout the peninsula - or whether "eating as long as there is, as long as there is is "an intrinsic mechanism of our survival instinct, or just the expression of the nervous stress that everyone shares.

New Italian junk food

Bread, pasta, polished rice and traditional cheeses have long been essential ingredients for Italians. Foods rooted in our history and culture, as well as "economically advantageous", which makes it difficult to attribute the negative label to junk food.

In fact, this would not be the case, if not our fault . In this regard it is necessary to make a clarification. Cereals and derivatives for pasta dishes have an average portion of 80 g, which corresponds to around 280 kcal. How many of us can claim to eat only 80 g of pasta for lunch? Very few.

"My grandfather has always eaten three ounces of pasta and he has never been fat!" Likely; but it is equally possible that 50 years ago the average caloric expenditure was even higher than 30-40%. The lack of automation and reduced economic availability made daily activities much more "demanding".

We must then make a distinction. It is true that the older generations had an average body mass index lower than that of the new generation, but it is also true that today they are almost all overweight. "As the metabolism ages, it is inevitable". On the one hand it is true, but on the other hand, it is used as a scapegoat. Older people who are overweight or obese, very thin in their youth, today do not "hoe the earth" anymore but have preserved the same eating habits. This is the real cause of their 20-30 kg of excess, certainly not the reduction of metabolism.

Example

Bread, pasta, pizza, rice - all refined - and cheeses are now considered to be foods of which the population abuses and, for this reason, deleterious. To overcome this drawback, many choose whole grain products; nothing to say about it. However, we must reason objectively. For the contemporary lifestyle, referring to any adult, integral is better. But how much does it affect the calories of the meal? Let's take as an example a beautiful pizza, whose dough weighs about 300 g, of which 55-60% is made up of flour (depending on the type of flour). Above we put tomato, about 100 g, mozzarella with low humidity, about 150 g and a tablespoon of oil. The calories of a pizza with white flour are: about 585 kcal of flour, 25 kcal of the past, 480 of the mozzarella and 90 kcal of the oil; total 1180 kcal. Those of a whole pizza instead correspond to: about 550 kcal of flour, 25 kcal of the pass, 480 of the mozzarella and 90 kcal of the oil; total 1145 kcal. Difference: 35 kcal; not worth it. Rather, it is advisable to go out to eat it less but choose it with traditional dough.

Sweeteners: camouflaged junk food?

There is an interesting theory on the role of synthetic sweeteners in maintaining overweight. The taste of foods and beverages sweetened with synthetic sweeteners - other than sugars - raises the levels of dopamine, leading to addiction. Furthermore, the sweet taste raises the insulin, which expects the entry of carbohydrate food. Insulin, when in excess, is the "fattening par excellence" hormone. High insulin levels promote fat deposits. Not actually finding any blood sugar, high insulin only serves to create hypoglycemia, increasing the sense of hunger, giving weakness, dizziness and triggering the desire for sweet foods that leads to a real "loop". Therefore it is not correct to claim that sweeteners are not fattening; as always, it depends on the point of view. To use a modern term, sweeteners could be considered a "fake" for the human body, which interprets and treats them as sugars even though it is not.

In some ways we can compare sweeteners to ethyl alcohol which, with its 7.1 kcal, is considered a supplier of empty calories, as it is not metabolized as a nutrient and does not give satiety, thus bringing so much substrate to synthesize fatty acids and therefore storage triglycerides - in addition to toxic aldehydes - without eliminating the stimulus of hunger as a meal would do.

New junk food and nutrition status

Bread, pasta, pizza and the typically Italian foods we mentioned, if taken in excess, increase the glycemic-caloric load, favoring an excessive surge of insulin, the synthesis of triglycerides and the adipose deposit.

The derivatives of whole milk instead, such as aged cheeses, fats, or recipes that contain cream and mascarpone - perhaps sweetened with sugar or associated with other sweet or fat ingredients - in addition to favoring excess energy, provide cholesterol and saturated fat. The association of these nutritional factors contributes greatly to the adipose deposit and the increase in "bad cholesterol" in the blood - LDL hypercholesterolemia.

The sweeteners, in addition to creating a slight dependence, could upset the hormonal balance of the satiety stimulus and consequently the blood sugar level, increasing the appetite and therefore the daily calorie intake. An excess of energy is, obviously, at the base of the increase of adipose deposit.

If the consumption becomes significant and repeated over time, the chances of being overweight and metabolic pathologies such as diabetes mellitus type 2 and dyslipidemias - hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia - increase with all the unfortunate complications of the case.

Conclusions

Ivan Mercolini, Author of the Article

Conclusions on the abuse of new junk food

With the gradual advent of well-being, there was an indiscriminate increase in the consumption of all foods. Paradoxically, the most precarious economic condition that has been - for almost twenty years - touching the Bel Paese, induces the Italians to focus more on the cheaper solutions instead of on the healthier ones. Some data suggest that this occurs mainly in families with lower cultural backgrounds. American junk food, the excess of bread, pasta and rice, supported by the advent of the most recent ethnic cuisines, has contributed - and continues to do so - to increase the population of obese, hypertensive, hypercholesterolemic, hypertriglyceridemic, insulin resistant, predisposed to cardiac ischemia, tumors and early death.

The most common dietary advice - but not for this correct - to lose weight and improve the metabolic state is based on the drastic reduction or elimination of carbohydrates and fats. By now, the added or poor quality carbohydrates and lipids are considered the "worst enemies" of weight loss; but it is not really so. Instead it would be correct to say that, in addition to the classic junk food, it is the excessive consumption of some sources of carbohydrates and fats that is the problem. Other sources of carbohydrates such as legumes, certain fresh fruits and vegetables are generally managed much better and, with the exceptions of the case, if regularly present in the diet, rarely lead to health and weight problems. The same applies to milk; this food, if tolerated, is an excellent water source, high biological value proteins, lipo vitamins and water soluble, as well as calcium and phosphorus; to tell the truth, even the cheeses are not bad quality foods, but unfortunately also in this case the common tendency is to exceed the portion and the frequency of consumption making them cause of weight increase and cholesterol in the blood. It is therefore advisable to prefer lean products, not too seasoned, and limit the one-off delicacies.