Fast food or clean food

There are two major food groups: fast food and clean food.

Fast food

This food is popular and fast, as the name implies. It is also known as junk food. You find it everywhere from supermarkets, shops at gas stations, and even in schools or public places in automated machines or vending machines.

Junk food is pre-cooked, loaded with fat, salt, sugar, high and empty calories, as well as low nutritional content, and is known to cause cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes, overweight, and many other ailments.

Examples of junk food:

• sodas

• chips

• sweets

• cookies, doughnuts, cakes, and pastry in general

When we think of fast food, the above list is the first thing that comes to mind. But, there are other quick "foods" that are camouflaged as healthy food. Such is the case of fruit juices that contain a lot of sugar and sometimes more than sodas. So also chips and pastry, which although it has the label of gluten-free foods, contain the same nutritional deficiency as those that do not have the label.

Gluten is a substance found mainly in wheat, rye, and barley that, in some people, creates an immune response in the walls of the small intestine. This immune reaction interferes with the absorption of nutrients present in nutrient-containing foods.

Consider the following facts to decide on a clean diet:

Since 1999 in the United States:

• Heart disease has increased by 10% and is the cause of death #1

• Cancer incidences have increased by 20%, and it is the cause of death #2

• Diabetes has increased by 35% and leads to other diseases

Experts predict that for the first time in history, 1 in 3 children will live fewer years than their parents

Why?

Because we over-feed and are undernourished because we choose the comfortable and fast instead of the healthy.

Did you know that:

• fast food sales have increased 2,000% since 1981

• eating fast food more than twice a week increases the risk of developing diabetes

Clean food

Eating clean is a diet and lifestyle that allows you to improve your health and well-being.

Eating clean is eliminating fast food, trans fats, sugars, and in some cases, also eliminating lactose, and gluten. Clean food is incorporating into the daily diet fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and fish. It is also known as the Mediterranean diet. Eating clean provides vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help reduce free radicals.

The idea is to eat natural foods that are fresh and contain nutrients. This diet is not to eat to run any "food." It has to be planned and prepared. Part of the preparation is to have in your cupboard and refrigerator more plant-based foods such as beans, lentils, peas, quinoa, fruits, and vegetables.

For foods of animal origin, it prefers that they are from animals that have been raised with a good diet, that have had movement, and that have not been treated with hormones and/or antibiotics.

Basic principles to follow for eating clean:

1. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables

2. Choose animal protein from animals that have been raised ethically

3. Limit or eliminate processed foods

4. Read the bullets

5. Avoid adding sugar or salt to already cooked foods

6. Limit alcohol consumption

7. Drink 8 glasses of water a day