Everyone likes eating junk food from time to time. But how often should you actually consume the stuff?
That’s the big question.
Fortunately, this post has some answers. We look at what the experts have to say, and whether it is ever worth indulging in baked goods, donuts, candies, and deep-fried fast food meals.
Once Per Week?
Once per week is where most experts draw the line of eating junk food. Most healthy people can get away with eating it every seven days or so for a single meal, but not usually more often than that.
HSL Healing, for example, suggests that people with arthritis avoid junk food and processed items until their sensations get better. And sometimes that can take many months. Therefore, it all depends on the context.
Twice Per Week?
Twice per week is the danger zone for many experts. While you still might be eating healthy 80% of the time, you need to make sure that you’re not overdoing the fat and calories.
Remember, junk food contains almost exclusively refined ingredients, like oils, refined flour, and sugar. It can also contain processed meat which is dangerously high in salt and nitrites (cancer-causing chemicals you want to avoid).
As such, if you eat junk food twice per week, you might notice symptoms like gut issues and inflammation. You could also encounter metabolic problems, including a slow-down in your metabolism.
Three Times Per Week?
Once you start eating junk three times per week, you aren’t really cutting down at all. It’s something you do almost every other day.
The problem with this rate of eating junk food is that it starts to become normal for you. It’s a part of your daily life and something you do out of habit.
Furthermore, it never gives your tastebuds a chance to reset. If you eat highly palatable, high-calorie foods all the time, it can change your perception of regular food (making it taste less good than it should). This effect can then derail your healthy eating progress by making every other meal you eat taste like cardboard.
Daily Junk Food?
Only a small minority of people can get away with eating junk food every day. There’s the odd person who lives to 100 years old eating baked goods, like donuts every day, but they are few and far between.
Eating junk food daily increases the risk of insulin resistance significantly. When blood glucose gets high and your system has lots of inflammation, it can set you down the wrong track and wreak havoc with your metabolism over time. Eventually, you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror.
Sometimes, you can get away with eating junk every day when you are young, but it eventually catches up with you. Even white rice and white bread can be problematic for some people.
Therefore, stick to the 80/20 rule, where you eat healthily for 80% of the time. If you are going to have a treat, save it for the weekend and make it a single meal.
