Junk food. . . what makes it so addictive???

Believe it or not, any sort of junk food stimulates the brain in a positive way, making the fast meal or junk food feel like a big reward to your brain, which is the exact same way the brain reacts to drugs! Not to mention, fast food meals usually contain lots of fat and carbs, which people LOVE. Carbs and fat send lots of energy and dopamine to the brain, making us enjoy junk foods more compared to a healthy meal.

Even when we’re emotional, we end up turning to comforting foods to cheer us up; the food we go for is generally unhealthy junk. Even dietitians know how most humans react when emotional! A registered dietitian, Beth Czerwony, states, “Especially when we’re stressed, junk food often soothes us with the least amount of fuss and effort. We look for sugary and fatty foods to make us feel good.”

Based on research, a lot of healthy foods aren’t even appealing or tasty to most people including myself because we’re so used to the “good stuff” which are the foods that are greasy and delicious. People find healthy eating habits difficult, especially when a lot of people around them continue to eat the “good stuff.”

Speaking of junk foods, I asked students and teachers, family, friends, etc. to see which junk food is “the best” out of these options: Chips, tacos, french fries, pizza, burgers, hot dogs, donuts, fried chicken, soda/energy drinks, onion rings, cake, mozzarella cheese sticks, and ice-cream.

Here’s the poll results:

1.) Tacos: 17 votes

2.) French Fries: 16 votes

3.) Pizza: 11 votes

4.) Ice-cream: 10 votes

5.) Soda/energy drinks: 9 votes

6.) Mozzarella cheese sticks: 7 votes

7.) Fried chicken: 6 votes

8.) Donuts: 6 votes

9.) Burgers: 6 votes

10.) Chips: 4 votes

11.) Onion rings: 3 votes

12.) Cake: 1 vote

13.) And in last place…. hot dogs with 0 votes!!!

I was a bit surprised with the votes. I didn’t realize how popular tacos were! My vote went to mozzarella cheese sticks, but I expected pizza or french fries to win first place. (Granted, they got 2nd and 3rd which isn’t too off from my prediction.)

A lot of people had a hard time choosing one option out of the bunch, saying “It’s so hard to choose, I like all of these!”

There’s nothing wrong with eating some junk food once in a while, just don’t get yourself too hooked. Whether you like it or not, make sure you eat a balanced diet most of the time. (You better eat lots of vegetables as well!!!)