How junk food can affect your kids‏

Quick question for you...

Do you eat junk food at all during the week? If you're like most people, you probably do, even if it's a small amount.

That's why you might be surprised at what you'll discover in today's article...

Yet Another Good Reason To Steer Clear Of Junk Food

You already know “junk” food isn’t good for you or your well-being.

It’s calorie density, doesn’t deliver the kind of nutrition your body needs, and in excess it can wreak havoc on your health.

But if that’s not a good reason enough to stay clear of the stuff, here’s a recent study that gives us one more…

Published in the March 2013 edition of The FASEB Journal, this study looked at what might happen when pregnant mothers eat junk food.

To come to their conclusions, the researchers studied the pups of two groups of rats. The mothers of the first group were fed a regular, healthy diet throughout their pregnancy. The second group of moms was fed a wide range of human “junk” foods, also during their pregnancy.

Once both groups of pups stopped nursing, researchers gave them daily injections of opioid receptor blockers. Simply put, these blockers help prevent the brain from releasing dopamine – the “feel good” hormone that comes as a result of doing or consuming anything pleasurable (think: eating a big Thanksgiving meal, having a glass of wine, eating a piece of chocolate, receiving a loving hug, etc.).

Giving the pups these injections gave researchers a good way to “level” the playing field when it came to comparing both groups of pups. As it turned out, despite the daily injections, the first group of pups (the ones whose moms ate a healthy diet during pregnancy) ate less total fat and sugar.

This is due to the fact that their brains received the “feel good” signal fairly soon, so they didn’t have to eat a lot to get pleasure from it.

The second group of pups however (the ones whose moms were fed “junk” food) still ate more fat and sugar than the first group – even with the daily injections.

Because these pups’ moms had eaten junk food while pregnant, their brains were already desensitized to the pleasure gained from eating fatty and sugary foods. Put more bluntly, the second group of pups were already junk food addicts, from birth! [1]

Think of it this way: It’s like when you try coffee or any other kind of caffeine-containing beverage for the first time. At first, even just a little gives you quite a “buzz.”

But as soon as you turn it into a daily habit, it’s going to take MORE caffeine for you to get anything remotely close to that first “buzz” you experienced. That’s because over time – just like the “junk food” pups – your receptors become desensitized over time.

That's why the results of this study are so significant - if you’re a pregnant mother, you should watch what you eat!

It really CAN affect your children.

Gerald Weissmann, M.D. – the Editor-In-Chief of The FASEB Journal, said it best: "This study shows that addiction to junk food is true addiction. Junk food engages the same body chemistry as opium, morphine or heroin. Sad to say, junk food during pregnancy turns the kids into junk food junkies." [1]

Instead of being a junk food “junkie” or risk turning your kids into junk food “junkies,” develop an overall healthy lifestyle. Learn to love to cook simple, easy-to-cook, delicious meals. Make eating nutritious, all-natural foods a priority.

Incidentally, this is also the best way to get your kids to eat healthy.

According to a recent Michigan State University study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the most effective way to making eating healthy a habit in your children is to do it yourself and lead by example. [2] Sharon Hoerr, one of the authors of the study states:

"Mothers should stop forcing or restricting their kids' eating… They'd be better off providing a healthy food environment, adopting balanced eating habits themselves and covertly controlling their children's diet quality by not bringing less healthy foods into the house."

So there you have it - yet ANOTHER reason not to eat junk food. It can turn your kids into junk food addicts. And if you yourself are a junk food addict, do what you can to wean yourself off.

Little by little, start eating less junk and more unprocessed, "good" foods. Do that, and before you know it, you'll have kicked the habit and your health and those around you will be better for it!

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