The Case For Junk Food

Nicole Cooper
4 min readJun 1, 2024

Are these foods really that bad for you?

Image by Robin Stickel

“I can’t eat that anymore. That is not healthy!”

Whenever someone wants to clean up their diet and eat healthier foods, that usually means saying no to burgers, pizza, fries, and definitely a big no to sweets like cookies, candy, and ice cream. But are these foods really unhealthy?

We all know that obesity is growing worldwide, with the United States being one example of a country where being overweight or obese as an adult is the norm. Most people conclude that the reason for this is eating too much and moving too little. As a result, people trying to become more mindful of what they’re eating. This may result in going into trendy diets that promise to melt the excess weight off.

If you let social media tell it, diets like keto, paleo, carnivore, vegan, or the typical bodybuilder diet of a lean protein of choice, rice, and broccoli are the keys to staying trim or fueling your body to build muscle. Is going to these extremes necessary for improved health and achieving a healthier weight? No. Is eating what we consider junk food daily detrimental to our health? *No.

The burgers, pizza, and sweets aren’t the problematic foods you think they are. Here are some ways to simplify them.

Burgers

  • Ground beef

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Nicole Cooper

Self-reflections, sports, fitness, health, travel, living abroad and social commentary that may come with a splash of contrarianism. Twitter & IG @_nicolecoop