San Diego Nutrition and Health

Here’s a statistic I found rather interesting.  According to a study in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 30% of the daily caloric intake for Americans comes from “junk food.” 

As we know, there is very little nutritional value in junk food.  Basically the calories in junk food are empty calories.  Thus, Americans may be eating, but they’re not eating that which will really statisfy the body and give it the building blocks it needs to be healthy.  As a result, the body will continue sending hunger signals and cravings until it gets what it needs.  And by then, we’ve eaten many more calories than we really need.  As Dr. Block who conducted the study in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis said, “It’s no wonder there’s an obesity epidemic in this country.”

Take a look at your food choices.  From where do you get your calories?  Do they come primarily from nutritious foods or does junk food tip the scale?  If junk food is a big part of your diet, I encourage you to evaluate where you can make one small change each day.  For instance, rather than grab a bag of chips for a snack, grab an apple, a banana or some carrot sticks dipped in peanut butter.