FAST FOOD JUNK FOOD

I just thought I’ll discuss here a little bit about fast foods which some people also term as junk food. Have you ever wondered whether there is a truth in this rather “far-fetched” assumption?

I have the gall to say far-fetched. Just hear me out!

When I visit a doctor for myself or my kids, he usually advises me on this aspect of eating. Eat healthy and avoid junk foods. Although I listen to his advice I wonder what he means by his sentence. By uttering this sentence the doctor makes me sad because all my zeal for fast food have gone aloof!

Maybe you don’t have to sacrifice fast foods if you see what I have to describe below.

What is Fast food?

We presume that most foods prepared in roadside stalls or small eating houses are fast foods like chips, popcorn, samosa, pakhori, chops and cutlets, meat balls of various types, chowmein, burgers, rolls etc. Including of course those channa-walas in India who sell assortment of nuts mixed in various concoctions.

How can food be called junk? 

For instance you call a burger junk food but you use the same ingredients to make chappati or roti or bread at home for an infamous healthy meal! You call samosa a junk food but I wonder how many mothers make good healthy samosa at home? Pakhori made from gram and sold outside is junk but the same dish becomes ok if made at home. Chops are mashed potato encased on vegetables or meat but it is junk outside and healthy id made at home. Why is this misunderstanding? Have you ever thought on this? Then why are outside food called junk?

People would say outside food is not made in a clean and hygienic manner moreover these foods are exposed to dirt in the air. This is absolutely correct. However if this is the reason to term fast food as junk food seems quite contradictory. Why not simply label food as hygienic or unhygienic?

There is another hypothesis regarding fast food. Such food are labeled “junk” because they use whole lot of spices and questionable frying medium such as oils.

Now, what are spices if I may ask? Don’t you think that all spices are essentially herbs or seeds? Ayurveda is based on plant science where all medicines and cures are derived from plant sources. We know that Ayurveda holds the key to almost all ailments on earth, maybe if we identify, know and realize how to use the gifts of God through plant-based technology. If this assumption holds true than how can seed or herbs used to prepare foods be “junk “or not conducive for consumption?

Then the next thing in question is the frying part. This refers to the oil used to prepare foods and the length of time a specific food was fried in the oil. This I believe is the crux of the junk-food theory.

Just give it a thought. Don’t you agree that this is the ultimate matter? It may be that the cooking medium or the fry-time may be what we call “junk”

In conclusion to what I have stated above, I will give this answer. Any food cooked in a reliable cooking medium within a reasonable time frame and prepared under the most hygienic conditions cannot be a junk food. It’s plain commonsense. What do you think?