Teenage is the critical phase of life when the teens are going through physical and emotional changes and food plays in important part of life. The body needs the right food for development and bad food fads can mess with the physical development. As compared to adults, teenagers have to go through a lot of activities in a day and they need energy. This means they need a healthy diet which includes fresh fruits and vegetable, calcium, iron and food that is rich in nutrients. They should not eat, take away and junk foods which look very attractive and taste good, but likely children can put on a lot of weight with such foods. Teenagers imitate the eating habits of parents or elder ones, but these diet fads do not provide the nutrients that the teenager needs. Some foods they should strictly avoid as they are not at all suitable for teenagers.
The list of foods that should be avoided is very long, but let me cover some very important of them.
- Soda – The one that tops the list is soda. It is very good in taste and some are already consuming a lot of soda daily which makes them feel addicted to the drink, but drinking soda can have approximately 250 calories and which consists of high fructose corn syrup. When soda is made there is a high amount of chemicals that is mixed with it and excessive consumption may cause cancer. Drinks and soda that are dark colored have a high amount of caffeine, which is really bad for health.
- Fast Food – Who will deny the mouth watering burgers, fries and drinks? But do you know that all this together has calories that you are supposed to consume in one day. The high fat content of this food makes it a strict no for teenagers. It contains chemically processed ingredients and high fat can cause food-borne illness.
- Canned Food – If you are buying canned food, check the nutritional value of the food on the label. The label can of spaghetti or Easy Mac will explain in details about the food to avoid. They have sodium, fats and many chemicals.
- White Bread – Not only teenagers but many adults are also habitual of eating white bread which has flour that is bleached and then packed so that it should have a longer shelf life. White Bread contains a lot of preservatives which are not good for health. Next time try eating whole wheat/grain bread or brown bread.
- Chips – Corn and Potato chips have a lot of fat, sodium and a lot of bizarre preservatives and should opt for natural baked ones.
- Fruit Cocktail – Fruit cocktails have more sugar than soda and they have a high amount of fructose corn syrup which should be avoided. Check the nutritional value on the can before buying and prefer buying 100% fruit juice cans.
It is hard to give up fast food because it is very tasty, but they will take a toll on your health and will definitely show some adverse effects on the physical and mental development of teenagers.
