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What is so junky about "junk" food?

Many snacks, such as potato chips, fast-food cheeseburgers, and fries, have high levels of fat, sugar or salt-ingredients that are usually best limited to a small portion of your diet. Healthy eating doesn't mean that you can't have your favorite foods, but the Dietary Guidelines advise you to be selective and limit the total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium you eat. Our main source of saturated fat comes from animal products and hydrogenated vegetable oils, with tropical oils-coconut and palm- providing smaller amounts. Only animal fat providing smaller amounts. Only animal fat provides cholesterol. Sodium mostly comes from salt added to foods during processing, home preparation, or at the table.

Fats are our most concentrated source of energy and supply about 40 percent of the total calories in typical American diets. Scientists know that eating too much fat, especially saturated fat and cholesterol, increases blood cholesterol levels, and therefore increase your risk of heart disease. Too much fat also may lead to overweight and increase your risk of some cancers.

Dietitians recommend that no more than 30 percent of your calories come from fats, and not more than 10 percent of these calories should be from saturated fat. Choose lean meats, fish, poultry without skin, and low-fat dairy products whenever you can. When you eat out, particularly at fast-food restaurants, look for broiled or baked rather than fried foods. Try the salad bars more often, but pass up creamy items and limit the amount of salad dressing you use to keep down the fat and calories. Look for milk- based high-calcium foods with reduced fat.

To read the rest of this article about the good news of good nutrition, please click here at the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) website:http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-teen3.html