Limit the amount of junk food that you eat
Overly processed foods—that is, foods that are not in their original form (such as potato chips vs. potatoes)—have lost many of their nutrients. Sadly, some of our favorite foods are not very good for us: You get a lot of calories from them, but not many nutrients. Eating them too often can make you overweight, sap your energy, and raise the risks that you’ll get heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other serious health problems. Think about what you are eating before you eat it!

Candy, French fries, bacon-cheeseburgers, super-sweet cereals, soda, and snack chips—all are junk food. Junk food contains too much fat (especially the kinds of fat that glob up your blood vessels), contains too much sugar or salt, or has too many calories. Also, it is not fresh from the field or farm. It is often overcooked and overprocessed (which is how it loses so many of its nutrients). One look at the label shows that junk food usually contains lots of extra stuff–like chemical preservatives, fillers, and food coloring. Click here to see how over-processing causes foods to lose nutrients.

Click the links below for more
• If junk food has invaded your life
• Be a detective