You do not need a scientist to tell you junk food is not a good choice for your health. Full of empty calories, heavy in trans fat yet light in nutrition, an exact opposite of eating mindfully and gratefully? All of us know that fast foods are unhealthy. Yet, so many people still crave them. Now, why do junk foods happen to be addictive? Eating healthy is simply eating real foods, and avoiding junk. It is not that easy at all, sometimes. Junk food is intentionally manufactured to make you want more, to overindulge in it, and to be returning for more. 

Even with the best of intentions, it's hard to resist. Truth be told, junk foods are designed in such a way to make them irresistible, and nobody can say no. For instance, burger takeaways, they are appealing and easily accessible, filled with components that provoke more cravings in the brain. A vital thing to note here is that fast food not only deteriorates your body but can be addictive too. Thus, this awareness might give one tool for making better choices in life.

Your Brain Prefers High-Calorie Foods

Crash course in human evolution: in periods of food scarcity, our brains adapted to develop a predilection for foods containing high caloric density. It helped early humans store energy for lean times. Brains are wired even nowadays to crave junk foods because such satisfy the body's need to stock up on energy. So that craving for burgers or fries might just be your brain acting on its survival instinct.

You’re Seeing Red

Though anything but an accurate science, there indeed are connections between colours and the preferences of food. Ever thought why most junk food franchises use the color red predominantly? Red can raise one's blood pressure, raise one's heartbeat, and increase your appetite. It is a colour that energises you and will increase further cravings. Other warm colours, like yellow, exhibit more or less the same qualities and make you want these snacks or junk meals as well. It is all in the psychology of how our reactions turn towards food and the colours around us.

The Power of Marketing

Even though we seem to consider ourselves smart, we also tend to fall for marketing, and so do many. Commercials of happy, dancing, and jumping people enjoying their tasty treats; food packed in bright-coloured wrappings; and in-store displays in eye-level sights all press our buttons. These marketing approaches make us want junk foods, be it when we are hungry or not. We are highly exposed to images and videos of good foods that subconsciously cause us to crave them. Ever notice how you are watching TV, see an ad for food, and then suddenly are hungry? Or at a meeting, and the doughnuts show up? Have you just gotta have one? This is marketing in action. Food companies spend heavily to make us want these unhealthy foods. There's a lot of money in it.

The Influence on Habits and Rituals

Food companies also mould our eating habits and rituals. They don't just target our taste buds-they play with our emotions. Do you feel like you need to have popcorn at the movies, hot dogs at the ballgame, or pizza on a Friday night? These are not an accident. Food manufacturers create associations between certain foods and events so that it feels like these foods go in those moments. In time, these associations etch in deeply naturally. Every time we see these foods, the brain triggers memories and emotions linked with them, further increasing the inability to resist them. This is the psychology of junk food, designed to have you coming back for more.

Conclusion

Food companies invest millions in the research, development and marketing of junk food to make it addictive. These businesses aren't necessarily bad, and they're just acting on business realities and the way our food system is structured. That doesn't mean we should continue to buy their products. It's okay to indulge every now and then but remember with every purchase of junk food, you're paying for more of this addiction. You have the power, even when you think it's small, as a consumer. You have control over what gets made more of and what will not receive as much attention. If you have a severe addiction to food, professional help is needed. However, for the rest of them, you already do have control.

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