Junk food is a mixed blessing. It provides us with tasty, convenient, low-cost calories; but it also provides us with addictive, unhealthy ingredients like trans fats, monosodium glutamate, sugar, and excess salt and oil. Moreover, it teaches us to be dependent on restaurants and not to cook at home, where we can control the freshness and ingredients of our food. The best way to cure ourselves of junk food addiction is to exchange junk food for real food, by practicing safe home cooking and stocking our kitchen with fresh produce, basic equipment, and interesting cookbooks. Home cooking is “health ensurance.”

Competing interests:
None declared