Is the The Twinkie Diet healthy? Mark Haub, nutritionist and professor lost weight eating junk food

Nutrition professor Mark Haus lost 27 lbs. eating nothing put Twinkies and other snack cakes, Nuter Butters, chips, hot dogs, milk, and the occasional veggie.He helped accentuate his point by putting on weight prior to the Twinkie binge by eating lots of natural, healthy food like whole grains and veggies.

So, is an overweight person who eats a natural, balanced diet (my guess that involves too much whole-grain bread slathered in organic butter and “all-natural” ice cream followed by gallons of organic fruits juice) less healthy than someone who has a thin frame but ingests nothing but chemically altered sugar and fat supplemented with additives that are more closely related to fuel for a car than fuel for the body?

Haus seems to think so. He tells AOL News:

“Is it truly weight we should be concerned with or should it be what we eat? If we lose weight, this diet should be viewed as healthy.”

While Haus is right that a thin person who lives off of Twinkies, Nutty Bars, and hot dogs will have a better health profile than an obese person who does the same, he’s missing a few key points. Mainly, diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, for a start. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a healthy BMI range, if you consume excess sugar, carcinogens (which junk food is pumped full of), and saturated fats (especially trans fats, which is often found in these foods), you’re overloading your body with stressors that make it sick over the long-term, even if it’s only delivered within a reasonable daily calorie range.

Furthermore, taking vitamin supplements is not a reliable way to get your essential nutrition. There is a subtle balance of life-sustaining and protective nutrients found in plants that can’t be recreated in pill form. He kind of shoots his argument in the foot too, when he reveals that he eats veggies everyday.

He’s right that sometimes it’s hard to have access to fresh foods, especially if you have a limited budget. But even then it’s much easier to choose healthier foods. You can get an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables at a cheaper price and usually higher quality at your local farmer’s market. Rice, pasta, and beans are very cheap ways to get the carbs and protein fuel you need to make your body run.