Reasons To Avoid Fast Food

We are always advised to avoid fast food? We are told that consuming too much fast food is not good for our health. But how many times do we follow these instructions? As a matter of fact, fast food has become a norm today. These foods are especially popular among the youth and kids.

The reason for its popularity is quite obvious as they are tasty, convenient to cook, carry and eat. But do you know, there could be many harmful effects of fast food on our health? In this article, we will discuss the harmful effects of eating fast food and why you should avoid such food items.

Fast food is commonly referred to as comfort food. It contains feel-good ingredients like calories, sugars, saturated fats, and trans fats but is low in vitamins and nutrients. Fast foods release neurotransmitters like oxytocin and dopamine which causes pleasure, relaxation, and gratification. According to Professor Tom Finger at the University of Colorado smell and taste both enhances and contribute to flavor. The smell can create 90% of flavor according to some scientists. Since fast food smells so good it also increases the taste and makes it a pleasurable experience. But there can be serious negative effects of fast food on our body.

Contains a Huge Amount of Hydrogenated Fats and Sodium

Who does not love the crispy golden French fries, an excellent snack for munching? Most probably, you think that its ingredients are potatoes and seasoning, but it is not true. These fries have huge amounts of salt which makes them high in sodium. The oil that is used for frying contains hydrogenated fats. Since these hydrogenated have a longer shelf life and are cheap, fast-food chains buy them in bulk.

Hydrogenated oil also keeps the food fresher for a longer time. But during hydrogenation food manufacturers chemically alter the structure of vegetable oil, which is called partial hydrogenation. It is an inflammatory ingredient that raises bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol, which gives rise to heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

Low in Nutrients

Fast food is often made with low-quality and leftover food ingredients. While the fast-food chains advertise their product as fresh, juicy, and crispy, it is hardly true. The leftover vegetables are devoid of any nutrients, which can cause malnutrition in the long run. Other negative effects of fast food in the body are nutritional deficiencies that cause digestive problems, eye problems, anemia, bone growth deficiency, memory loss, confusion, depression, diarrhea.

Causes Addiction to Refined Sugar

Fast food contains a high amount of sugar which can lead to addiction. Fried foods, milkshakes, pastries, and cakes contain excess sugar, spiking blood sugar levels. These foods are awful for people having diabetes. These foods are low in nutrients, making it hard for the body to metabolize sugar. Moreover, these foods can cause tooth decay, diabetes, and obesity, making you lazy and giving rise to a variety of other diseases like heart disease.

High Calories Cause Weight Gain and Obesity

Another reason to avoid fast food is its bad effects on health and weight obesity. As fast food has excess calories, it leads to rapid weight gain and obesity. Obesity is the root cause of heart diseases because the extra fat puts heavy pressure on your lung and heart and can lead to shortness of breath and asthma. These are the fast-food effects on the respiratory system.

Some fast-food items like pizza, hamburgers are loaded with chemical additives and processed cheese. Consuming these unhealthy foods regularly does more harm if you do not follow an active lifestyle or exercise. Burger and pizza instantly spike the level of fat in your body. These high-fat levels will replace your good cholesterol and will harden or clog arteries, making you vulnerable to a stroke or heart attack.

A Primary Cause of Various Diseases

Fast food, or junk food as it is commonly called, is the primary cause of various life-threatening diseases today. As the name suggests, an unhealthy food containing few nutrients and vitamins for the body is junk food. It contains lots of sugar, salt, and fat. Junk food hardly contains any fiber and can lead to bloating and constipation. Some examples of junk food are fast foods like burgers, pizzas, cakes, biscuits, processed meats, sugary drinks, alcoholic drinks.

If you regularly consume junk food without an active lifestyle, you are at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver diseases, and different types of cancers. Junk food also affects periods in women resulting in an irregular menstrual cycle. These unhealthy food items cause deficiencies of vitamin A, B, C, D, Zinc, and potassium that lead to mood swings during periods, depression, anxiety, and infection.

Negatively Affects Major Systems of the Body

Fast food is a slow poison and negatively affects our body’s major systems like the central nervous system, respiratory system, reproductive system, and integumentary system. According to research conducted, people eating pastries and fast food develop 51% more depression than those who avoid fast food. As the excess calories in fast food cause obesity, it puts pressure on the heart and is directly linked to respiratory problems like shortness of breath or asthma. Obese people have shortness of breath while climbing stairs, exercising, or walking. Junk food also affects the reproductive system. The phthalates in fast food interfere with the hormone in the body. It causes birth defects or infertility. Fast food and greasy foods can also cause acne breakouts. Foods rich in carbohydrates also spikes blood sugar levels and trigger the breakout of acne.

Final Words

Therefore, fast food may be very popular today, but it has various side effects. Experts recommend consuming fast food only once a week. Fast food may be convenient as it saves time because making a homemade meal requires time and effort in the kitchen. Besides, you also need to buy ingredients to prepare your meal at the grocery store. But you can eat fast food hassle-free anywhere even on the go. But given the harmful effects of these unhealthy fast food items, it is better to spend some time in the kitchen and prepare a fresh homemade meal full of nutrients and keeps you healthy.

Harmful Effects of Fast Food- Reasons to Avoid it