The traditional eating habits of most Americans have been altered by the advertising of today’s food merchants, we have being deceived by the fast food craze, and a faster pace of life. Our grandparents grew on farm, living the simple life of hard work and eating simple natural meals prepared from the food raised in their own gardens and orchard.
Most didn’t have electricity or running water, in all these they were strong and very active into old age. All the children of these grands couldn’t live healthy, most were in serious physical and health trouble before the age of 50, then the grand children landed in a serious dilemma of health trouble before 43. This is the downward progression of health form one generation to another.
It seems we have altered our tradition, and this altered tradition makes us feeble and sick. We have deviated from the way our ancestors grew, processed, prepared and consumed their food when compared to us today. Come the era of fast food, where we are living in a day where the pace of life is too fast, keeping up with life is hard. People are too busy to prepare homemade meals the traditional way, selecting real and living food. Fast food restaurants are all around, on every block, microwave ovens and convenience foods are the norm today. A lot don’t even know there is another way to access real food for sound health. Fast pace, fast food, oh fast life!
It seems we have altered our tradition, and this altered tradition makes us feeble and sick.
Are convenience food a blessing or a curse to mankind? Most people today feel that convenience food are a blessing, in that they require little to not time to prepare. They help to contribute and the source of most physical health problems plaguing mankind today. If fast food is a regular component of your diet or that of your family, you might find that you or your loved ones is struggling with weight problem which is the risk factor for other chronic health problems such as insulin resistance, shortness of breath, depression, dental distress,, blood sugar spike, high cholesterol, headache and acne.
However, consuming fast food regularly can have negative health effects on the body, leading to various health problems let’s discuss a few:
Fast food contain large amount of calories and sodium:
Fast food contains large amounts of carbohydrates and sugar, this shows they contain a lot of calories and offer little or no nutritional value, these are substances that increase your risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Increased health risks are directly associated with increased consumption of fast foods.
Fast food restaurants use high amounts of sodium to flavor the meals. Sodium is a risk factor for high blood pressure and stroke, the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Fast food increases your chances of gaining weight and developing type-2 diabetes:
Studies have shown that there is a high correlation between frequent fast food intake and weight gain. Having meals at fast food restaurants regularly doubles your chance of adding more to your weight, developing insulin resistance which heightens the risk of developing type-2 diabetes. Weight gain occurs when you consume more calories than you burn per day.
Higher Body Mass Index (BMI) increases your risk of obesity and chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, gallstones and cancer. Body Mass Index, BMI, is an indicator of body fat that is measured according to your weight and height.
Fast foods are low in nutrients:
Fast food is typically low in essential nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. While some fast food chains have begun to offer healthier options, the majority of the menu items are still high in calories, unhealthy fats, sugar, and salt, and contain very little nutritional value.
Many fast food items lack important nutrients such as vitamins A, C, and E, as well as minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium. These nutrients are essential for maintaining a healthy immune system, healthy skin, strong bones, and overall wellbeing.
Fast food is also often low in fiber, which is an important component of a healthy diet. Fiber helps to regulate digestion, prevent constipation, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
Moreover, fast food often contains artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors, which can further decrease the nutritional value of the food. Consuming these additives in large amounts can have negative health effects, such as increasing the risk of cancer and other health problems.
Fast food are highly processed:
Most of these food such as canned food, bottled food and drinks are heated to extremely high temperatures during the manufacturing process to extend their shelf life and prevent spoilage, destroying most of the natural enzymes, vitamins and mineral it may contain.
Most time the choice of the starting materials for making these fast foods are not healthy ones but dead food in themselves, thus subjecting the remaining useful nutrients to extreme temperatures destroys them. Fast foods lack the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for the optimum function of the body.
Fast food contain excess unhealthy fats:
Unhealthy fats are found in most fast foods in high amounts. Fried products from fast food restaurants contain high amounts of industrially produced trans-fatty acids. Tran-fats are fats in margarines, spreads, and frying oils, produced by industrial hardening of vegetable or marine oils, to make the product more stable and robust for handling and storage.
Today, a single French fries contains one-third higher trans-fats than they contain before. Oils and other hydrocarbons used for frying turn into a toxic chemical called acrylamides when combusted. Acrylamides are highly carcinogenic and they cause colon cancer, they should be avoided. Acrylamides also cause cellular DNA mutation. How do we avoid this with all we consume today? French fries contain acrylamides and they are added in the process of making french fries.
The purpose of food is to serve as fuel for our body and not poison it.
In conclusion, consuming fast food increases higher risk of poor nutrition for all. Data from adults and children analyzed by “Journal of the American Dietetic Association” over time showed that those who frequently consumed fast food had lower intakes of vitamins A and C, dietary fiber, milk and fruits and vegetables than subjects who didn’t eat fast food.
The fast-food eaters also had higher intakes of calories, saturated fat and sodium than the other subjects. Consumption of carbonated soft drinks was more than double for the frequent fast food eaters, who also consumed more than twice the amount of fried potatoes as those who didn’t eat fast food. Filling up on fat-laden fast food and sugary soft drinks leaves little room for more nutritious fare that supports good health.
