Increases the risk of contamination
A single fast-food hamburger can contain beef from hundreds of different cattle — as ground meat from all of a chains’ suppliers are often combined into a single batch of minced meat.
This increases the risk of contamination, since infected meat from just one cow can show up in tons of batches.
Increase your risk for heart disease
Burgers can be high in dietary cholesterol and saturated fat. Dietary cholesterol and saturated fat can raise levels of cholesterol in your blood and increase your risk for heart disease. A double hamburger with mayo contains 21.6 grams of saturated fat, or 108 percent of the daily value, and 172 milligrams of cholesterol, or 57 percent of the daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Reduce your consumption by choosing a single-patty burger without mayo, which has 3.5 grams of saturated fat and 26 milligrams of cholesterol. Cholesterol is only in animal-based foods, and a vegetarian burger is cholesterol-free.
Additives side effects
Food establishments and manufacturers use a variety of additives (like sodium phosphate and nitrates) to serve various purposes like preserving and texturizing the meat. While most are deemed safe for consumption by the FDA, they’re still highly processed — and have even been linked to side effects in some people.