7 Reasons You Should Avoid Fast Foods
When food is prepared as mass produce and served quickly, its known as fast food. Fast foods gained its popularity in the United States early 1950’s and is typically less hygienic, nutritionally valuable compared to other meals. Below are 7 reasons you should avoid fast food:
Brain function
For your brain to function well and produce effective results, hygienic, nutritionally valuable food is needed unlike fast foods that are less valuable but delicious and mouth watering.
Studies have shown that one week of eating junk food was enough to impair the memory of rats. It is believed that the bad fats in fast food replaces the healthy fats in the brain and so impairs brain functions. Literature have shown that children who eat fast food tend to score lower in maths, science and reading. It is associated with the fact that fast foods lack in iron content which is an important ingredient for the development of our brain cells. So here is another reason to not east fast food, it makes you smarter, free of cost.
Blood Pressure
Fast foods can be high in sodium, with a double hamburger with mayo containing 1,081 milligrams. A small one-patty burger without mayo has only 258 milligrams of sodium. A high-sodium diet can lead to high blood pressure and an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and kidney disease. Healthy adults should consume no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Limit your sodium consumption by avoiding salty condiments, such as pickle relish, which has 164 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon.
Heart Condition
Fast foods 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.
Depression
Because of all the hormonal changes, going on in a teenager’s body, they need a healthy diet to ward off mood swings and behavioural issues. Teenagers that eat more junk food than fresh food are nearly 60% more likely to suffer from depression.
Risk of kidney Diseases
The reason that fries are so tempting is because they contain huge amounts of highly processed salt which increases salivation and even causes a craving. The high salt and fat content in fries increases blood pressure and adversely affects the functioning of the kidney
Risk of cancer
Fast foods are high in fat, sugar and salt, which can lead to an increased risk of cancer. Studies have proven that there is a direct link between the amount of fatty, fried food that people eat and the incidence of cancer.
Addiction
Most of the fast foods are processed and as a result, contain chemicals that reach our brain cells and affect them. While some of them may not be that strong, others like serotonin and MSG (mono sodium glutamate) cause the pleasure cells of our brains to react and every time we eat any fast food item, it makes us more addictive to it. So remember, it’s not just alcohol and drugs that are addictive, fast foods do it too, only in a more subtle and permanent way.