I have been hearing some rumors about the dangers of fast foods. I've always known that fast food is not the healthy choice when compared to home made cooking. I personally don't have time to cook all the time, so I eat fast food a lot. Now I'm getting worried. Is it that bad?
I'd personally say yes it's bad LOL You can't live solely on fast food or even take out food. Half the time you don't even know what's in it. It's well known to contain high levels of fat, salt, sugar and preservatives, among others. I think excessive weight will be the least of worries, because before long you'll definitely run into difficulties as far as your well being is concerned. My philosophy is that everything is ok IN MODERATION.
It really depends on what kind of fast food. Things like deep fried chicken wings and burgers are not healthy, but once in a while are okay. Now fast food like paninis, pizza or subs aren't as bad (depending on the fillings), but as @Lushlala says, most have higher salt and sugar levels which means you tend to eat more than you should do. I don't think a portion of fries or onion rings or a pizza once a week is bad, but every day is not healthy.
Yes, it's bad and as Lushlala said, weight gain would be the least of your worries. Especially considering most people's usual diet, fast food on top of that is just terrible. If all you care about is weight though, that can be managed, but no.. you can't be healthy on a fast food diet. Or even a typical diet, but I digress lol...
I don't think fast food is completely terrible because it is so convenient so there's that. I think that you really need to be more mindful of what you're eating when you aren't eating the fast food because the calories, sugars and other stuff can add up really fast.
I too would agree - looking at it from a health point of view - eating fast food is very definitely bad - especially as its way better for your health to eat REAL food rather than chemicals concoctions masquerading as food - the latter of which is exactly what fast food is. In fact just in case there is any doubt - take a look at this - as even though dated a few years ago - nothing has changed - this is what you are putting into your body when you eat fast food Log In
Yes, it really is that bad. Have a rethink - you've got the time to make the detour to a fast food joint and wait in line. If you didn't do this, you'd have an extra 10 mins at home in which you could do a jacket potato in the microwave or knock up a quick salad or sandwich. If the problem is that you can't be bothered to cook then why not spend some time each week batch cooking. This way, you can simply take your meal out of the freezer in the morning, ready to heat up once you finish work.
I have mixed feelings about the "pink sludge" thing - I feel that it was mainly spread as click bait and to attract viewers on the news, without being entirely objective. The people reporting on it seemed more consumed with fearmongering for attention than being fair in their reporting of it. "Mechanically separated chicken" may sound frightening, but in reality if you think about it, that's essentially what happens when you make a pot of chicken stock - all the meat falls off the bones, the fat and cartilage and gelatin and bone marrow dissolve into the broth, and if you cook it long enough the bones themselves will start to disintegrate and fall apart too. Plus if you look up the wiki pages on McDonalds and chicken nuggets, they go into detail on how they were conceived and made. In fact there are even recipes online on how to make your own chicken nuggets at home with the same taste and texture - it's nothing more than throwing some chicken in a food processor with a few extra ingredients such as instant potato flakes, and spices and some other stuff. Again, just because the chicken meat is ground up doesn't make it bad, it's just a preparation of it. And as for the bones, if you've ever seen people eat sardines out of a can, they often eat the bones as well, because they're soft, and are actually nutritious as well, providing calcium.
Lack of nutrients in the food being eaten is one reason the food from fast food places is not good. Another would be the amount of fat in the food is another good reason to limit the amount of fast food eaten. One of the reasons I don't eat fast food is I have fond bugs in the food more time than I care to say.
@ohiotom76 It's not just about the pink slime (which is also not the only ingredient in there).. chicken nuggets aren't the only food and McDonalds isn't the only restaurant. People need to educate themselves about the food they eat.. and by that, I don't mean trying to find the benefits of junk food.. or "how junk food isn't all that bad".. leave that up to Coke with their new super sciencey studies coming up lol. Most highly processed food are terrible for you as it is.. add in the restaurants and their practices it only gets far far worse. But people are desensitized.. they can't see it for what it is and will literally risk their lives to defend it.
@ohiotom76 I still wouldn't eat McDonald's. The only fast food I really like is pizza. Last time I ate there..well let's just say it didn't sit well with me. Not to mention their food is stale and the one location in town smells horrible. Eat all kinds of fast food if you want but McDonald's is the most garbage of them all. I'm feeling nauseous just thinking about it. Guess you get what you pay for.
I guess if you're not convinced at this point, you might want to check out that Supersize Me movie. In the outtakes, it shows how well food keeps when not refrigerated. While homemade food expired the next day and indie burger spots took a day or two before it became moldy, MickeyDs remained the same for a month! Scary.
This is my take on fastfood. If it is really that bad, why do we patronize them? They should lose sales and go bankrupt. Just like those organic food trying to get the attention of the public. If that organic food has a big difference then no one would buy the ordinary potato or the ordinary eggs anymore and the vendors would have gone bankrupt. I think those talks about the badness of fastfood are just hype.
lol I guess you don't see what's happening to the health of the developed world then? Fast food is just grocery store foods on steroids and grocery store foods are faux foods to begin with. You won't find an obesity epidemic in the plant based eating world. You won't find such drastic numbers in pretty much all causes of mortality. Your post is exactly why there are such massive health issues in the world right now.. people think it's all hype so they keep scarfing it down until their first heart attack or stroke. And after. If they're lucky enough to get that chance. Plus, have you seen the prices of organic foods? You should ask yourself why that is.. the obesity issue isn't just about people's lack of education on the matter. Government has a hand in it as well. Don't read the tone of my post wrong, I know it sounds snarky lol.. it made me sad to read to be honest.
I'll give you a story about Mcdonalds fast food as an example... This guy put his McDonalds burger in his jacket pocket and puts it away, never wearing it again. 10 Years later, he comes back to this jacket, finds the burger and it hasn't even rotted yet. 10 YEARS! So do I eat fast food? Yeah, I do occasionally but is it good for you? Probably not... You won't die from eating it but it can lead to the build up of long term diseases developed as you age.
Pardon me with the organic food but it is just a hype. A dietitian had already declared that there's not much difference in organic food and the ordinary vegetables and meat the we buy in the market. And I believe that dietitian since proponents of organic food have no conclusive evidence. Do you know that eggs were declared a health hazard sometime in the 1990s here? But the egg producers got back at those so called health buffs and made their own declaration with the help of a group of medical doctors. So what I see now with those organic or anything about health that includes herbal and food supplements.. they are all business.
@Corzhens, I've seen you give a lot of bad advice on this forum. Organic food isn't nutritionally different from non-organic varieties, but to say that eating foods without pesticides is the same thing as eating foods with them is a stupid idea. Your dietician doesn't know what he's talking about, and I'm not sure that you do either. Saying that fast food is a good idea is the worst idea I've ever heard. People patronize fast food because it's convenient, not because it's healthy.
You said if there was such a difference, everyone would be buying them.. I was pointing out the cost as to why most people don't buy them, because most believe marketing and would rather buy it. I'm well aware of the organics business. TRUE organic is out there though and everyone should be eating it. I'm also well aware of the meat, dairy and egg industries. I couldn't care less if there is a difference.. inhumane is inhumane and nobody should be contributing to it. You said the FACTS about fast food being bad for you are all hype. I beg you to check the science on it.. on all food for that matter. It's thoughts like that that are contributing to the horrible issues facing us all, that start with the health of our people and reach far beyond that into many aspects of society today.
You CAN get healthier food from fast food joints, but no one gets the salad. Anyways I'm going with a different route, that eating fast food all the time will kill your finances. Meal prep at home is crucial to maintaining a healthy budget.
Not really. With all the cheese, dressings, croutons, meats etc, there really is no big difference. Unless you're JUST eating the veggies.. in which case you have to consider what they're dousing them in to keep them all "fresh" and there really are no nutrients left in veggies that sit around forever, doused or not.. what's the point again?
