Why fast food is bad for health - Fitness Health Forever

2019-03-12

Fast food is immensely popular because it is cheap, has become convenient and most importantly satisfies our taste buds. But the real cost of consuming fast food can never be seen on the menu…

Swinging to the favorite dishes or simply making plans to go to your favorite restaurant has become a repetitive task nowadays, especially for modern families. And thanks to online ordering, the task of getting junk food delivered at your doorstep has made fast food appear in our meals more than ever.

But amidst all these lip-smacking processes, we tend to forget the side effects of fast food on our health. Where millionaires are believed to spend more than 45 % of their budget on fast food, the middle class are also estimated to spend half their budget on consuming the artificial delicacies of junk food.

The realm of junk food is so huge that we cannot ignore the fragrance of delightful visuals of the food items. Even the fragrance controls our mind and urges our consciousness to simply make an order. And while ordering, we do make it a point to add extra carbs or extra fats, which simply makes the situation worse for our digestive system.

Today, we will raise the curtains of several misconceptions and will illuminate you with fast food health risks and diseases caused by junk food.

Fast foods are the stockpiles of sugar and fat

We love it when our brownie is baked with extra sugar don’t we? We love to add extra cheese in our burger or pizzas, don’t we? The truth is, these are harmful to our body. Fast food meals have added artificial sugar which simply means extra calories in our diet.

When we talk about fast food, it is imperative to include soft drinks. 12 ounces of soft drinks contain more than 8 teaspoon of sugar that is well above the normal intake which is about six teaspoons.

Fast food also consists of trans fat which is manufactured through food processing. Such trans fats are nothing but extra calories making our body do more hard work to absorb fast food. Trans fat can be found in pastries, fried pies, cookies, toffees, crackers, and chips. Trans fat also increases our bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol level. This further escalates the chances of diseases caused by junk food like type 2 diabetes in our body.

Fast food is dreadful for our cardiovascular and digestive system

Most of the fast-food consumed on a daily basis comes with carbohydrates with less or no fiber. When such eatables are being digested by our digestive system, the carbohydrates get converted in sugar and released into our bloodstream. This causes an increase in blood sugar and diabetes risks.

When blood sugar increases, pancreases show its natural response to stimuli and release insulin. Insulin transports sugar to the cells that require it for energy. The body works and processes sugar conversion at a higher rate when we consume sugar more than necessary,

When you consume sugars and fats regularly, our body tends to show signs of malfunction related to elevation in our blood sugar or blood pressure. If continued for a longer time, the insulin level may decline and you may develop insulin resistance causing weight gain and diabetes.

Fast food harms our respiratory system

This is one of the most talked about the health risks of fast food. While breathing problems are often associated with habits like smoking, fast food can also act as a friend in disguise for our health.

Fast food simply means extra calories which further causes our body to accumulate more fat. This results in weight gain and obesity as a negative effect of fast food. Obesity is known to increase respiratory issues. It may also lead to shortness of breath and asthma in some cases.

When you consume more fats, the extra pounds of our body put pressure on our heart and lungs. These results in exertion and you might face difficulty breathing where you get fatigued doing simple activities like jogging, climbing stairs or even by walking. So, if you wish to have a healthy respiratory column, stay away from little tasty treats of restaurants.

Fast food is a foe for our skin

If you observe your eating schedule, you might notice is more prone to acne when you are eating more junk food. This is because; fats in junk meals clog our skin pores causing the onset of unwanted acne. Needless to say, junk food disrupts the health of our skin which is one of the most visible negative effects of fast food.

Thanks to those high levels of sugar, you can also get acne when you least accept it. Furthermore, several patients have reported high chances of eczema which is a skin condition where patches of skin are inflamed or dry skin is formed.

Fast food is the source of sodium-not good for our body

The very last disadvantage and health risks of fast food concern the levels of sodium in our body. Sodium is the element that makes fast food tantalizing. However, this sodium causes water retention in our body that makes us feel puffy or bloated. It is a feeling that you have got full stomach after eating little amounts of fast food.

The problem doesn’t end just here. Sodium rich diet is treacherous for people suffering blood pressure issues. Fast food with sodium can lead to high levels of blood pressure which puts stress in our heart and cardiovascular system.

Facts tell us that a person can take not more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. However, one fast-food meal could consist of more than half of this recommended diet.

The above mentioned side effects of fast food show us just how much is the intensity of harmful substance we tend to intake in the form of tasty looking eatables. While it is disastrous, we can always do our efforts to avoid fast food. One simply needs to control our urges and we can elongate our healthy by a number of years by avoiding fast food.

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Rebecca Gardner

4 years ago

I was surprised when you said that one of the most visible effects of eating fast food is the negative effects it can have on our skin. I’ve been eating out multiple times a week ever since I started working full time, but it’s been hard for me to find the motivation to change my habits. Reading your article made me excited to find a health food store and start cooking for myself at home, so I appreciate you sharing this helpful info!