Health consequences

• - Watched “Supersize me” . After watching this movie, and I never stepped foot into a McDonalds again. I seriously can not buy water there. I should say that a few weeks ago, we did stop in one for a bathroom break on our vacation. I ended up gagging, my wife ended up craving a burger, to which he was disturbed by. We left quickly.

• - Another reason why it’s so easy to gain weight is thanks to the modern lifestyle. Now everyone is rushed off their feet and you’ll find junk food everywhere. Fast food is one such culprit, it’s a high energy food but it doesn’t fill you up. This will cause you to consume many more calories than you need. Cars also mean that we’re not walking as much as we used to. Plus most of us work behind a desk rather than hunting, which is another way we used to lose weight (as cavemen).

• - Watched “Fast Food Nation.” I only had health reasons for not eating fast food prior to this movie. After this movie, I had moral, ethical, and a million more reasons for not eating fast food, we could not support any company that operated the way fast food places do.

• - When we stopped eating fast food we started to take our time eating, when we did eat out, we did it together, slowly sometimes, and had great conversations this way.

• - Our health got better. Just cutting out all fast food, I’m convinced is behind my success so far. The first week I started to only eat whole foods, my sugar numbers were literally cut in half – in one week.

• - No more diet soda/soda. Ok, here we go people. I’m going to tell you something you DON’T want to hear. Diet soda messes up your blood sugar. I know this doesn’t make sense. But think for a second it tastes sweet, your body doesn’t know the difference when it hits your tongue, it thinks your having something sweet, and then insulin jumps out, it needs somewhere to go, and then, you need sugar to help it out. And fast food places give you an insane amount of bubbly fake sugar…

• - Home cooked food and or slowly cooked food is ALWAYS better. There are plenty of quick meals at home that you can eat.

• - This is how a burger is made (Fast food style) you get a total of 3 oz. actual meat. (average burger). It is frozen, pressed, and stored for let’s say – months. Your burger was processed at the cheapest price per pound. The animals are fed (I’m totally serious) other animals, cement, and sweet/fatty foods. They are given tons of anti-biotics (because they are fed so poorly, and are in such horrible conditions that they get sick) they do this to make them stay alive long enough to slaughter them. Then they are brought to a slaughter house, where the accident rates are through the roof. A very high percent of the meat gets contaminated. BUT this is OK! Why? They cook it at the highest temperature possible to kill all the germs. So how does your burger taste so darn good?

• - Your burger flavor is all processed in a plant in New Jersey. Yep, the garden state has got your back when it comes to burgers. Chemicals give you that tasty smell and taste. So basically you are eating rubbery substance flavored, between 2 pieces of carb-o-licous bread.

• - Don’t even get me started on the fries, and super-sizing. Or that every time you get fast food they profile you, as what kind of user you are. (I’m serious they call you a USER) They market to kids, and everyone in between just like the cigarette companies have done for years. I’m guessing when our kids are old enough, they will wonder what the heck we were thinking to ever eat fast food, just like I wondered about people who start to smoke.

• - It would be wrong to blame fast foods exclusively for the malnutrition of young people that is causing alarm today. However, fast foods can accelerate bad trends: 15% to 30% of children do not eat breakfast or a midday snack. Those that eat repetitive fare at lunch or even in the evening increase their risk of not getting enough essential nutrients. A direct consequence of unbalanced, fat-rich food low in nutritive fibers can be constipation and reflux (heartburn). Over the long-term, frequently eating fat-rich fast foods promotes obesity. In recent years, children of both sexes have experienced an increase in weight-related problems. Today, the percentage of overweight children is 22%. In adults, current studies reveal that 32% of males and 19% of females are overweight. Approximately 5% of the population is seriously overweight (obese).

• Weight problems and insufficient nutrition are related to many health risks that can surface in later life as “diseases of civilization” (cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, certain forms of cancer, and high blood pressure).

• - Unfortunately the increasing widespread decline in physical activity in our society contributes to these risks. Children are also increasingly inactive these days.

Consequences for the environment

• - Glasses, silverware, plates and cloth napkins are never provided with fast food. Instead, paper plates and napkins, polyurethane containers, plastic cups and tableware, drinking cartons or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles are used, and these are all disposable. Many of these items are tossed in the garbage instead of being recycled, or even worse, merely thrown on the ground. This burdens nature unnecessarily and squanders raw materials.

Related posts:

1. How to Eat Smart and Healthy at Fast Food Restaurants
2. Emotional Food: Feeding Your Feelings
3. How to be a Smart Food Shopper Without Being Cheap
4. Fake Food : Top 10 Most Deceptive Foods that Everyone Thinks are Healthy but Are Not
5. Healthy Eating Habits for Better Nutrition