Why We Should NEVER Eat Fast Food

We've all heard the rumors about how a Chicken McNugget is made, or exactly what process the meat goes through before it ends up in a Big Mac. Whether or not you believe these rumors (anyone watch Food Inc.?) , everyone should know by now that fast food is just not a healthy choice. Here are my top reasons why we should never, ever, ever eat fast food.   

Sugar: 

In McDonald's and other fast-food chains, practically everything contains sugar. Not just the drinks and the ketchup, but even the bread in the hamburger buns, and wait for it, the fries. But what about the new 'healthy' stuff, like the fruit smoothies? Well, it turns out that they actually have more sugar per drink than a cup of cola.

Antifreeze Chemicals:

Many fast-food chains use a food additive called propylene glycol, which is also used in antifreeze. It adds moisture to food, keeping it frozen, in addition to enhancing flavor. For example, it's used to keep the lettuce on your sandwiches crispy and ice cream from melting. Frequent ingestion may cause nausea, vomiting, abnormalities in the heart, liver and kidney functions, as well as itchy skin accompanied with rashes (source). No big deal.

Fake Meat:

When it comes to grill marks, it all depends on labeling: If your burger is “char-grilled” or “fire-grilled,” it was the result of applied heat. However, without those labels, the grill marks were sprayed on at a factory.

Beefy Milkshakes:

If you're a vegetarian, this secret may be particularly concerning: Many fast-food restaurants include beef additives in their milkshakes and french fries under the guise of unexplained "natural flavorings," "extract" or "essence." There has been a movement to remove some of these beef flavorings, but many chains still use them. (source)

Now, what about if you're making a healthy choice? Like, what if we order the salad instead of a burger? Well, the problem isn't so much how many calories we consume at our fast food joint, but how that food nourishes our bodies. The answer: it doesn't. Most of the food is so processed and treated, that it looses it's nutritional value. Even though we are eating the calories, the calories are not giving our body what it needs. So while we stuff ourselves with a burrito from Taco Bell, it's not going to be too soon after that our body says, "Wait a minute, I didn't get my vitamins and minerals I need...FEED ME!" And we end up hungry and unsatisfied just an hour or two later. 

For my last point,  I want to share this photo with you...

Source

That's a 145 day old hamburger and french fries. No mold, no spoilage. If bacteria isn't even willing to eat it, why would you? 

Grossed out yet? Repeat after me, " I will stop eating Fast Food!" I haven't had fast food in years and at this point I'd rather go hungry than eat a chicken nugget. For fast food that's also good food,  grab an apple, an orange or even a basket of berries... nutritious, delicious and good "to-go"!