The question gets asked time and time again, “What’s so bad about fast food?” While this question may have been rhetorical 20 years ago, it is a question worth looking into with today’s healthier options. Is fast food still the bad choice that it used to be? It really depends. Let’s take a closer look and find out what really is so bad about fast food.
Sweeteners
It’s sad to say, but even healthier fast food places, such as Subway, still use unhealthy ingredients. For example, Subway uses high fructose corn syrup in their bread. Fitness guru Julian Michaels even offered to do commercials for the company if they changed to a healthier alternative. As of this writing, the company has stuck with the questionable sweetener. The truth is it’s impossible to watch out for these unhealthy ingredients when eating fast food.
Preservatives
What’s in that shake you’re drinking? What about that salad dressing you’ve put on that “healthy” salad? Chances are there are oodles of preservatives. Companies like McDonald’s have warehouses that house these ingredients for months, sometimes years, at a time. Do you really want to put something like that in your body?
MSG
We all know that mono-sodium glutamate is supposedly bad for you, but have you ever considered how bad? MSG has been known to cause gastrointestinal distress (which is a nice way of saying vomiting and diarrhea), dizziness, heart palpitations and even trouble breathing in those with asthma. The sad fact is that many fast food companies rely on this flavor enhancer to make their foods taste so good.
Large Portions
While fast food restaurants may be offering healthier choices, they have also been doubling, tripling and sometimes quadrupling the size of their burgers. Do you really need a Whopper with four patties or a 46 ounce milkshake? No Yet, that’s what many people are enticed to buy when going through the drive thru.
“Healthier” Choices
Last, but not least, many fast food restaurant offer what they claim are healthy options. Unfortunately, many of these items are still high in fat and calories and contain unhealthy ingredients. Before you purchase anything from a fast food restaurant with the idea of eating something healthy, look at the nutrition facts.
As you can see, fast food still remains an unhealthy option. While it may have improved a bit over the past couple decades, the questionable ingredients and oversized portions still make fast food a bad choice for many who consume it.
About the Author: Kimberly Dosh is a huge advocate of healthy living and watches everything she consumes from the foods she eats down to exact wine calorie counts. While it’s OK to enjoy indulgent foods once in a while, you still need to make sure they’re fitting into your daily caloric and nutritional needs. This article was written by a guest author. Would you like to write for us?