| article on junk food and its effects |
Junk this Food
Fast Food is the food served, which takes only a few seconds to assemble is palatable and affordable. But to meet taste requirements at a low price, it makes several nutritional compromises.
Fast food puts us at greater risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, cancer and obesity as fast foods are high in cholesterol, sugar, sodium, additives and preservatives, it has linked each of which to the development of chronic degenerative disorders. Junk Food is further low in protective components like fibre and antioxidants.
Many fast foods further have a wide variety of chemical additives, used to preserve, emulsify, colour and otherwise enhance the products to ensure uniformity, taste and profitability. These may pose health risks. It often uses monosodium glutamate (MSG) as a flavour enhancer and can lead to headaches, tightness in the chest and a burning sensation in the forearms and back of the neck.
A rainbow of fast food dyes gives the colour of pink strawberry shakes, green and purple candy, and lemon-yellow soft drinks. For decades, these coal-tar dyes have been suspected to be toxic or carcinogenic, and it has banned many. Safety questions swirl around the few that remain.
Butylated Hydroxy Anisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT) are two related chemicals added to prevent oxidants and retard rancidity. It adds very harmful chemicals in processed foods such as potato chips to frying oil in fast-food restaurants. It adds caffeine. to almost all aerated soft drinks like colas and orange drinks.
The fat used by fast-food restaurants in India-is hydrogenated vegetable oil. It is deleterious to health in more ways than one. It is not metabolised by the body like natural fat is, causing an increase in blood cholesterol levels and clogging of arteries. Most eating places heat the same oil, again and again, creating several harmful carcinogenic substances.
Due to the increased consumption of fast and processed food in the past 80 years, our fat intake has increased about 20 Percent and sugar consumption has 3 gone up by 40 Percent.
Consuming more calories from fat or refined sugar also displaces fresh fruits and vegetables, milk and other nutrient-packed foods from our diet. We lose out on the fibre, Vitamins, minerals and other protective foods we need to protect us against heart attacks, cancers, diabetes and other degenerative disorders.
