Your body needs food in order to survive. But not all foods are good, for example, fast food. It is often high in calorie but offers little nutrition. It is also always highly processed and has added sugar, too much sodium and a lot of saturated fat. All these can affect your health in a negative way.
Why Fast Food Is Bad for You
Fast food is bad for your health because it can cause the following problems.
1. Higher Risk of Heart Diseases
The bad fats (trans and saturated fats) in fast food increases triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in your blood, leading to plaque buildup in the arteries. This can cause heart diseases. Fast food also causes sudden high blood sugar spike and artery inflammation, which makes it easier for plaque to stick to the inside of the artery walls. When the arteries are blocked, heart attacks can result.
2. Reduced Brain Function
Research on animals has shown that fast food causes a decrease in ability of memory and learning new skills. The bad fats in junk food, such as trans fats, can replace the good fats in the brain, interfering the signaling mechanism. Consuming a large amount of fatty and sugary fast food can also increase the risk of dementia.
3. Type 2 Diabetes
By eating junk food, you create a sudden spike in blood sugar due to the processed nature of the junk food. This shock to your metabolism adversely affects your body’s ability to utilize insulin, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
4. Potential Kidney Problems
The salt content is another reason why fast food is bad for you. A diet high in salt can disrupt the balance of sodium and potassium, which can cause a great tension on your kidney. The various additives and other substances can also lead to reduced kidney functioning.
5. Possible Liver Damage
Some studies have shown that fast food is almost as harmful to your liver as alcohol. Eating fast food for four weeks can adversely affect the liver enzymes. In addition, trans fats from junk food can deposit in the liver, which can cause liver problems.
6. Digestive Issues
Fast food has almost no fiber. This means a higher risk of constipation and hemorrhoids. Junk food’s high fat content can increase stomach acid production, stimulating the inner lining of stomach. Spicy ingredients in fast food can also irritate the stomach, causing a burning, painful sensation.
7. Increased Cancer Risk
Many studies associate a diet low in fiber with cancers of the digestive system. And one of the defining aspects of fast food is that it contains almost no fiber. The sugar and fat contents increase the risk of colorectal cancer. The fried types of fast food can cause prostate cancer in men.
8. Weakened Immune System
Proper nutrients are needed to build up the immune system. By eating too much fast food, the body doesn’t have the proper vitamins and minerals to establish the proper defenses. You may become susceptible to flu, infections, and other diseases. This is one of the biggest reasons why fast food is bad for you.
9. Depression, Especially in Teenagers
With their hormones being out of whack, teenagers are already going through behavioral changes and mood swings. Consuming fast food can make the emotional issues worse and even lead to depression, because the food lacks the nutrients needed to hormonal balance. It is studied that the chance of having depression increases by 58% among teenagers who often eat fast food.
10. Weakness and Fatigue
Ironically, even though fast food is usually very high in calories, it often makes you feel weak and fatigued. This apparent contradiction is due to the fact that fast food is low in important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. It can’t provide you with constant energy. Long-term consumption can lead to chronic fatigue.
11. Skin, Tooth and Bone Problems
Studies have linked fast food consumption with acne and eczema. The worsening acne problems aren’t surprising given how much oil and fat is usually included in fast food.
Dental problems are due to refined sugars and carbohydrates, which are excellent for bacteria growth in your mouth. In addition, another reason why fast food is bad for you is that consuming too much sodium (fast food is very high in sodium) increases the chances of suffering from osteoporosis.
12. Addiction
Fast food can be addicting. Certain ingredients, like monosodium glutamate, activate cells in the human brain that are connected to pleasure. To seek more pleasure, you will eat more fat food, leaving you addicted to it. It turns out that cigarettes, alcohol and drugs aren’t the only addictive vices.
13. Unsafe to Eat
Fast food restaurants will often sacrifice cleanliness in order to save time and money. What’s worse, many types of fast food are just directly made on the streets and lack sanitary cooking conditions. So people who often eat fast food are likely to get infected with bacteria, viruses, and parasites.