Here are some numbers to begin with:
• McDonald’s sells an average of 75 hamburgers every second. (Also, McDonald’s is more recognized than the Christian Cross.)
• A typical American spends about $1200 on fast food annually. (Safe to assume that other countries are just as bad.)
• Junk food kills more people than wars, famines, and genocides.
A report on The Guardian claims that one in five deaths happen due to poor diet and that poor diet is the second higher risk factor for early death after smoking.
An article on the website of Pennsylvania State University titled “does fast food kill people” cites a research done by the University of Florida to answer the question. It reads: “In another study, researchers decided to not test rats, but to test themselves. The research participants, which were the researchers, lived on McDonald’s meals for 10 days. Prior to the experiment, it was understood that the human gut has about 3,500 microbial species, which are bacteria that protect against obesity, heart disease, and cancer. The results of the study showed that the diet of highly processed foods wiped out the number of these microbial species by one-third.”
The article ends by advising readers “So, the next time you are feeling hungry, save your health and skip fast food. It may keep you alive longer.”
All being said, even when you don’t care about the scientific evidence, it’s not difficult to see how fast food has affected our lives. Just look south; see that bulging tummy? That’s the by-product of unhealthy eating.
Eating unhealthy food makes us lethargic and fat. You can actually observe that yourself. For a week, up your fast food intake (I don’t recommend this) and you will notice an increase in weight, the decline in energy and much less productivity. Continue with the habit and your body will become a home to countless disease—high BP, cholesterol, diabetes, less immunity, and so much more. You will be more likely to get a heart attack, stokes, and various other medical complications.
These junk foods affect us not just physically but also emotionally and psychologically. Loaded with carbs, sodium and negligible nutritional value, they can impact our digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive, skeletal and nervous system.
Here’s a picture from Healthline.com that explains how junk food affects every part of our body-
So, in all seriousness, have you been eating a lot of junk foods of late, cut back on that. Stop eating chips, burgers, pizzas, drinking cokes and more. Sure, changing your eating habits won’t be so easy. This is why you need to be slow in the process. Eliminate one food at a time and replace them with healthier alternatives.
Remember, healthy foods aren’t bad. You only believe that because you try to impose an impossible diet on yourself.
No, you cannot live your life on just veggies. Eating just the fruits for lunch would soon become boring. And your breakfast of just oats would feel like a burden every day very soon.
There are many healthy foods out there that are incredibly tasty. You just have to do some research and find them. Idlisand sambar are my favorites.
(Courtesy: The Daily Meal)
