Junk Food
Fast food is a common meal option, but it’s high in calories and low in nutrients. Eating too much of it could affect nearly all parts of your body.
Swinging through the drive-thru or hopping into your favorite fast food restaurant may happen more often than some of us would like to admit.
While an occasional fast food meal won’t hurt, a habit of eating out could be doing a number on your health. Read on to learn the effects of fast food on your body.
Most fast food, including drinks and sides, are loaded with carbohydrates with little to no fiber.
When your digestive system breaks down these foods, the carbs are released as glucose (sugar) into your bloodstream. As a result, your blood sugar increases.
Your pancreas responds to the surge in glucose by releasing insulin. Insulin transports sugar throughout your body to cells that need it for energy. As your body uses or stores the sugar, your blood sugar returns to normal.
This blood sugar process is highly regulated by your body. As long as you’re healthy, your organs can usually handle these sugar spikes.
But frequently eating high amounts of carbs can lead to repeated spikes in your blood sugar.
Over time, these insulin spikes may cause your body’s normal insulin response to falter. This increases your risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain.
Sugar and fat
Many fast food meals have added sugar. That means extra calories without added nutrition. The American Heart Association, which referred to people as either men or women, suggests only eating about 100 calories or 6 teaspoonsTrusted Source of added sugar per day for women or 150 calories or 9 teaspoons for men.
Many fast food drinks alone contain more than the daily recommended amount of sugar. A 12-ounce can of Coca-Cola contains 9.75 teaspoons of sugar. That equals 140 calories, 39 grams of sugar, and no other nutrients.
Another common fast food ingredient, trans fat, is manufactured fat created during food processing. It’s commonly found in:
- fried pies
- pastries
- pizza dough
- crackers
- cookies
No amount of trans fat is good or healthy. Eating foods that contain it can increase your LDL (bad cholesterol), lower your HDL (good cholesterol), and increase your risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Sodium
The combination of fat, sugar, and lots of sodium (salt) can make fast food tastier to some people. But diets high in sodium can lead to water retention, which is why you may feel puffy, bloated, or swollen after eating fast food.
A diet high in sodium is also dangerous for people with blood pressure conditions. Sodium can elevate blood pressure and put stress on your heart and cardiovascular system.
One study found that about 90% of adults underestimated how much sodium was in their fast food meals.
The study surveyed 993 adults and found that their guesses were lower than the actual sodium content by more than 1,000 mg.
Keep in mind that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends adults eat no more than 2,300 milligramsTrusted Source of sodium per day. More than 70%Trusted Source of sodium comes from processed foods and restaurant meals.
Excess calories from fast food meals can cause weight gain. This may lead toward obesity.
Obesity increases your risk of respiratory problems, including asthma and shortness of breath.
The extra pounds can put pressure on your heart and lungs, and symptoms may show up even with little exertion. You may notice difficulty breathing when you’re walking, climbing stairs, or exercising.
Restaurants may increase the challenge of calorie counting. Research indicates that people often inaccurately estimate the number of calories of menu items.
Your central nervous system consists of your brain and spinal cord. These areas of your body may also see an impact from eating fast food.
One study from 2020 found that among college students, eating higher amounts of fast food (and, interestingly, salad) was linked to a lower short-term memory score.
Still, other research from 2019 found no effect of fast food consumption on cognitive function. More studies are needed in this area.
Processed, and especially ultra-processed, foods have been blamed for the national rise in obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes. But what exactly are these foods, and are they really all that bad for you?
Defining processed foods
According to the Department of Agriculture, processed foods are any raw agricultural commodities altered from their original state. This includes washing, cleaning, milling, cutting, chopping, heating, pasteurizing, blanching, cooking, canning, freezing, drying, dehydrating, mixing or packaging.
While processing includes basic steps like washing, foods cross into ultra-processed territory when they contain preservatives, flavorings and other food additives, or substances approved for use in food products, such as salt, sugars and fats used to enhance flavor and increase shelf life.
Ranking foods from minimally to ultra-processed
Here’s how the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ranks processed foods from minimally to mostly or ultra-processed:
- Minimally processed foods, such as fresh blueberries, cut vegetables and roasted nuts, prepped for convenience.
- Foods processed at their peak to lock in nutritional quality and freshness including canned tomatoes, tuna, frozen fruit or vegetables.
- Foods with ingredients added for flavor and texture, such as sweeteners, spices, oils, colors and preservatives, include jarred pasta sauce, salad dressing, yogurt and cake mixes.
- Ready-to-eat foods like crackers, chips and deli meat, which are more heavily processed.
- The most heavily or ultra-processed foods include sweetened breakfast cereals, soda, energy drinks, artificially flavored crackers and potato chips, chicken nuggets and hot dogs.
Minimally processed foods have a place in healthy diets. For example, low-fat milk, whole-grain or wheat bread, precut vegetables and fresh-cut greens are considered processed foods. Dairy- and plant-based milks and juices may be fortified with vitamin D and calcium, while breakfast cereals may have added fiber. Canned fruits packed in water or natural fruit juice can be part of a healthy diet when fresh fruit isn’t readily available.
Reading the labels
When choosing foods, do some investigative work by examining ingredient lists and analyzing the nutrition facts labels:
- Avoid foods that contain additives and preservatives, such as high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, food dyes, monosodium glutamate, sodium nitrates, sodium nitrites and sulfites such as sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite or sodium sulfite.
- Cut back on ultra-processed foods and purchase more unprocessed or minimally processed foods.
- Look for more natural ingredients.
When reading the nutrition facts labels, watch for hidden sugars, fats and salt, especially those added during processing.
Most labels now include added sugars. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that people older than 2 get less than 10% of total calories from added sugars, or about 200 calories in a 2,000-calorie diet. Children younger than 2 shouldn’t have any added sugars in their diets. Learn to spot words like maltose, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey and fruit juice concentrate.
When it comes to sodium, people often comment that they salt their food. As it turns out, you don’t need to because manufacturers have already added salt for you, and it’s often too much. The Dietary Guidelines also recommends adults consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Look for low- or reduced-sodium foods. Also try rinsing canned vegetables with water to remove some of the salt.
When checking fat content on labels, scan for saturated fats and trans fats. Choose foods lower in saturated fats. Trans fats are considered one of the worst types of fat because they can raise your low-density lipoprotein (LDL or “bad”) cholesterol and lower your high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol.
Taking baby steps toward healthier eating
Take baby steps by making one dietary change at a time. Consider healthy swaps, such as whole-grain cereal with no added sugar instead of highly processed, sugary cereals. Choose whole-grain, high-fiber breads over white bread products. When looking for a healthy snack, reach for fresh fruit or vegetables instead of crackers, potato chips or processed cookies.
The key to healthy eating starts with you. Educate yourself on what to look for and talk with your healthcare professional or nutrition expert to discuss a food plan that works best for you.