Harm from Fast Food

The Deadly Drug Known as Fast Food

In today's society, millions of dollars are spent every year in research of how to make our favorite fast food taste better, and cost less. The ability to eat a meal that tastes great, costs little, and fills you up, is a very enticing idea. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for its nutritional value, and many deaths in this nation can be attributed to that. In 2010, 596,577 people in America died of cardiovascular disease, the highest rate of any disease. Sadly, many of those deaths were caused by improper nutrition, inactivity, and fast food as a major part of their diet.

First off, what is in fast food that makes it so unhealthy? On average, a fast food meal has 900 calories in it. And the reason that the meal would be so high in calories, is an overuse of trans-fats, saturated fats, and sugar. Trans-fats are man made fats, usually created by taking a polyunsaturated fat, and adding hydrogen, making it a“partially hydrogenated” fat. The reason why it was created, was to have a fat that would be solid at room temperature, but not go bad as quickly as butter. But this also means that when you eat fast food, there is greater than a 60% chance you are ingesting this substance, and over time, it can build up on you arteries. It is the main cause of heart diseases, especially heart attacks. Sugar is laced in most of the food you get in a fast food restaurant, the highest percentage is in the soda, ice cream, and white bread. When you eat food with sugar, it causes your blood sugar to spike, and subsequently crash. When you crash, your brain tells your body that it needs more sugar, causing a perpetual cycle of overcompensation. A meal consisting of a small coke, Mcflurry, and hamburger, has 109 grams of sugar. You can actually survive without eating food with added sugar, but the American Heart Association warns against anything more than 36 grams for men, and 24 grams for women. If you do the math, as a male, you would have just ingested 3 days worth of sugar right there, and if you were a female, you would have ingested more than half a weeks worth. Over-consumption of sugar is the leading cause of diabetes.

There are also reports of dependence to fast food. At this point most studies are controversial at best, but there are some things that have been proven to cause dependence. The first is a milk protein called casein. It is in most of the food you get from a fast food restaurant, but the highest concentrations are in the cheese, fries, and bread. Casein has been shown to activate certain opiates in your brain, and for some, that translates to a curious craving for fast food. MSG is also a huge component in fast food. It can cause your brain to suppress the feeling of being full, potentially causing an overeating scenario. Most fast food also has a high level of sodium, and your body can grow tolerant to salt, resulting in you needing more salt in your food. A secondary problem of salt tolerance is that it makes normal food taste bland, also adding to the craving for food with flavor.

As time goes on, the effects of fast food are starting to catch up with us. Also coupled with an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, the two have created a duo of destruction. Diabetes for example, effects 29.1 million Americans, and at least 30% of these cases can be linked to over consumption of sugar and fat. And its costing us in many ways. Most important are the people themselves! Many are forced to take insulin in order to survive. Financially, Americans pay an estimated amount of 245 billion in total diabetes costs. 176 billion goes to the direct cost, while 69 billion is the amount that employers and employees lose due to complications. Obesity is also another side effect of high calorie intake. Currently 34% of all Americans are obese, and in addition to the 136 billion it costs the country annually, it effects

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