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Home Myths Health Fast food Fast food.
Fast food (from the English fast food - fast food) has long been an integral part of the modern world.
Fast food existed in ancient times.
Already in the days of antiquity, fast food was very popular.
If in ancient Greece they still preferred to cook food in their household, then the ancient Romans often refused to cook at all, in some houses there were not even kitchens.
But in every city there were a lot of eateries and bazaars, where they sold all kinds of dishes.
Cakes made of yeast dough, greased with olive oil, were very popular, they were very convenient to use as edible plates.
Many centuries later, these tortillas, covered with baked cheese, sausages and vegetables, began to be called Italian pizza.
The Romans also had their own hamburgers.
They were frying beef tortillas, which were supposed to be eaten with bread.
Professor Philip Fernandez Armesto in his book "The History of Food" claims that the average ancient Roman ate more fast food than, say, a modern resident of New York.
The difference is that the fast food of the ancient Romans was fresher and healthier than modern hot dogs and hamburgers.
Fast food was also respected in other countries.
In China, hot instant noodles were sold in bazaars, in India, chapati tortillas with hot sauce and rice with chicken pieces with curry sauce were popular.
In Europe, too, various kinds of cakes were very respected, and in some countries (for example, in Russia) they did not disdain pies.
Fast food as an industry originated in the 1920s in America.
The pioneer in this field was the company "White Castle" ("White Castle"), which opened in 1921 in Kansas.
The signature dish of the "White Castle" was hamburgers, which at that time were a rarity for Americans.
Potential buyers were also pleased with the stable price of food: despite the Great Depression, World War II and inflation, the company sold its hamburgers for five cents until 1946.
When some visitors began to think about whether such food is not harmful, the owner of the network Billy Ingram came up with a clever move.
He hired several young people who, for a small fee, came to the White Castle daily in white coats and ordered hamburgers there.
Visitors took them for doctors and calmed down.
If even doctors eat hamburgers, it means that they are really safe for health.
In the late 1940s, the "White Castle" began to have competitors.
The most serious of them was the young company "McDonald's".
It all started very modestly: two brothers, Dick and Mac McDonald, who sold in a small barbecue restaurant for California motorists, decided to switch to the production of hamburgers.
In 1948, they succeeded, and the income increased dramatically.
In 1954, a traveling salesman Ray Kroc met them, who suggested opening establishments all over the country under the same brand.
The brothers agreed, and the matter went on.
In 1956, there were 14 McDonald's restaurants in the United States, in 1960 - 228, in 1968 - 1000, in 1975 - 3076, in 1980 - 6263, in 1984 - 8300, in 1990 - 11800.
Now the McDonald's Corporation has more than 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries, while the White Castle has only about 380 restaurants in the United States.
However, in recent years, the mighty McDonald's has begun to experience problems.
After the campaign of healthy food activists calling for a boycott of fast food, sales in the United States and other developed countries began to decline, some restaurants even had to be closed.
Alas, all doctors and nutritionists agree that fast food can be of two types: harmful and very harmful.
It is impossible to eat them regularly in any way.
The main problem is that most of these foods are very high in calories, contain a lot of fat and few vitamins.
First of all, this applies to hamburgers.
So all lovers of French fries, big macs and other shawarma should remember three simple rules that nutritionists offer: 1. Do not eat fast food more than once a week.
And it is desirable to do this even less often.
2. The most dangerous for health are fatty and high calorie dishes (French fries, hamburgers, sweet soda).
3. If you ate fast food during the day, you should definitely eat normally in the evening.
You should not go to a fast food restaurant on an empty stomach.
Fast food is only "McDonald's"?
Speaking about the dangers of fast food, usually first of all they mean establishments like "McDonald's" and the like.
Not far away from them, shawarma, hot dogs, pancakes with fillings and similar food sold on the streets.
This can also include chips, all kinds of crackers, any carbonated drinks and other "little things" that we usually snack on the run.
This is at least.
In reality, the list is much larger.
Food in fast food establishments is prepared on some particularly harmful fat.
In most cases, this is the case.
The fact is that for the preparation of many dishes, solid types of margarine with a high level of trans isomers of fatty acids are usually used here.
However, this type of spatial organization of fatty acid molecules is also characteristic of all kinds of creams in store cakes and pastries.
So, there is no big difference whether you ate at McDonald's or drank tea with a purchased cake.
They are also found in some other ready made products with a high content of animal fats.
The danger of these same trans isomers is due to the fact that, for example, their doubling in our diet increases the risk of developing heart disease by at least half.
Of course, it is almost hopeless to explain to a teenager who is obsessed with hamburgers and French fries what he is risking.
But at the age of 30-35, it's already worth thinking about the possibility of heart problems due to this very potato!
By the way, the current young generation, who grew up on fast food, at the age of 30 has a chance not only to think about heart problems, but also to start "reaping the fruits" of their passion for such food.
The reason for the obesity of Americans is associated with their love of"fast food".
The fashion for fast food has long led to a rapid increase in the number of fat French, British and even Japanese.
There are two reasons for this situation.
First, the average lunch at some McDonald's, at least, covers, or even exceeds the daily need for calories (for an adult, this is 1500-2500 kCal).
But, as a rule, during the day we eat something else.
Secondly, such a diet disrupts the balance of hormones that are responsible for our feeling of satiety.
Therefore, we can order, for example, a huge hamburger, a portion of potatoes, a milkshake, a pie, ice cream, a coke and... at the same time we will continue to feel hungry.
Fast food food contains some narcotic substances that make us go back there again and again.
Well, about some special narcotic substances this is unlikely!
However, do not rush to rejoice!
According to scientists studying the effect of this food on the human body, excessive consumption of fats and sugar contained in it leads to a real chemical dependence, like a narcotic.
That is, a constant visit to such eateries causes the same painful dependence as smoking or drug use.
The passion for hamburgers, cola and fried potatoes quickly leads to a change in the chemical processes in the human brain, which most often occurs with cocaine or heroin addiction.
This theory is also supported by the fact that it is very difficult, and sometimes simply unrealistic, for fast food lovers to return to normal food and go on a strict diet.
They experience real "breakdowns", similar to those from which drug addicts who want to be cured suffer.
Hamburger + cola is much more harmful than they are, but separately.
The thing is that washing down a greasy hamburger, hot dog and French fries with an iced cola or any other cold carbonated drink, we make a huge mistake.
Gastric juice, diluted with effervescent liquid, ceases to cope with the digestion of already heavy food.
And because of the low temperature of the drink consumed together with the burger, it is contained in its filling (cutlet or sausage) fat instantly freezes and becomes a dead weight, eventually increasing the volume of our waist even more.
Everyone knows that" fast food " can lead to obesity, but sometimes you have to read that it also negatively affects the condition of the skin, hair and in general how a person looks.
Isnot this just another horror story?
Alas, no.
The fact is that a constant diet of hamburgers, hot dogs, potatoes and pies causes a fairly rapid metabolic disorder.
In addition, there is a lot of cholesterol in this food, the content of vitamins and dietary fiber is reduced to a minimum, and the balance between proteins, fats and carbohydrates has nothing to do with a normal diet.
The result of all of the above is sad not only for the figure, but also for the appearance: such a fast food "diet" has a very negative effect on the condition of the hair, depriving them of shine and elasticity, as well as skin.
Fast food is especially dangerous for children.
Yes, it is.
Although it is children and teenagers who are the main fans of hot dog + Coca Cola food.
However, doctors are convinced that such food is almost deadly for the younger generation, since the body is still being formed, and what it will be like depends very much on the contents of the plate.
An unbalanced fast food menu leads to obesity, disorders in the endocrine and immune systems, and this in turn affects physical and mental development in the future.
Hot sauce "Taco Bell" can clean a coin to shine.
This is a fact.
This is because the vinegar and salt included in the composition cause such a reaction.
The fact is that this statement can be attributed to any sauce from the cuisine of southern peoples, these components are contained there in excess.
If this fact scares you, then do not eat a lot of salt and try to avoid vinegar.
French fries are the most commonly consumed vegetable in America.
Unfortunately, this is an indisputable fact.
Kentucky Fried Chicken, aka "Kentucky Fried Chicken" was renamed KFC due to the fact that this product does not consist of chicken, but of meat from genetically modified animals.
Fiction.
This was done in order to remove the word "fried" from the name - "fried".
The Mcflarry dessert from the McDonald's restaurant menu does not contain a drop of milk.
The milk is contained there.
Just whether there is something useful in this milk, that's another question.
The Mcflary dessert is a cocktail base, flavored syrup and milk.
All this is stored in the refrigeration unit and enters your cup through the dispenser at the touch of a button.
A milkshake from the Burger King restaurant contains algae.
This is fiction.
Although such rumors have a basis.
The milkshake contains the thickener carrageenan, a substance obtained from the red algae carrageenan.
Carrageenan is found in milkshakes of other food chains, as well as in some other drinks.
Fast food causes gastritis, ulcers and other stomach diseases.
The first reason for the very possible occurrence of gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcer, pancreatitis, constipation and other similar diseases, up to cancer, from fast food food, is the rush in which it is usually eaten.
In general, that's why it is a "fast food", so that you can absorb it on the run, without really chewing and without pausing.
That's just in the end, the pieces that are not crushed and not moistened with saliva fall into the stomach.
The result is the same problems with the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
There is also a second reason for the appearance of gastritis and ulcers in regular fast food visitors.
And it's all about ... noise and loud music.
As scientists have found out, people who have a snack in crowded eateries under the noise and din of visitors, the risk of such stomach diseases increases several times.
Those who turn off the noise with the player while eating, including it at the maximum volume, also very quickly earn an ulcer or gastritis.
Especially this "musical noise accompaniment" is dangerous for children and adolescents whose organisms are particularly susceptible to it.
You can die from fast food.
If we are talking about spoiled or contaminated food, then you can die from anything.
If we talk about, so to speak, normal fast food, then of course you will not die, but you will undermine your health at the root.
As an illustration, it is worth giving an example of a 33 year old American journalist named Morgan Sparlock, who decided to check how all these fast food "horror movies" correspond to reality.
Before the experiment, he underwent a full medical examination, which confirmed that he did not have any health problems.
Then, for a month, he ate at McDonald's every day, three times a day.
The result of the experiment was sad: 12 kg of excess weight, an increase in cholesterol levels several times, a doubled risk of heart attack and an almost "planted" liver, resembling the liver of a hardened alcoholic.
And this is with a complete rejection of alcohol for the entire duration of the experiment!
Another side effect was, by the way, a sharp decrease in the sexual desires and abilities of a desperate journalist.
This is interesting!
After seeing this picture, Mirab Morgan (a resident of North Carolina) decided to conduct her own experiment.
She also began to eat only at McDonald's, and she did it not for one month, but for three whole months.
As a result of the experiment, a lady...
I lost 15 kilograms.
The secret is that she made sure to consume no more than 1,400 calories a day.
Nutritionists spoke with restraint about this success, noting that French fries and cheeseburgers still lack the vitamins and minerals necessary for the human body.
Nutritionists agree that eating food from a classic fast food restaurant once a month can be considered relatively painless for health.
However, some believe that this is too often.
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