Continuing the topic of food safety, mentioned in the last article of our news feed, you can not ignore fast food. A similar type of food distribution arose in the Anglo-Saxon countries and since the 90s has become extremely widespread in Ukraine.
What exactly is included in the assortment of fast food? These are all kinds of hamburgers and their variations, hot dogs, shawarma, crackers, chips, pizza and other bakery products. When buying any of the above, we must understand that the low nutritional value of food, combined with business strategies aimed at optimizing profit, significantly affect the sanitary condition of food. In fact, all the «street» food generously flavored with mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and cream of plant origin is a vivid example of NOT healthy food, in fact, it is garbage for our body.
Harmful of fast food for the body
How safe is it to eat fast food? In terms of safety, there are several areas of emerging risks when eating fast food. These are the risks associated with:
- the nutritional value of products;
- toxic molecules;
- food poisoning.
We can say for sure that all forms of fast food do not have the necessary nutritional value. Each of the products that make up the fast food has one or more negative characteristics, such as:
- high calorie content;
- low volume of water (do not talk about drinks);
- significant content of hydrogenated fats and sweeteners;
- low amount of dietary fiber;
- high content of sodium chloride.
Eating fast food is fraught with weight gain, a potential change in lipid metabolism (hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia), glucose (hyperglycemia and diabetes mellitus) and blood pressure (hypertension and prehypertension), as well as a deficiency of vitamins and minerals.
The risks of fast food caused by a high concentration of toxic molecules mainly concern polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, acrolein, formaldehyde and acrylamide.
. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are obtained by the carbonization of fats and protein products. They are dangerous to human health, as they trigger the mechanism of carcinogenesis in the tissues of the esophagus, stomach, intestines and liver.
Acrolein and formaldehyde are released by burning glycerin present in fat: being volatile, substances significantly increase the risk of irritation of the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes.
Regarding the risks of fast food associated with food poisoning, it should be noted that they are mainly associated with the consumption of unhealthy and contaminated food products (for example, ground beef), for which a sufficient temperature is not reached during cooking.
Lack of basic knowledge about the correct methods of cooking, processing, storage, cleaning, food chemistry, etc. - significantly increases all the risks associated with the sale of food. Therefore, taking care of your health and the health of your family, be vigilant and very attentive to what you buy at the grocery store or on the tray.
