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Eric Schlosser, a famous journalist from New York once said that “Fast Food is popular because it’s convenient, it’s cheap, and it tastes good but the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu”. Fast food is a type of food that is based on its speed and that’s why a large number of people rely on fast food Fast food restaurants are literally made for people who don’t have much time to sit and eat their food with peace. People who are often busy or late to eat their meals prefer fast food restaurants. Most fast food restaurants have identical items such as hamburgers that are a part of all the famous fast food outlets.
Outlets such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack in the Box, KFC, In-N-Out Burger, etc. are well known for their reputation but people should be aware of their frozen pre-cooked meals. These pre-cooked meals are unhealthy for us and that’s why we should consider eating home cooked meals only. Home cooked meals are much healthier than fast food restaurants. Home-cooked meals don’t have added preservatives, like fast food restaurants that could be harmful or detrimental to our health. Thesis Statement.
Fast food meals are quick, easy to cook and cheap if compared with Home-cooked meals. Fast food meals are made quickly which makes it easy for a busy person to grab a bite. Most of the fast food chains have provided people with drive-thru services which makes it even more easy for people to grab their meals within their busy schedules. As a matter of health, fast food meals are cooked with an enormous amount of oil or butter. Although fast food restaurants have foods with nutrition values just like meat, salad, buns with grains and beans that are considered healthy in some way to be consumed.
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According to the American Heart Association, fast food can be good for our heart only if we plan to take it in a healthy way. In a fast food restaurant, people can always choose the healthier side to make their meal healthy. For example, by choosing wheat grain buns or by avoiding extra sauces. Although, there are value meals in every fast food restaurants and it is best to avoid those. Therefore, whether it is fish & chips or hamburgers, it is better to avoid eating fast food meals.
Home cooked meals have more nutrition values and benefits than fast food meals when comparing both together. Home cooked meals are prepared with our own hands or it is even prepared by our family members who take care of our health. While cooking food at home, we can always control the amount of oil in our food, extra preservatives that can be avoided and the number of calories we want for our meal.
Well, a study done by Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Research showed that “When people cook their meals at home, people consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than people who prefer eating at fast food restaurants” (Julie A. Wolfson). It is better for people to cook at home since one can consume smaller amounts of the portion within every few hours that is considered healthy for our metabolism rather than consuming a bigger portion of the meal in an entire day. People who most likely live in households often cook as compared to people who are busy working. Therefore, it is recommended for people to start eating home food meals rather than fast food meals.
Fast food meals are the worse meals one can treat to their bodies. People enjoy fast food meals so much because they are inexpensive, convenient and it does taste good. However, the reason for this has led to detrimental effects on our health. Fast food meals consist of high-fat meat, refined grains and added sugar that is deleterious to our health. It is unlike home cooked food that contains nutritious ingredients.
According to the National Institutes of Health, fast food meals are high in sugar, salt, calories, and saturated fat. High sugar in our body can cause damage to our Kidneys which can further cause damage. High Salt can cause high blood pressure that can further cause heart diseases. High calories intake can cause weight gain, obesity and even extra stress to our body. High saturated fat in our body can increase the level of cholesterol which can further increase the cause of heart disease. Therefore, despite there is a numerous number of drawbacks in consuming fast food meals, people should start focusing on cooking their meals at home to avoid further diseases.
There are several diseases or problems one can have when consuming too much fast food meals. When people eat fast food meals, people are consuming the maximum amount of carbohydrates with a small amount of fiber or even sometimes none. Well, resulting in no fiber at all might be substandard for our stomach. When our digestive system breaks down these foods, carbohydrate releases glucose (sugar) that becomes our source of energy and it increases our blood sugar. However, eating a high amount of carbohydrates can spike our blood sugar levels.
Therefore, eating too much fast food meals can increase the risk for insulin, diabetes and weight gain. May fast food meals such as fried pies, pastries, pizza, crackers, cookies have added sugar and trans-fat which not good for our health. Whereas, home-cooked meals don’t have high sugar or trans-fat that could harm us in any way. Also, sodium is one of the most common ingredients in fast food. Sodium causes dehydration resulting in various health issues such as heart and cardiovascular diseases. People after consuming too much salt may even feel puffy, bloated or swollen. In-home cooked meals, you may add salt as per your taste which may be a minimal amount as compared to fast food meals.
There are several ways to avoid consuming fast food meals and concentrate on home cooked meals. Firstly, start planning to handle cravings by deciding the meals and snacks ahead at your home. These meals should be healthy and should be cooked before at home. This could save our time and we’ll be eating healthy food throughout the time. Secondly, stop at stations where one can buy healthy meals instead of fast foods. Pack home food and carry it everywhere. People also get more tempted by seeing fast foods so avoid stopping near those places.
Third, it is important for our body to consume fat that is healthy for us. Our body requires fat and we can provide it with healthy fat but avoid giving it trans fats and saturated fats. Fourth, when hungry eat meals filled with protein since proteins fill our stomach and makes us feel full. Cooking Fish, chicken, beans, vegetables and nuts at home are a great source of protein that could be eaten anytime. Also, people should often consume fruits since it has great amount of fiber that helps breaking down foods in our digestive system.
Cooking at home and regularly eating at home links family together to a healthier and happier atmosphere. According to research, people who eat home cooked food daily feel happier and healthier because of less sugar intake. It is also said that eating home cooked food will result in longer life (“Why Home Cooking”). Hence, home-cooked food has resulted in better mental health. While cooking, we tend to choose our own ingredients that make our food healthier and tastier. Some people like cooking and it is even simple to cook easy recipes with such simple ingredients.
Also, some people like being social by inviting friends or family over lunches or dinner. It is an easy way to get closer to people with just a meal. One can also gather knowledge and invent their own dishes. Cooking at home also enhances people to their culture which can reconnect families together. Therefore, it is recommended to the people who don’t like eating or cooking their food at homes to start eating home-cooked food for their betterment.
According to Marian Nestle, “it is important to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and to avoid too much junk food” (“Nestle”, 37). It is important to eat home cooked food instead of fast foods that harms us from inside. Eating foods such fruits, vegetables, and whole grains provide such nutrients that are healthy for us. Unlike fast food, that has minimal amount of nutrients to harm our health from the inside. It is better to avoid junk food which means to avoid high processed sweets and snacks full of salt, sugar, and artificial preservatives.
According to Nestle, “fast food distracts consumers from their calorie content” since people avoid seeing the calories which eventually leads to obesity. Calorie content is the actual reason why people transform themselves into obese. The actual reason behind America’s obesity is calories which has also promoted calorie imbalance in people. According to Nestle, prepared packaged food and restaurants meals that usually contain more calories are better than home-cooked meals. Thus, people should avoid eating fast food and focus on consuming homemade food.
In conclusion
Now, it would be a wise option to use choose home cooked food over fast food even over the busy schedule since home cooked food has lot more nutrients which gives more benefits than any other food. Eating home cooked food will make us feel better which will give us more energy and better mental health. By preparing food at home by ourselves could give us an idea of controlling the necessities and unnecessities in our food which will result in low sugar, fats, sodium and trans fat. At last, it always better to eat food with more fiber such as fruits, vegetables or whole grains that are often kept in our home since it keeps the calories in limit effecting obesity. Hence, would one be clever and judgmental enough to make a wise choice between home cooked food over fast food?
