Dr Hector Pereraƒ”š‚ ƒ”š‚ ƒ”š‚ ƒ”š‚  London

While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in aƒ”š‚ restaurantƒ”š‚ or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form forƒ”š‚ take-out/take-away. The term “fast food” was recognized in a dictionary byƒ”š‚ Merriamƒ¢¢”š¬-Websterƒ”š‚ in 1951.

Outlets may be stands orƒ”š‚ kiosks, which may provide no shelter or seating,ƒ”š‚ orƒ”š‚ fast food restaurantsƒ”š‚ (also known asƒ”š‚ quick service restaurants).ƒ”š‚ Franchiseƒ”š‚ operations which are part ofƒ”š‚ restaurant chainsƒ”š‚ have standardized foodstuffs shipped to each restaurant from central locations.

Nearly from its inception, fast food has been designed to be eaten “on the go”, often does not require traditionalƒ”š‚ cutlery, and is eaten as aƒ”š‚ finger food. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches,ƒ”š‚ pitas, hamburgers,ƒ”š‚ fried chicken, French fries, onion rings,ƒ”š‚ chicken nuggets,ƒ”š‚ tacos, pizza, hot dogs, andƒ”š‚ ice cream, though many fast food restaurants offer “slower” foods likeƒ”š‚ chilli,ƒ”š‚ mashed potatoes, andƒ”š‚ salads.

Some Negative Health Effects of Fast Food

Fast food restaurants usually have a walk up counter and/or drive-thru window where you order and pick up your food without having to wait long. There is no such thing as a “bad” food, but these are some foods you should try not to have on a regular basis. Because fast food is high in sodium, saturated fat,ƒ”š‚ transƒ”š‚ fat, and cholesterol, it isn’t something you should eat often. The ill effect of fast food and the potential danger that it possesses by its regular consumption is shocking.ƒ”š‚  One of the things is obesity. Regular consumption leads to increase in cholesterol levels, nutritional deficiencies, cardiac disorders, loss of muscle mass, depression and even sexual dysfunction. Soaked in trans fat and loaded with calories, fast foods are labelled as ƒ¢¢”š¬’health hazards’ by many leading medical professionals.

The processed meat used in some fast food contain nitrates, nitrites, artificial sweeteners and monosodium glutamate which increase blood flow and can trigger a migraine attack. This monosodium glutamate is also known an ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Ajina Mottoƒ¢¢”š¬‚ in most Asian grocery shops. This is a salt that gives a better taste to food, a flavour enhancer.ƒ”š‚ ƒ”š‚  I added this chemical to some fresh beef and left it over night and on the following day; I could comb out strands of comb beef using a fork. The smell and taste was no difference to canned comb beef.

It was not long ago that some British news papers mentioned about everyday value beef burgers, horse meat accounted for approximately 29 per cent of the meat. Then some supermarket announced that it was removing all fresh and frozen burgers from sale immediately regardless if they had been found to contain horse meat. It is possible that this practice has been going on for a sometime that is eating horse meat with beef.

Pink slime – a mix of meat trimmings washed in ammonium hydroxide and used in fast food burger patties – churned consumer’s stomachs so much, McDonald’s banned the slop, according to news reports. Beef Products buys the cheapest, least desirable beef on offerƒ¢¢”š¬-fatty sweepings from the slaughter house floor, which are notoriously rife with pathogens like E. coli 0157 and antibiotic-resistant salmonella. Red meat is really red?ƒ”š‚  That’s not blood (there’s no blood in the meat you buy) but muscle tissue.ƒ”š‚  (Technically, its myoglobin, which is a molecule related to the red component of blood, but it’s not blood.)
But red meat turns grey when exposed to oxygen due ariel oxidation.ƒ”š‚  So they wrap it tightly and fill the packages with nitrogen to keep the oxygen from getting to it.ƒ”š‚  They’re also allowed to useƒ”š‚ a little carbon monoxide, which does an even a better job. We know carbon dioxide gas is poisonous to inhale.
Some unscrupulous butchers will use too much carbon monoxide, sulphites, nitrates, or dyes to keep it looking red longer, but that’s illegal and rare. Additives are used to keep the meat fresh and to prevent the growth ofƒ”š‚ Clostridium botulinumƒ”š‚ the bacteria which causes food poisoning. When someone eats these kinds of chemical added meat products, the increased blood flow can cause excessive pressure to build up in the head and can lead to headaches or a feeling of a hangover.

The processed food used in the fast food industry is loaded with trans fat, which not only increases the ƒ¢¢”š¬’bad cholesterol’ (Low Density Lipoprotein LDL) levels but also reduces the ƒ¢¢”š¬’good cholesterol’ (High Density Lipoprotein HDL) levels. Processed meat used by fast food industries can sometimes have 45% more trans fat than their natural counterparts. Consuming fast foods leads to an increased intake of cholesterol which is highly dangerous for humans. The cholesterol molecules attach themselves to the arteries which lead to their thickening or clogging. This can cause obstructed blood flow which can lead to high blood pressure. If cholesterol accumulates in one of the main arteries it can lead to a blockage, when an artery is completely blocked it can lead to heart attacks or complete heart failure.

When oil molecules have C=C double bonds then they are called unsaturated oils. Artificial trans fats can be formed when oil goes through a process called hydrogenation, which hardens the oil. In simple terms, hydrogen is added across C=C bonds in oil molecules. This type of fat, known as hydrogenated fat, can be used for frying or as an ingredient in processed foods.

This is because the hydrogenated vegetable fats which provide most dietary trans fat are a mainstay of the food industry – a cheap bulking agent perfect for padding out expensive processed products, with a long shelf life and a luxurious ‘mouth feel’.

These trans fats are to be found, for example, in margarine, vegetable shortening, ice-cream, puddings & pudding mixes, ready-made pies, cakes & cake mixes, biscuits, pizza, potato chips, fritters, doughnuts, gravy & sauce mixes, artificial creamers, confectionery and other processed foods, including many foods marketed at children, including some sugary breakfast cereals.

They are also commonly found in restaurant food, especially – but not only – in fast food. You can also make your own trans fat (in small amounts) by repeatedly re-heating cooking oil. That is one of the reasons why one should not reuse the oil that is used for frying things such as bacon, sausages or ƒ¢¢”š¬…”papadams, sprats etcƒ¢¢”š¬‚.
Fast food affects mental health

Depression is one of the many negativeƒ”š‚ effects of fast food. This emotional condition has been linked to regular consumption of fast foods by a study done by the University College of London. According to the study, people who indulge in fast foods regularly are 58% more likely to suffer from depression. Fast foods do not contain antioxidants, foliate and omega -3s which is necessary for good mental health. As mentioned earlier, fast foods contain preservatives, emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers and flavor enhancers which can affect the mental well being of the person and monosodium glutamate is just one of them.

Fast foods contain high amounts of sodium which can lead to hypertension and high blood pressure. Although small amounts of sodium is needed for bodily functions, consuming too much can lead to not just high blood pressure, but build up of fluids in people who are suffering from liver cirrhosis, congestive heart failures or kidney ailments. If you eat too much salt all at once you can risk disturbing the electrolyte balance in your body which can cause, severe, and sometimes fatal, neurological problems.
Long term, if you have too much salt in your diet you are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure which increases your chances of heart disease and strokes. I know it for fact Sri Lankans love to eat lime pickle, sprats, salt fish or dry fish and sometimes ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Jardiƒ¢¢”š¬‚ that are loaded with salt. Well the best thing is to know your limits when eating these special salty foods. Salt makes your body retain water. If you eat too much salt, the extra water stored in your body and raises your blood pressure.
Some studies also suggest excess salt intake has been linked to exercise induced Asthma and Osteoporosis.
In the UK the recommended salt intake is 4-6g per day that is about one tea spoonful, no more. Sodiumƒ”š‚ is crucial to your health, as your body needs it to carry out normal bodily functions. Salt is responsible for balancing the amount of fluids in your body and ensuring your muscles contract the way they should. Sodium is also needed to assist with nerve functions. Therefore, you need to ingest salt on a daily basis, but you also need to know how much to consume, as a sodium overdose could be hazardous to your health. In different way, I can tell you again that the body needs at least 500 mg of salt a day, and you shouldn’t exceed 2,300 mg a day if you’re a healthy adult. However, if you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease, the maximum daily consumption of sodium lowers to 1,500 mg a day. Remember 1000 mg is one gram so 1,500 mg is 1.5 grams that means just a pinch of salt. Have you witnessed in some British TV cooking shows those chefs add salt without any care, they just add something.

What we eat affects our physical, mental, and sexual health. Fatty acids found in fast foods are a major contributor to sexual dysfunction, not only does it cause weight gain but can trigger biochemical changes which effect libido, sperm count and female ovulation.

The processed meat and vegetables are many times contaminated with manure which contains Escherichia Coli and Salmonella that is possible if the vegetables and meat are not properly washed. Would you think all the hotels and restaurants wash the vegetables carefully? This healthy green vegetable, ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Mukunuwennaƒ¢¢”š¬‚ that comes from areas near Kelani Bridge get adsorped [coated outside] with too many pollutants found in flood water. Be safe, wash them properly before use. E.Coli is considered very difficult to treat and sometimes referred to as the worst sort of food poisoning. Even after antibiotics kill the bacteria, the toxins released by it can produce harmful effects. This disease is usually spread through undercooked hamburgers and is a leading cause of renal failure among American kids. Have you noticed some so called British TV celebrity cooks hardly allow anytime for poultry, fish or beef to cook? Just add this and that so quickly then toss it up in the air to show off or turn around a few times on a hot fuming pan then serve. This makes only the surface of the meat get heated than cooked then the germs inside happily waiting to be consumed then come out causing food poisoning. Once you eat them, they come out and cause food poisoning. The TV presenter must say, ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Yummyƒ¢¢”š¬‚ to the camera even when the meat is red and under cooked.

ƒ”š‚ Addictive Nature of Fast Foods
According to theƒ”š‚ Science Daily, high levels of sugar and fat can cause blood sugar to spike and then crash suddenly. The patrons of fast food feel a sudden rush of euphoria when this happens making them dependent on the euphoric effects of insulin surges. Therefore one of the harmful effects of fast food consumption is the addiction or the incessant craving it causes among people. Some people are addicted to smoking, gambling or alcohols.

Hamburgers and French fries could be as addictive as heroin, scientists have claimed. Researchers in the United States have found evidence to suggest people can become overly dependent on the sugar and fat in fast food.

The controversial findings add weight to claims that over-eating is simply down to a lack of self-control. Just a few things that you can check whether you are addicted to fast food. Do you grab a quick bite during your lunch break? Do you pick up a meal on your way home from work because so you don’t have to go home and make dinner? Does your morning routine include a fast food stop for breakfast on your way to work? Do you experience late night cravings that prompt you to get in your car and drive or walk to the closest fast food place? If there are ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Yesƒ¢¢”š¬‚ for then you need to think, ƒ¢¢”š¬…”Am I addicted to fast foodƒ¢¢”š¬‚? No one can break the addiction; just you need to think before you eat and drink too much of anything, know your limits. Again an occasional takeaway treat in moderation is quite acceptable this is what these so called University students as well have to do until they prepare something simple at their accommodations. Any comments please perera6@hotmail.co.uk

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