John Myers
French fries, burgers, pizza, doner kebabs, or currywurst have become an integral part of our everyday lives: available everywhere, served in no time, and eaten quickly. Fast food, the “quick meal”, is practical and uncomplicated.
Unhealthy ingredients in fast food
The problem: those who frequently eat fast food have an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, and cardiovascular diseases. Because the mass-produced quick meals are sometimes very high in calories but provide little or no fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Instead, they contain, for example:
- unhealthy fats
- often inferior meat
- wheat flour
- usually too much salt and sugar
- often with preservatives.
Why fast food easily makes you fat
Instead of really filling you up, a snack meal usually lays the foundation for the next cravings. Because sugar activates the reward system in the brain: After a wheat bun with a meatball, we quickly have an appetite for another burger. Salt removes water from the cells – the resulting lack of liquid also makes us believe that we are hungry. And if you quench your thirst with a sweet soft drink, you really want more.
Can fries and the like still be included in a balanced, healthy diet? Can you even eat fast food if you have to watch your weight?
Instead of taboos: combine better
The answer is: yes, fast food can sometimes have its place in a balanced diet – if you make it yourself from good ingredients or combine it cleverly.
Top rule: Avoid carbohydrates from light bread and soft drinks! Eat plenty of vegetables or salad with every fast-food meal. This works wonderfully at home with our recipes. But it is also possible on the go.
Tips for healthy fast food
- Always eat a large portion of raw vegetables or a fresh salad with a low-sugar dressing or dip as a starter or side dish. This fills you up, provides our intestines with the important roughage, and prevents ravenous hunger from occurring again shortly after the meal.
- Avoid bread or burger buns made from white wheat flour: White flour is high in fast-digesting carbohydrates that spike insulin levels. Whole grain products containing slow-digesting carbohydrates are better. Choose spelled instead of wheat.
- You can make fries yourself from potato wedges in no time: simply cook them in the oven instead of in the deep fryer to save fat.
- Only eat meat in moderation – and if possible, as lean as possible. So replace the meatball in the burger with a juicy patty made from vegetables, nuts, or legumes (e.g. peas). Top pizza with spicy lean ham instead of fatty salami. Reach for chicken breast or turkey schnitzel rather than pork schnitzel: Poultry contains less unhealthy arachidonic acid.
- Especially important: drink low-calorie drinks. Anyone who enjoys cola or other sugary soft drinks with food is drinking a second meal, so to speak. The better alternative: water and juice spritzers.
Eat slowly and chew thoroughly
Fast food is also so popular because it can be easily consumed on the side – by hand while walking or standing. But when a meal is stuffed in so carelessly, it often feels heavy on the stomach. Those who enjoy in peace usually save calories because they notice better when they are full. Thorough chewing also makes work easier for the digestive tract, because the enzymes in the saliva start to break down the carbohydrates.
