#12 Termination to Take-out and Fast Food:

     <http://ericadobson101.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/

     no-fast-food-for-one-month/>

           As bad as it is for my overall health and well being, fast food still seems to find its way into my monthly diet and budget. Not that I am a huge fast food fan, but many times I have caught myself splurging on lunch here and there. As you may have already guessed, sometimes splurging here and there can lead to a deeper hole in your pocket. For me, sitting down to a nice homemade meal sounds much better then a quick ticket to an unhealthy meal and a quick visit with the family. But there are a number of different reasons why people choose take out. Time being the top reason. Many families believe it is faster and easier to just grab takeout for dinner rather then take the time to prepare the meal at home, some families may also only consist of one or two people, and cooking at home can become difficult and wasted food can occur more often. I have also witnessed first hand the hunger that follows the missed dinner, prior to your brother’s late sports game that also contributes to ones intake on fast food products. Not to mention the negative impacts that eating food before bed has on the human body, and the worst thing of all is that the food is very low grade quality, full of trans fats and saturated fats and CHEAP. This simple, quick source of unhealthy food also leads to massive amounts of liter, that potentially adds to our landfills.

            A website I read noted that eating these types of unhealthy fats one can become very sick and take the risks of potentially having heart disease or other illnesses. Waste is another issue that helps convince myself that fast food/takeout food, had to be eliminated, which leads me to: Trina’s Green Change #12 Termination to takeout and fast food. This Website also provides different ways towards a healthier lifestyle along with some tips towards food health awareness. One can simply take the step to stay aware of food products by viewing nutrition labels. These labels tell you what is added and included to the food and how much of each product is added. 

            Local food is a good alternative and much healthier, it contains less or no additives and preservatives, and also creates less garbage or liter for our planet. Each little step towards greenness makes a difference on our ecological footprint.  

            Another website I have come across, underlines the nutritional facts of many fast food restaurants. Take McDonald’s for example. A simple McDonalds meal includes a hamburger, a medium fry, and a fountain drink. If we were to calculate or review the nutritional facts of these three products, you will find a very nasty answer. To test this experiment I will list off these items along with the main facts that essentially make this meal as some say “a heart attack in a paper bag”.

For a simple cheeseburger served at a McDonalds, holding a weight of 119 grams, one is looking at an easy: 310 calories with a total 12 grams of fat. The sodium intake is 740 grams. Any of the healthier facts show very low ratings: fiber at 1 gram and protein at 15. Cholesterol and carbohydrates in this single cheeseburger out weight these previous two categories easily—cholesterol stands at 40 grams and carbohydrates at 35.

<http://www.walletpop.com/photos/best-fast-food-values/3657860/>. 

usually sealed in a paper box   container.                                                 >>












Now to include the famous French fries that we all know, taste so very good, but tremendously effect the overall health of the human body. So let’s just say we didn’t get convinced to up size our fries and pop to a large, and simply go with the medium French fries that is included with your meal. For a medium fry (only 114 grams in weight), one is looking at 350 calories alone. The total fat intake is standing at a high 16 grams while the sodium count is as high as 220. Again with the fiber and protein, the numbers do not seem to be very high, fiber 5 grams and protein 4 grams. Carbohydrates that get consumed through this product stand at a mind boggling 47 grams.

<http://www.walletpop.com/photos/best-fast-food-values/3657860/>

                                                                        more garbage that contains the food  >>>

If you are like me, then it is certain that with dinner, follows my uncontrollable sweet tooth, and instead of sticking with a simple fountain pop, I decide to spice things up a little and splurge on a milkshake (maybe even one of the best parts of McDonalds). I don’t know what it is, but strawberry triple shake milkshake sounds like the most delicious decision—until I examine the facts, on whether this is a healthy choice. For just a small size strawberry triple shake, containing a total of 333 ml. reaching as high as 420 calories and 10 grams of total fat. This item alone also contains 130 grams of sodium and 63 grams of sugar. Cholesterol reads 40 grams and carbohydrates 73.

As you can see in just one meal at McDonalds, your body will consume an unhealthy amount of salts, sugars, fats and carbohydrates. You may have heard the saying “you are what you eat” well in this case if you eat fast food, even just here and there, you will soon see the negative impacts that this low quality food has on your intestines and overall well being. Not only does fast food and take out effect our health, but it leaves behind litter, which some people choose not to properly dispose of. The process in which it takes to prepare these meals is yet another issue that convinces me to terminate my financial contribution to the fast food industry and stick to much healthier, but still cheap diet that will work in my benefit internally, externally and financially. 

So instead of being careless with your body and health, and taking no action to dispose of each one use products, think about sitting down to a lovely meal and mingling with the ones closest to you, just take a second to think about all the garbage that one single meal or individual can create. 

<http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/

     organic.html>.