I sometimes feel that we have been suffocated with fast food restaurants and junk food eateries. Their availability and cheap price make it impossible to avoid them. As adults, we can make conscious decisions to live a more rational, healthy life, but what about our children? Within meters of every school, there’s a place selling cheap junk food.

It’s easy to go for the fast food. No one wants to spend time in the kitchen cooking expensive stuff. The problem is, junk food defines our lifestyle and damages our health.

Of course, this is something you hear everywhere right now, but no one actually tells you what is so wrong about fast food, and how exactly does it affect your health.

Let’s have a look on the ingredients used in fast food.

The main problem with junk food is that it’s the main cause for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. A 2010 study made by the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) shows that people who eat fast food at least twice a week gain, on average, ten pounds more than those who eat it only once a week.

How is being overweight a health problem? Well, it affects the insulin production of our body, increases blood pressure, determines endocrine and metabolic imbalances and raises the level of blood lipid and cholesterol.

The first ingredient that contributes to all this is trans fat. Trans fat has been used since the ‘90s because it lengthens a product’s shelf life. It can be found in crackers, cookies and potato chips. Trans fat is made from hydrogenated vegetable oil that is used for deep-frying by fast foods.

It’s definitely the bad kind of fat. The type of food that contains trans fat is rich in calories and increases the bad cholesterol level. This are the main causes of arterials clogs, which in turn cause strokes and heart attacks.

The second evil ingredient of fast food is additives. You can see the additives on the back of the wrapper. There is a number of studies that prove the bad effects of additives. Ironically, they are used for taste. It’s more likely a product that contains additives will taste better to you than one that doesn’t. Additives are linked with heart disease, cancer, digestive problems, hyperactivity in children and asthma.

Not only junk food contains additives. Beware of processed meats and check for additives like sodium nitrate. This is used in corned beef, bacon and luncheon meat. Other additives you should avoid are: propyl gallate, butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA), butlated hydro zyttoluene (BHZ) and mono sodium glutamate (MSG).

Yet another ingredient that is health damaging is preservatives. They too are used to lengthen the shelf life of products. Preservatives have been linked to allergies, cancer and tumor growth and increased blood pressure.
Don’t let this info scare you; instead, try to avoid getting sucked in the kind of lifestyle that is advertised on TV. Stay healthy and always check for ingredients on everything you eat.