FoodOver the past couple of decades, fast food restaurants have doubled their name – and for a good reason. The food is delicious, it is prepared in a timely manner and it is very affordable as well. However, there is one thing that is on everybody’s mind: how healthy fast food really is? Here you will find the top 6 most common myths about fast food:
1. Salads From Fast Food Are A Healthy Alternative To Hamburgers
This is actually one of the most debated myths related to fast food at the moment. Did you know that some salads contain more calories than a medium-sized pizza? This is because in addition to the vegetables, there is cheese, meat, olive oil and all sorts of spices that are not exactly low in calories. Not salads are created equal, and it is true that most of them are healthier than burgers and French fries, but this is not a general rule. To determine which salads are healthy and which are not, simply have a loot at the fat, carb and salt contents of the salad you are about to order – that should help you make an idea!
2. Long-Term Consumption Will Trigger A Fast Food Addiction
This is also an intensely debated topic nowadays, as more people claim that fast food chains are intentionally introducing addictive chemicals and compounds in their foods, just to make people come back for more. On one hand, it is true that the number of fast food fans has rocketed over the past few years – on the other hand, this is not necessarily due to any secret addictive ingredient.
3. Fast Food Is Unhealthy And Makes You Fat
This myth is partially true, because every type of food can be consumed in moderate amounts without making you fat – this thumb rule applies to fast food alone. If you binge on fast food, then of course you will eventually gain weight. Fast food may not be healthy, but it is far from being as dangerous as it is said to be nowadays.
In addition to this, if you do not do physical exercises regularly, you can get fat even if you are on a veggie-and-fruits diet as well! In a nutshell, there are several factors that influence the weight gain, in addition to the calorie count: the amount of exercise you gain or your body’s natural metabolic rate (there are many people who can eat whatever they want, without gaining a single pound) are only two of them.
4. All Fast Foods Are Sanitary
Keep in mind that a clean restaurant is not necessarily a sanitary one. Do you see all the employees wearing hair nets? Does the fast food chain have those popular drive-thru windows? Taking the drive-through windows as an example, a variety of bugs and debris can enter the cooking area while holding the window open, for instance.
5. Fast Food Meat Is Filled With Dangerous Chemicals
There have been some rumors and alleged tests about the hamburgers and fries marketer by a worldwide-renowned fast food, where the food was said to resist for years without degrading. This myth is false, as the fast food chains would not receive a pass from the Health Department unless their food processing methods were safe for customers.
5. Kentucky Fried Chicken Changed Its Name Because Of The Meat
This myth seems to go around a lot these days, and it is anything but true. Kentucky Fried Chicken changed its name to KFC not because it would not use chicken meat, but because the word “fried” is generally considered to be unhealthy, therefore it had to be removed. KFC does use chicken meat, not meat coming from genetically enhanced/mutated animals, so there is nothing to worry about – at least not with regards to the origins of the chicken meat.
6. Fast food tastes delicious and that is a known fast, you can get it within minutes, it is affordable and packed for those who are always on the go, these are only some of the reasons why fast food is such a popular choice nowadays. Food addiction is indeed a real phenomenon these days, but countless studies were conducted and no addictive chemical was found in fast food, therefore this myth is considered to be pure fiction!
(via Fitnea)
