14 Ways Fast Food is Destroying Your Health

We live in an age where no one has time for anything and convenience is key. Fast food is a weekly to daily thing for many families and a huge downside to this trend is we’re starting to see how fast food is affecting people’s health. This isn’t the same food our grandparents grew up eating in restaurants. This is something new, entirely different, and honestly quite frightening.

Genetically modified ingredients, fillers, trans fats, and large amounts of sodium make up fast food. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are added back to these ‘dead foods’, and though that sounds good, it’s not! Synthetics are blocking the absorption receptors and keeping people from up-taking real vitamins. This is especially bad for people who have gene mutations such as MTHFR who already have a hard time up-taking vitamins.

Overall, convenience may need to go out the window in light of what fast food is doing to our bodies. Here are 14 Ways Fast Food is Destroying Your health!

1. Higher Risk of Heart Diseases

The trans and saturated fats found in fast food increase triglycerides and LDL cholesterol in your blood, leading to plaque buildup in the arteries. This can cause heart disease. Fast food also causes sudden high blood sugar spikes and artery inflammation, which makes it easier for plaque to stick to the inside of the artery walls. When the arteries are blocked, heart attacks can result.

2. Reduced Brain Function

Research on animals has shown that fast food causes a decrease in the ability of memory and learning skills. The trans fats present in fast food can replace the good fats in the brain, interfering with the signaling mechanism. Consuming a large amount of fatty and sugary fast food can also increase the risk of dementia.

3. Type 2 Diabetes

By eating junk food, you create a sudden spike in blood sugar due to the processed nature of the food. This shock to your metabolism adversely affects your body’s ability to utilize insulin, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.

4. Potential Kidney Problems

The salt content is another reason why fast food is bad for you. A diet high in salt can disrupt the balance of sodium and potassium, which can cause a lot of tension on your kidneys. The various additives and other substances can also lead to reduced kidney functioning.

5. Possible Liver Damage

Some studies have shown that fast food is almost as harmful to your liver as alcohol. Eating fast food for four weeks can adversely affect liver enzymes. In addition, trans fats from junk food can deposit in the liver, which can lead to liver problems.

6. Digestive Issues

Fast food has almost no fiber. This means a higher risk of constipation and hemorrhoids. Junk food’s high-fat content can increase stomach acid production, stimulating the inner lining of the stomach. Spicy ingredients in fast food can also irritate the stomach, causing a burning, painful sensation.

7. Increased Cancer Risk

Many studies associate a diet low in fiber with cancers of the digestive system. And one of the defining aspects of fast food is that it contains almost no fiber. The sugar and fat contents increase the risk of colorectal cancer. Fried fast food can also cause prostate cancer in men.

Not to mention the glyphosate present in fast foods that can be linked to almost any other type of cancer.

8. Weakened Immune System

Proper nutrients are needed to build up the immune system. By eating too much fast food, the body doesn’t have the right amount of vitamins and minerals to establish the proper defenses. On top of that, fast food is full of synthetic vitamins and minerals, which prohibit the uptake of natural vitamins and minerals by blocking the receptors. Without the proper vitamins and minerals, you become highly susceptible to the flu, infections, colds, COVID, viruses, and other diseases.

9. Depression, Especially in Teenagers

With their hormones being out of whack, teenagers are already going through behavioral changes and mood swings. Consuming fast food can make emotional issues worse and even lead to depression because the food lacks the nutrients needed for hormonal balance. Studies have proven that the chance of having depression increases by 58% among teenagers who often eat fast food.

10. Weakness and Fatigue

Ironically, even though fast food is usually very high in calories, it often makes you feel weak and fatigued. This apparent contradiction is due to the fact that fast food is low in important nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. It can’t provide you with constant energy because it has no real food value. Long-term consumption can lead to chronic fatigue.

11. Skin, Tooth, and Bone Problems

Studies have linked fast food consumption with acne and eczema. The worsening acne problems aren’t surprising given how much oil and fat is used in fast food.

Dental problems are due to refined sugars and carbohydrates, which are excellent for bacteria growth in your mouth. In addition, another reason why fast food is bad for you is that consuming too much sodium increases the chances of suffering from osteoporosis.

12. Addiction

Fast food can be addicting. Certain ingredients, like monosodium glutamate, activate cells in the human brain that are connected to pleasure. To seek more pleasure, you will eat more fast food, leaving you addicted to it. It turns out that cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs aren’t the only addictive vices.

13. Premature Aging

Forget botox and ditch the fast food instead. The sugars, trans fats, and starches found in fast food cause insulin levels to spike, triggering an inflammatory response in the body. This speeds the aging process and destroys the body’s own natural age-fighting antioxidants making you more prone to skin damage and premature aging.

14. Aspirin Dependency

Tyramine, a chemical found in food colorants, dyes, and nitrates, is a known headache inducer. Experts believe that Tyramine increases blood flow to the brain, which in turn causes vascular changes that result in headaches, leaving you reaching for aspirin.

In turn, aspirin destroys your liver and harms the lining of your stomach, setting you up for more problems than just headaches down the road.

In conclusion…fast food and junk food, popular as they may be, are extremely bad for our overall health. They may be approved foods for people to eat, but over the years, we are beginning to see just how bad these fillers and synthetic ingredients are, nothing can replace real whole foods.