Too much of any food, whether it is broccoli or French fries, can cause health problems that are linked to excessive calories, sodium, cholesterol, trans fats or sugar. Fast foods are a convenience to provide satisfying and filling foods at a low cost in a short amount of time. But ordering the foods with the highest calories, fats and sodium at a fast food restaurant is setting you up for future health problems.
High Sodium
Consuming foods high in sodium increases the amount of fluid your body holds. The excessive fluid in the body can raise blood pressure levels temporarily until the excessive fluid is lost through urination. According to the American Heart Association, some people are salt-sensitive, meaning their bodies respond to high salt intakes by raising blood pressure levels. Some low-fat fast food items may be higher in sodium to increase their flavor.
Trans Fats
Trans fats are man-made fats in which liquid oil is turned into solid fat to increase the shelf life of the oil and the foods cooked with the oil. Trans fats increase your risk of developing heart disease by increasing your bad, or LDL, cholesterol, but trans fats also lower your good, or HDL, cholesterol levels. Lowering HDL cholesterol decreases your body's ability to remove excessive fat that has built up in your arteries. The lower your HDL cholesterol, the less efficient your body is in reversing the damage LDL cholesterol can do. Trans fats are found in fried foods, such as fried fish sandwiches, chicken, French fries and pies. Trans fats can also be found in biscuits, muffins and donuts served in fast food restaurants.
Fat and Sugar
Fast foods get the majority of their calories from fat and sugar and offer little nutrition from protein, vitamins and minerals. A fast food restaurant chimichanga with beef contains 425 calories and 20 g of fat, notes the USDA Nutrient Database. Excess calories and fat taken in at meals is easily stored by your body's cells for potential energy. Five French toast sticks contain 58 g of carbohydrate and only 2.7 g of fiber. This nutrient breakdown doesn't include the sugar from the syrup served with this item. Fast foods can easily exceed your caloric needs for fat, carbohydrates and calories.
Gaining Weight
A diet high in calorie-dense foods can lead to unwanted weight gain that may increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, especially if you get little physical exercise. Fast foods meals often don't contain high amounts of fiber, whole grains, fruits or vegetables but rely on meat, cheeses, sodium, full-fat dressings and condiments. Over time, taking in more calories than your body needs results in weight gain. The American Heart Association recommends keeping active and lowering your daily caloric intake by 500 calories to lose 1 pound per week to improve your overall health.
Ghrelin and Perception
Fast foods may possibly be addictive because of the taste and hormonal response to them. Fast foods may increase your body's release of ghrelin, a hormone that your stomach secretes in response to eating. In an interview, Dr. Alan Dagher of McGill University in Montreal suggests that ghrelin acts on the brain to increase the appeal of foods. This could possibly mean your perception of the appeal and taste of fast foods could be triggered by the release of ghrelin.
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