Fast food is nearly everywhere, from shopping centers to the office. It can be inexpensive and tasty, but eating too much fast food can be a bad habit. Fast food can fit into a healthy diet as an occasional treat, but a balanced diet emphasizes fresh, nutritious foods.
Convenience
An advantage of fast food is its convenience. No matter what time you are hungry, or where you are, there's probably at least one fast food restaurant just a short drive away. A disadvantage of fast food's convenience is that you might start to choose it instead of healthier options. Fast food is ready to eat, so you do not have to cook or prepare it. In many cases, you do not even have to leave your car to order it, so you may end up eating a burger and fries while you're driving and not even thinking about it.
Taste
One of the main attractions of fast food is the taste, whether it's pizza, burgers, sandwiches, french fries, milkshakes or tacos. Although you may enjoy it, the taste may come from unhealthy fats, sodium, MSG and added sugars. This may spoil your appreciation of the natural flavors of foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products and lean proteins.
Nutrition
A disadvantage of fast food is that it is easy to order unhealthy meals if you are not careful. Your meal can be high in saturated fat from fried foods, meats and cheeses. You may get refined starches and sugars from white bread or buns, shakes, desserts and soft drinks, and most fast food is high in sodium. But some fast food restaurants offer healthier options. Consider salads with light dressing, grilled chicken, whole wheat buns, fresh fruit salad and diet drinks.
Portions
Fast food is a cheap source of prepared food. And it usually costs only a small amount of money to order a larger portion of fast food. But this is also a disadvantage, because it encourages you to overeat. Instead, use fast food portion sizes to your waistline's advantage. Order smaller sizes, such as items from the value or children's menus.
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