Does Healthy Fast Food Actually Exist?

     Every day we are being bombarded with enticing advertisements showing images of happy thin people eating any number of meals from high profile fast food chains. The joy on their faces whilst devouring deep fried chicken, pizza, fries and burgers is supposed to convey the message that if only we all ate these foods, we too would be so much happier in our every day lives. Advertising is an interesting area as corporations now hire psychologists and other human behaviour experts in order to figure out how to advertise their products to appeal to the emotional needs for love, acceptance etc. of their prospective customers.

The truth is, most mainstream fast foods are over-processed and contain high amounts of fat, cholesterol and sodium with very little protein, vitamin content or dietary fibre. These are definitely not considered healthy fast food, in fact they can actually be classified as junk food. Consuming just one of these junk food meals normally contains almost an entire day抯 worth of calories in just one meal! That would be fine if we were still running around forests hunting and gathering and actually burning those calories off, but in today抯 world of convenience it is just not sensible to eat that way on a regular basis. The health risks of consuming too much junk food are just too high.

There is one point I would like to make clear, fast food does not necessarily have to be junk food. You just have to consider your options in a sensible way. As we all know, traditionally fast foods offered very little in the way of nutrition. However, as awareness has grown for healthier lifestyles, the demand for better quality along with less processed foods, lower-fat choices and fresher ingredients has grown significantly over the last few years. This outcry has come from the general population as well as consumer groups around the world.

Although we抮e heading in the right direction there is still much confusion about the exact definition of healthy fast food. A salad for lunch would be a healthy option right? Well, not necessarily, especially if the salad is covered in fried toppings such as croutons or bacon and a large dollop of rich oil-based dressing. Portion control is another issue affecting healthy fast food as our portions have just about doubled over the last 20 years. Home, as well as restaurant crockery has doubled in size as well, so that抯 another element which is definitely not helping to control portion sizes. Years ago most restaurants used dinner plates and pasta bowls that were half the size. Therefore, even if the meal itself is a healthy option, we are now consuming far more than our bodies actually need.

Fortunately for us, in recent years, the executives of these fast food outlets have positively responded by offering consumers far better, lower calorie options on their menus. In order to give consumers the ability to make more informed choices a lot of fast food restaurants now offer nutritional guidelines regarding their menus. Instead of ordering the 1,000 calorie meal, you now have the option to have a meal that is, say, under 300 calories which is still quick and healthy. Instead of having only deep fried, high-fat, high calorie options you can still visit your favourite fast food restaurant and opt to have healthier meals consisting of grilled meat or fish and lots of fresh salad or vegetables. The verdict: healthy fast food does actually exist, however it抯 up to you to choose the healthier options available.

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