Fast food is like smoking cigarettes now. It was once popular, everyone did it and it was intertwined in society but now evidence has come out of how bad it is for health. In today’s world, getting fast food may even feel a little embarrassing or shameful because of all the bad media it’s received over the years.

It’s no surprise that it makes people wonder, what are healthy fast food choices.

Don’t get me wrong, traditional fast food is as bad as everyone makes it out to be and some studies show it could be more detrimental than cigarette smoking.

In this article, we’ll first look at what healthy fast food is, then examine why traditional fast food is bad and finally to healthy fast food options.

 

What Is Healthy Fast Food?

what's a healthy fast food choice

There’s a new trend that’s been going on in the United States and Canada the past couple decades in the restaurant and food industry.

It’s called a fast casual restaurant. It’s not a full service style restaurant but instead offers convenient higher quality food than traditional fast food. It’s a balance between fast food and casual dining.

I’ll be covering examples of specific places the the topics below.

So, is there healthy fast food? Yes!

 

Benefits of Healthy Fast Food

You have a busy day, are tired from the week and didn’t have time to run to the grocery store. Now, you’re hungry…What do you do?

We’ve all been there, it’s a stressful place to be and doesn’t help when the body starts making demands.

This is where healthy fast food restaurants come to the rescue.

 

Good Balance of Healthy and Fast

The fast casual restaurants strike a good balance between offering high quality food and convenience. The appeal of traditional fast food is that it won’t take a lot of time out of your day. You now have that option when it comes to food without having to sacrifice quality.

 

Growing Industry

The fast casual restaurants have been booming the past few decades. That means more competition, which is good for the end consumers because they’ll get more options with lower (more competitive) prices.

That also means that some areas of the world that may not have these fast food options (I’m talking to you Britons, Australians and the rest of the world) will be getting more in their neighborhoods soon.

 

Why Is Traditional Fast Food Unhealthy?

Typically, traditional fast food has burgers that are loaded with preservatives from antibiotic-pumped cattle, other meat that’s referred to as “pink slime” and fries that are birthed in unhealthy fats.

 

Low Quality Food Initiates Overeating

Because of the low quality ingredients in fast food, the body becomes fatigued, headache-induced and has stomach cramps when not immediately digesting food. This happens because the detoxification stage of the body typically takes place when not eating food. Therefore, when people aren’t eating they feel crappy because the body is so toxic and therefore they want to eat more to eliminate that feeling. When eating food, their body won’t feel that lethargy but afterwards it kicks back in. If consumed enough, this can be due to the low quality ingredients in traditional fast food.

 

It’s Addictive

There is a science to creating addictive food. The fast food manufacturers and restaurants know this and have perfected this.

They combine salt, high fructose corn syrup, sugar and unhealthy fats together to create an addictive concoction. Sugar and salt consumed in high levels over the years can increase risk of stroke. Too much salt raises blood pressure (not good) and also can create microvascular hemorrhaging which makes little tears in blood vessels in the brain, causing health risks.

The combined ingredients aren’t just put on top but are mixed in at every stage of processing. Then when they’re served more salt is added and some are cooked in tubs of fats and oils.

There’s also the artificially sweetened sodas that have similar health problems such as too much sugar, have an addictive quality and are loaded with calories of high fructose corn syrup.

 

Low in Fiber

Most of the food in traditional fast food is low in fiber. Fiber is needed for consistent digestion to have a healthy gut microbiome and a low-fiber diet can lead to diarrhea or constipation – no one wants that shit! 🙂

 

Other Harmful Effects of Traditional (Low Quality) Fast Food:

 

What Are Healthy Fast Food Choices?

Now that we’ve looked at the general category of healthy fast food, let’s now turn to specific companies and restaurants that do this.

In my town (Tampa, Florida, US), there is a restaurant chain called “Fresh Kitchen” that is healthy, high quality and fast. They have bowl options like sweet potato noodles, kale salads, broccoli, lean chicken, avocado, nuts and more. You walk down the line and pick what you want, with each service person giving you different food along the line. With some healthy drink choices like ginger water. This is my favorite health fast food!

There’s also:

There’s many more of these fast casual healthy restaurants around the United States, Canada and other parts of the world. Just find one’s local to you!

 

Summary

Healthy fast food is a new trend of fast casual restaurants. They’re a growing industry and will continue to evolve worldwide, even if they’re not in your neck of the woods yet. They offer a good balance of healthy food and convenience.

Why Is Traditional Fast Food Bad?

  • Low quality invites overeating
  • Addictive
  • Increased risk for heart disease, stroke, inflammatory bowel diseases
  • Disturbs gut microbiome
  • Dental problem
  • Obesity
  • Bloating

What Are Healthy Fast Food Choices?

 

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