Would an average person rather have a chicken strip basket and a large chocolate shake at Dairy Queen, or a 12 oz. serving of spaghetti with a glass of milk at home? The decision might be based on the intake of calories for each. The Dairy Queen meal consists of 2400 calories compared to 470 calories for the quiet home cooked spaghetti meal. Declaring independence from fast foods is healthier for the body, saves money, and allows more time at home eating together as a family. By accomplishing independence, the world would have fewer health problems and a lower obese population. Obesity has been associated with heart disease and diabetes. It is also on the rise in our youth due in part to the high consumption of fast food.
Eating out frequently is unhealthy for the body. Many fast food menus are loaded with tons of fat, sodium, sugar, and high in calories that are not nutritional for us. For example, if you ate a Big Mac from McDonalds, you would have to run about 4 miles to burn off the calories compared to eating an apple which is loaded with fiber and vitamins, it would only take a .3 mile walk to burn it off. People get into a pattern of eating out frequently, and it is hard to all of a sudden stop this habit. It can be a convincing argument for saving time and no kitchen clean up chores, but in the long run, it is hurting the body. Consider the following fast food meal options from Taco Bell:
one hard shell taco: 170 calories, 10 grams of fat, 330 mg salt, and 1 g sugar
Cheesy fiesta potatoes: 270 calories, 16 grams fat, 770 mg salt and 2 g sugar
16 oz. Mountain Dew: 220 calories, 58 g sugar
Total: 660 calories, 26 g fat, 1100 mg of salt and 61 g sugar.
Have a craving for pizza from Papa John’s? According to their nutritional information for one slice of pepperoni pizza it is 210 calories, 9 g fat, 580 mg salt, 3 g sugar. Add garlic butter to dip the crust and add 150 calories, 15 g fat, and 310 mg to the meal. When was the last time a person stopped at one slice of pizza? The recommended amounts per day for a healthy life style are as follows: 1600-2000 calories, 44-78 g fat, less than 2300 mg salt and 40 g sugar. Eating one meal at a fast food restaurant such as these can add up to, or be over your total intake for the entire day. Since learning these facts and knowing that other fast food chains yield a similar lack of nutritional value, it makes a case for promoting independence from fast foods to result in a healthier lifestyle experience.
Eating at a fast food restaurant may seem cheap, but after eating there three times a week, the cost really adds up. Taking the time to make nutritious home cooked meals, even with the mess in the kitchen, benefits the family. When cooking a meal, it is easy to make extra or another batch that can be taken to work, put in the freezer or heated up for leftovers the next day. Buying groceries in bulk will help keep food in the house and the cupboards full of healthy snacks. When they are empty, it is tempting to run to the fast food restaurants and grab a burger and fries because there is nothing to eat in the house. When buying groceries, look at the labels in order to control the amount of calories, fat, sugar, and sodium. Hy-Vee has a wonderful system called NuVal to help the consumer buy healthy groceries. Nutrition is made easy by looking at an item’s NuVal number from 1-100, and the higher the score, the more nutritious the food is. While buying low fat healthy foods is not cheap initially, it will pay in the long run since people who follow nutritional guidelines are not obese and are at a lower risk for diseases that can be associated with high medical costs. Diets lower in sugar promote healthier teeth and less decay resulting in fewer dental costs.
Any more these days, lives are too busy with work, kids, and activities to have home cooked meals around the table. People rely on ordering pizza, grabbing a burger or tacos on the way to activities because there is not enough time to prepare and eat a meal. Also, family members tend to arrive and leave at all different times making it challenging to sit down together for a meal. However, eating at home as a family helps everyone get along and know how everyone’s day has been going. It is a lot healthier to eat home cooked meals rather than fast foods and you have the advantage of being at the dinner table enjoying talking, sharing, and laughing.
In conclusion, declaring independence from fast foods benefits lives in so many ways. Saving money, good quality family time, and reaping health benefits are reasons to declare independence from fast foods. Take control and be responsible for what goes in the body and knowing what food is good to eat so you can have a healthy life. Nourishing the body is a way to give the body energy and not having to run off all the extra calories that people take in a day. Controlling what foods go into the body and looking up labels for calories and fat are excellent ways to be responsible and eat a healthy balanced meal hot on the stove at home with the family.
