Example of essay on fast-food dietary analysis

Introduction

Food is actually any substance that is consumed to provide living organisms with the nutritional support for their bodies. Foods originate from either animal or plant and contain the fundamental nutrients like fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and proteins. The substance is actually ingested by the living being and assimilated by the cells in the living being in an effort to maintain life, produce energy, or stimulate growth. In modern times, the food that people consume is in fact supplied by the food industry while during the past this food was secured through agriculture, or hunting and gathering.
The foods that we consume are characterized as being either healthy or unhealthy food. Healthy foods are foods that are actually promoted as highly conducive to our health. Therefore, this is the food which is believed to be good for our health. On the other hand, unhealthy food is the food which has few nutrients and contains plenty of unhealthy ingredients like salt, unsaturated fats, or sugar. Most of fast foods are considered to be unhealthy. Fast food is essentially the food which can be cooked and served very quickly. Therefore, fast foods are those foods that are sold in a restaurant or a fast food store with precooked or preheated ingredients and served to their customers in a take away packaged form.
In selection of healthier fast foods, there are certain rules that are followed. The first rule involves watching out for the side dishes. Fresh fruits and vegetables are important side dishes. The other rule involves looking out for the liquid calories. This involves drinking something that adds calories to our bodies without nutrients for example, fruit drinks. The last rule involves being extra cautious about the condiments. Using these three rules, Hardees’s Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich became my healthy meal. This food is actually offered in Burger King fast food restaurant.
This healthy food is very nutritious hence considered as being healthy and important to our bodies. It contains 33 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, 340 calories, a gram of saturated fat, 1070 grams sodium, 40 grams carbohydrate, 4 grams of fat, and 60 mg of cholesterol. The advantage of this fast food is that its cholesterol amount is very small hence it possesses no health hazard to our hearts. In addition, all the nutrients of this food as mentioned in this paragraph are all balanced since they are provided as prescribed by the nutritionists. Thus, they provide our bodies with the necessary nutritional requirements.
The amount of fat is also low meaning that the chances of being obese when we consume this food are in fact very minimal. The other importance of this fat amount is that it reduces the risks of heart diseases which are largely contributed by excess fats in our bodies. The calories present in addition are important to our bodies since they are enough to ensure that our bodies are provided with the required calories that are required for their efficient functioning. The amount of protein in the food is also crucial for our bodies since they ensure that the production of cells in our bodies takes place hence this will contribute to our proper growth. The calcium present in this food is additionally important because it is efficient in supporting our bone health. Thus, when we consume this food our bones are going to be strong enough hence the chances of getting diseases like rickets among others will not be possible. For that reason, Hardees’s Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich falls under the category of healthy fast food.
This information about this fast food is good enough to persuade me in future to buy this sandwich. As discussed, the sandwich is very healthy as its diet is properly balanced. To make sure that my body continues to grow without any difficult because of efficient nutritional supply; Hardees’s Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich becomes the only choice.
However, I had an opportunity to create an unhealthy meal of food from Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant. The unhealthy fast food that I created is the KFC Chicken Pot Pie. The amount of calories in this fast food is 790 that represent 30% of a human diet. The saturated fat amount is 37g, 66 grams of carbohydrate that represent only 20% of daily diet, and 1970 milligrams of sodium which represent 86%.
This fast food is actually salty and high in the amount of calories hence very little positive can be said about this food. Obesity has actually been a health crisis in many parts of the world. It is argued that KFC Chicken Pot Pie contributes to this health condition where those who consume it more usually have greater risks of developing this condition that is responsible for many health challenges in human bodies. This food being salty is something that is harmful to our health. This salt is not good since it leads to various health complications where for instance it leads a person to suffer from illnesses that are related to much intake of salt.
Furthermore, this fast food is fouled with partially hydrogenated oil. This oil is considered as an artery clogging oil that has health effects to our bodies. The food contains 14 grams of trans fat from this partly hydrogenated oil. This is actually unnatural oil that leads to an unhealthier and sad life to those who consume it regularly. This oil raises an individual’s LDL cholesterol which is not good to our health. This is so because this high amount of cholesterol promotes or increases the risks of an individual being affected by the fatal heart disease that has increased the death rate throughout the world.
Additionally, the extra amount of calories present in this fast food leads to the accumulation of a lot of fats in the body of its consumer. This accumulation of fats is actually not healthy as it leads to various types of health complications like the major heart diseases. This food furthermore contains a small number of nutrients as compared to the explained healthy fast food. Therefore, this means that after consuming this fast food, the consumer will not be supplied with the required amount of nutrients that are fundamental for sustainable human growth.
Consequently, this information is of much help because it informs me about the negative effects of consuming the likes of this fast food. The reason as to why I will not eat this meal again is because of its health complications as discussed. It is therefore important to consider the negative effects of consuming the fast foods because they are proved to be the causers of various health complications as discussed. However, there are some of them that have minimal effects hence they should not be consumed in excess amount.

References

Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal. New York, NY: Perennial
Bishop, M. R. (2010). Chocolate, fast foods and sweeteners: Consumption and health. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Franz, M. J. (1994). Fast food facts: Complete nutrition information on more than 700 menu items in 15 of the largest fast food chains. Minneapolis, MN: Chronimed Pub