You will not die without a Big Mac

Jan 14
08:35

2010

Mark Clemens

Mark Clemens

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Fast food is as much a part of what it means to be an American as is the national anthem. Clearly, the former is not as good for us as is the latter.

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Fast food is something we all think we need. It's as if giving it up forever will cause irreparable damage. Therefore the Golden Arches folks have become the target of so many like the writer.Are these burgers all that bad for people? Of course,You will not die without a Big Mac Articles we are including the Wendy's and the Arby's people as well. Granted, they are FDA approved; they taste great; they are a certain number of calories; the places where you can get them are regularly inspected for cleanliness.There probably is little harm that will come form frequenting one of these places once per month for one sandwich. But how many of us do that? Is not a couple of times per week more realistic? And then is it not two three sandwiches with fries and soft drink?Most of us know that these foods are all too highly caloric and of little nutritional value. Yet we eat them anyway, probably because we think that everything in moderation is okay. But how moderate are we all really when it comes to fast food?Perhaps the biggest problem is that we are expected to go to one of these places for lunch with friends or co-workers. Refusing to do so or suggesting a salad with only vinegar and oil at a health conscious restaurant can cause extreme unrest. In some cases, behavior like this may result in one being labeled as radical, or health nut, as it is so commonly called.But the need for these foods goes deeper than this. We ourselves actually start believing that we cannot exist without them. What this really means is that we think that staying away from them will have a negative effect on our personal identity, making us into strange people. Or, we may believe that not eating them will result in long term  depression. This is particularly true if the daily intake of those around us has not yet caused diminished attractiveness or low energy levels.Clearly, if our friends were all overweight and always tired, we might conclude that it was from their diet. Then it would be easy to refuse when invited out for a normal lunch. Of course, the writer believes this will happen eventually, but would like to see you not get pulled down in the process.The bottom line is that American fast foods are not good for people. They may satisfy immediate hunger. But they will not be as good for energy production or tissue repair as would be fish poultry, whole grain bread, honey and the like.

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