Speaking of late, eating out on a daily basis has become the norm, and the link between eating out and chemical exposure is not unknown. Students, working people, and children are more inclined to have a fast food meal as compared to a nourishing and healthy home-made food.
Whatever may be the reason, one cannot simply negate the fact that the harmful effects of eating out do bring about chemical exposure due to outside food. Let’s understand how.
The link between eating out and chemical exposure:
Everything ranging from the food packaging that carries your meal, the waiter who serves you, the cutlery in which you are being served and the place where you sit and eat, all play a part in bringing harmful effects of eating out and introducing chemical like phthalates into your body that is bound to destroy your health in the long run.
Food packaging:
The thermocol or paper plates and the plastic or cardboard boxes of packaging are all made of materials and chemicals like phthalates that are nothing short of poison for your body. These count as chemical exposure due to outside food.
When injected in small amounts, they do little to no damage, but a regular and constant chemical exposure due to outside food is bound to bring about health changes that you may not welcome. Also, the plates and spoons served at your dinner table may or may not be disinfected after prolonged use by other customers too.
Environmental hazards:
Eating on the roadside or on a restaurant table are all known to bring germs and harmful chemical exposure due to outside food down your stomach. You can never be sure of the complete sanitization of the place where you choose to have your meal, other than within a home. This is nothing but a direct link between eating out and chemical exposure.
Also, what can you say about those cheeseburgers and fries that you eat and the place that they are cooked in? Which is why one can never be too sure or informed of what they are consuming.
Decreased nutritional values:
Overcooking, too much salt, processed foods, and oily eatables are quite infamous for damaging your physical health. And most of the food outlets serve such foods which are a direct link between eating out and chemical exposure.
Loss of nutrition and constant chemical exposure from your food fails to serve the purpose of consuming it. It sure does fill your stomach but there is little to no nutritional value provided whatsoever.
Health effects:
True that some restaurants and fast-food outlets do follow a proper protocol and take measures to keep their quality control in check but, sadly, a vast majority of them don’t. Which is why there is a better chance of you contracting an infection or food-poisoning by eating out rather than when you dine at home.
Also, restaurant food doesn’t promise you the required nutrients as does a home-cooked meal. All these little factors, which we very conveniently overlook, are bound to take a toll on our health in the long run.
What can be done to address it?
- Learn to cook your own food. You’ll be surprised at the variety you can add to your dishes and the money that you can save.
- Employ a cook to serve you home-made food.
- Carry a lunch box with you to your college or office or pay a professional tiffin-service agency to have your meals delivered on time.
- Avoid professional meetings in fast-food outlets. Go on a full tummy, if you must.
Lastly, learn to control your urges. Eating out may seem delicious for the time-being, but brings great ill-effects regarding health as your body ages.
Conclusion:
The above-mentioned points speak in detail about the harmful effects of eating out and the transformation your body undergoes regularly, little by little if you are one of those people who cannot help but have restaurant or fast food meals.
True that it is easier said than done, but make it a point to implement these measures in order to avoid going out for meals on a regular basis. Make an early start so that you negate the harmful effects of eating out and that your health, along with your taste-buds stay in check.
Also, your wallet will gladly thank you if you make it a point to eat out less often. Having said all that, small changes such as eating healthy food don’t show results immediately, but they are very beneficial for your body in the long run.