If there’s one thing we can all agree on it’s that greasy food is delicious – pizza that drips everywhere, French fries, fried zucchini – it’s all delicious. When it comes to greasy food, the biggest culprit is none other than fast food. It’s convenient and it’s cheap and… well, they have been marketing it to us for so long that for the most of us it’s a normal part of life.
They get us young so they have us for life (which will sadly be shorter if we keep up this habit). For people who work odd hours, extra hours, too many hours, and are trying to balance family life, too, the lure of fast food is clear.
You barely have the energy to think about cooking when you get home, let alone taking the time to do it and putting dinner off till even later. It just seems easier to hit the drive-thru, even if it’s for the fifth time this week. The problem with these foods is that they are high sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, and fat. While they increase your calorie count exponentially, they are doing nothing for you in the way of nutrition.
When we sit down and indulge our cravings for greasy food we often feel guilty and we think about the calories we’ve just consumed, sometimes we even think of the unnecessary fat we just consumed. We don’t tend to sit back and think about what greasy food is really doing to our bodies, though.
Usually, we shrug it off promising to make up for it in the gym or by eating right the rest of the time. That’s all well and good, but greasy food is doing more than just adding to your waistline (though, it is doing that, too).
You may sometimes think about what that food is doing to your heart, but you shrug it off and remind yourself that you’re still young. You’re not old enough to worry about heart disease, besides; it’s cancer that’s the biggest risk to you, right?
Wrong, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Americans, but it isn’t the only thing that can happen if you continue to eat greasy food, here are 20 more pretty bad things that happen to your body when you eat greasy food.
1 – Bathroom Breaks
The most common response the body has to greasy food is what it does to your bathroom breaks. It sits in your stomach and is often not digested properly, which results in bowel movements that are oily. Not only that, but you may be more prone to diarrhea and intestinal discomfort.
Sadly, it could also lead to constipation. This is because the dietary fiber your digestive system needs to function properly is generally found in whole grains, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and fruits. Fiber keeps things ticking over nicely and if you aren’t getting enough of it, you may run into some… blockages. Fiber also helps manage your blood sugar and cholesterol levels. The majority of greasy food options provide you with no fiber.
2 – Hardworking Digestive System
You may not realize it, but a normal sized meal packed with grease is putting so much pressure on your digestive system due to the sheer excess of fat. Fat digests more slowly than protein does or even carbs do.
For it to be broken down the body needs to use its stomach acid and bile and a lot of people are already deficient in these, due to stress, medication or other reasons. Suddenly, your digestive system is flooded with fat that it isn’t capable of breaking down quickly enough, thus you suddenly feel bloated, uncomfortable, and in many causes nauseous.
3 – Harms Your Gut Bacteria
We’re seeing more evidence these days that our diet has a direct effect on the bacteria in our guts. Eating greasy food isn’t going to help as there is no nourishment there. While foods like fish, olive oil, and avocados are high in fat, they are packed with good fats, which serve your gut bacteria well. Greasy foods don’t do the same. They throw your system out of whack.
4 – Acne
Are you one of the many unlucky adults who still suffer from acne? Your penchant for greasy food may have an active role in this. Okay, you’re not going to spring a giant pimple as soon as you finish eating your greasy meal; however, this poor pattern of eating is fueling hormone imbalances, which is the quickest way to a face full of zits.
5 – Stroke & Heart Disease Risk
If you make a habit of enjoying greasy food regularly then you are running the risk of heart disease. When chowing down on a cheeseburger it’s easy to forget that the facts present in your favorite burger are contributing to high levels of cholesterol, which of course, fuels the risk of heart disease.
Atherosclerosis is another risk as your arteries become clogged by fat deposits, this can cause a heart attack or stroke. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, one of the leading causes of death in America is atherosclerosis (https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/documents/factbook/2012/chapter4#4_3).
6 – Increased Diabetes Risk
When you think of greasy food, you will likely immediately think of fat, but maybe not sugar. However, fast foods are packed with the stuff, which means no nutrition and more calories. According to a study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, eating fried food increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that eating fried food four-six times a week increases the risk of the disease by 39% (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/eating-fried-foods-tied-to-increased-risk-of-diabetes-and-heart-disease/), and 23% for heart disease.
7 – Missing Nutrients
If you’re guilty of overindulging on greasy food then there’s a pretty good chance you’re doing so at the expense of healthy foods. If you’re not feeding your body the good stuff then you are starving it of the nutrition that it needs for optimum performance. So, not only are you risking your overall health, there’s a good chance you frequently feel fatigued, experience headaches, and mood swings. You also run the risk of vitamin deficiencies.
8 – Weight Gain
One of the biggest issues with greasy food is how calorific it is compared to the volume of food you are eating. This calorie-denseness fuels a terrible cycle of fullness and hunger and prompts you to eat even more later on. It’s the number of calories that you consume in one sitting that is concerning.
For example, if you were to measure out a cup of fruit and a cup of fries you would likely find that both leave you as full as the other. Of course, the big difference between them is the calorie count that comes attached to fries.
This excess consumption of calories is going to fuel your weight gain and there’s a good chance you will end up obese. It isn’t just the aesthetics of weight gain or the knock on your self-confidence, obesity comes with its own health risks. It can increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, fatty liver, arthritis, asthma, gallstones, sleep apnea, arthritis, fertility problems, and even some types of cancer.
9 – Skeletal System
You may think the only impact greasy food can have on your bones is the additional stress for carrying extra weight. That is not so. Greasy foods are high in sugar and in carbs, which turn into sugar. This causes an increase of acid within your mouth, which contributes to the erosion of tooth enamel.
As your tooth enamel breaks down you are left at risk of bacteria taking hold and causing cavities. In addition to this, obesity can affect bone density as well as muscle mass. This is why exercise is vital as your muscles help to support your bones. Unfortunately, overweight people are at greater risk of falls, thus breaking bones (Obesity and fracture risk; Gonnelli, et al).
10 – Central Nervous System
Greasy food only provides you temporary happiness, according to the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, those who frequently indulge the habit are twice as likely to suffer from depression (Fast-food and commercial baked goods consumption and the risk of depression; Sánchez-Villegas A, et al). Therefore, while many people turn to greasy food for comfort what they are actually doing is fueling long-term unhappiness. More so, when you consider the likelihood of weight gain and how that impacts self-confidence.
11 – Trans Fat Hangovers
While there are certain types of fat, which are healthy, trans fats are not one of them. It’s a man-made creation that is used to increase flavor and lengthen the life of products. It’s most frequently found in cookies, fried foods, crackers, pastries, and even pizza dough.
Every fat has a place in your diet, apart from this one. Your total intake of trans fat should be zero and eating trans fats increases your bad cholesterol, while tackling your good cholesterol. That leaves you at risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
12 – Cancer Risk
You may frequently choose grilled chicken as the healthy option when you pull up to the drive-thru. There’s bad news for you on that front, as it happens to contain PhlP, a chemical that appears when your chicken reaches a particular temperature.
What’s the big deal? Well, it has been linked to prostate cancer, as well as colon and breast cancer (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4147397/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4992261/). Additionally, many meats are colored using sodium nitrite and nitrate, which also helps prevent bacteria growth. Unfortunately, they also break down into a substance that may be a cause of cancer.
13 – Memory Problems
You don’t often think about what saturated fats could be doing to your brain – we always think of our heats. Yet, studies have long indicated that saturated fats can have a negative impact on your memory and overall brain function. It not only impairs the speed of your memory and its flexibility, but it also limits your prospective memory, that’s your ability to recall what you were about to do (like, not eat greasy foods). You only have one brain and you need it for life, why increase the risk of dementia by eating greasy food?
14 – Bloating
While there are foods that naturally contain higher levels of sodium, there are also those foods, which have additional sodium added to them. There are also additives (like MSG, sodium saccharin, sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, sodium bicarbonate, etc.) which are used to preserve or flavor.
When you consume too much sodium in one day, you will likely feel puffy and bloated. Let’s put it like this – adults should stay below 1,500 mg of sodium each day with 2,300 mg being the uppermost limit. Many fast food meals exceed that upper limit. When you consider that you eat more than just that meal in one day, you get the picture.
15 – Kidneys
Another issue that sodium can create is an enlarged heart and increasing blood pressure. If you already have issues with your kidney then sodium can literally kill you. For a healthy person, though, consuming sodium in excess can increase the risk of stomach cancer, kidney stones, and kidney disease.
16 – Anxiety
As we’ve noted above greasy foods contain little to no nutritional value. Something else they are entirely devoid of is omega 3 fatty acids. We know just how crucial they are to our overall health, but one of the biggest services fatty acids perform is related to the brain. Without healthy levels of those good fatty acids, you are putting your mental health at risk. Yes, greasy food can fuel anxiety. It isn’t just the fact that it lacks fatty acids it’s also about what it does contain. Refined carbohydrates can result in fluctuating blood sugar levels, which can send you into confusion, cause fatigue, and anxiety.
17 – Liver Disease
It’s not always about what’s in your food. The Huffington Post reports that the packaging that lines your fast food contains chemicals that can cause liver disease, and cancer. While regulators are insistent there is no risk, multiple studies have found otherwise.
18 – Toxins
Processed foods are known for their additives and preservatives – and that includes food coloring. Many of the colorings and additives that are used in our favorite greasy foods have been shown to cause cancer in mice and rats.
19 – Lethargy
We already discussed how calorific your favorite greasy foods tend to be, whether it’s French fries, cheeseburgers or a deep-fried anything at the fair. With all those calories and fats it’s no wonder you often feel lethargic and stuffed after you are finished eating.
Exercising is key to your weight, fitness levels, and overall health. However, it’s just one piece of the puzzle and if you aren’t piecing it together with good sleep and a healthy diet then it will all be for naught. You will struggle to stay active, though, if you are feeding your body greasy foods and ignoring the foods that will provide adequate nourishment.
20 – Hyperactivity
Eating greasy food can make you feel anxious, it can make you feel lethargic, it can contribute to depression, but, it can also lead to hyperactivity. The most likely reason for this is the artificial coloring and the sodium benzoate. Whatever the reason, what’s clear is that you and your body are much better off driving home and making dinner yourself.
Sadly, over two in three American adults are overweight or obese, meanwhile, over a third of children, aged six to nineteen, also fall under one of those categories. Our hyper-reliance on fast foods appears to be the cause of that problem.
According to the Obesity Action Coalition America’s number of fast food restaurants has doubled since the 1970s. Therefore, it’s no coincidence that our obesity problem has also doubled.
Final Thoughts
Despite the fact that there has been a big push back against the hospitality industry and their calorie counts, not much has changed. We’re smarter now than we used to be when it comes to eating healthily, yet according to the Centers For Disease Control, studies have found that the fat, sodium, and calorie counts in fast food meals haven’t changed much.
What has changed is our dependence on it. Americans are busier now than ever before and that fuels the habit of eating out. This is having a direct impact on your overall health and wellness. Not only is this busyness fueling your stress levels, but it’s fueling your appetite for greasy food. Both of which are going to result in serious ramifications for your health.
