Nutrition and the Importance Behind a Balanced Diet

You ever wonder why a cookie taste so good but is also bad for you? Ingredients such as sugar is the driving force behind sweet cravings like cookies. The average American consumes 77 grams per day. Studies show women should take in 1/3 of that number. In my opinion, fast food chains are the most accessible source to bad eating habits. How can we decrease our chances in getting high sugar related diseases? Like diabetes, high blood pressure, and even cancer. Well McDonalds is a $19.21 billion dollar company according to Wikipedia, and they will not keep you from getting a heart disease because they are looking forward to you buying their apple pies and Oreo McFlurries (When the ice cream machine is not down). Diet has a lot to do with chronic disease that we take on at later ages in our lives. In addition to heart diseases, one may look forward to obesity and depression as a result of poor diet choices. We tend to go to these fast food chains out of convenience as well as taste and bargain pricing. But the cost we are saving on buying the food is actually taking years off our life span.

Subway claims if you eat with them, you are “Eating Fresh.” However in recent news, there is a lawsuit that the tuna on the sandwiches is in fact, not real.  Forbes writer, Bruce Lee, informs us that The Lanier Law firm of Houston, Texas and Shalini Dogra of the Dogra Law Group of Santa Monica, California has filed this case on behalf of two Alameda County residents. Here is the link for you to check it out.  Does Subway Serve Fake Tuna? Here Is What This Lawsuit Alleges (forbes.com) 

Subway is a sandwich and salad shop with over 42,000 locations within 100 different countries. Wendy’s has recently reached the position as Number 2 Burger Chain right behind McDonalds. This is with an increase of 4.8% bringing earnings to $10.2 billion for the year of 2020. With their focus on launching a breakfast menu there is now 7% of their business coming from breakfast sales. The company also sees a 10% increase in sales in response to their “Made to Crave” menu drops. CMO Carl Loredo states “we want to focus on providing our consumers with more value”. I say all this to say the menu items they did add carry anywhere from 17-43 grams of saturated and trans fat.

There are so many ways to get different diseases in our body. So, why not take precaution by being mindful of what we are intaking? We only get one body so we should take care of ourselves as best we can. The foods from majority of these fast food chains will not be a good source of nutrition for you. Better nutrients (you know exactly what’s going into your mouth) come from foods preserved at your own homes and prepared by you yourself. Let’s also think about the cost that your saving! Eating out is 5 times more expensive than preparing your own meals. (Ryan G. Writer/Blogger for Journey Foods)  57% of meals from these fast food chains exceed the 1500mg recommendation for sodium intake daily. We also know the cleanliness of our own kitchens and right now there is an average of 11 out of 25 restaurants failing  after getting tested for antibiotics in 2018.

If you want to avoid high blood pressure, heart diseases, a possible heart attack, or cardiovascular disease prepping your meals from home is one step in the right direction. Stay away from sweet and chips and candies. Avoid processed foods at all costs. Implement fruits, veggies, nuts, beans and legumes, whole grains and wheat into your diet. Even be precautious of the seasoning you use in your foods. Keep your kitchen tidy. Drink your water and get at least 30 minutes of activity in a day. These are best practices for having good nutrition and adding more years to your lifespan.