Science says that junk foods are full of calories, fat and excess sodium and having it even once can be bad for your health. For example, a single hamburger contains 500 calories, 25 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, 10 grams of sugar, and 1,000 milligrams of sodium, which is enough to cause havoc in your system.
“If you really enjoy burgers, eating them occasionally is perfectly fine as part of a healthy balanced lifestyle, even if you are trying to lose weight, because the impact of one or two burgers over time can be minimized if you are doing other healthy things that counter its effects,” adds Dr.
“If someone wants to eat a small piece of lean, grass-fed beef once a week, that's pretty reasonable,” Dr. Bruemmer says. “But that's not what we're usually doing. We're eating New York strip steak and burgers and processed meats five times a week and that becomes an unhealthy habit.”
Hamburgers should always be consumed responsibly as part of an overall balanced diet. Overindulging in burgers can lead to weight gain and other negative health effects, so it's important to practice portion control and opt for lean cuts of beef when possible.
Rejoice, burger lovers! According to a new report from the World Resource Institute (WRI), those who live in the developed world can still eat delicious burgers and not entirely destroy the planet— as long as they make sure to cap consumption at about two normal-sized patties per week.
Science says that junk foods are full of calories, fat and excess sodium and having it even once can be bad for your health. For example, a single hamburger contains 500 calories, 25 grams of fat, 40 grams of carbs, 10 grams of sugar, and 1,000 milligrams of sodium, which is enough to cause havoc in your system.
Burgers are not bad if you have them once in a while and in moderation. Food really isn't all that complicated if you eat in moderation and have a balanced diet which includes fruit and veg.
Fast food contains a lot of unhealthy ingredients like sugar, saturated fats, trans fats, and a lot of calories. While eating fast food once a week will not pose any harm in the short run, once you start regularly indulging in cheat meals, all these ingredients can come back to haunt your body.
Routinely consuming too much sodium, or more than the suggested 2,300 milligrams per day, may jeopardize your heart health long term, says the American Heart Association. Still, if you're only eating McDonald's once or twice a week, Brondo suggests you don't have to be too concerned.
A review of studies on fast food and heart health found having fast food more than once a week was linked to a higher risk of obesity, while eating fast food more than twice a week was associated with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and death from coronary heart disease.
If it is refrigerated promptly (within two hours at room temperature; or one hour if surrounding temperature is above 90 °F), it can be safely kept for about three or four days stored in the refrigerator (40 F or less).
Nutritionist Emily Field, explains that the protein in a burger keeps you full, while carbohydrates give you energy, and fat helps you absorb vitamins and minerals. So, if you eat two burgers, you're getting more amounts of these, which will keep you fuller for longer, and also stop you binging later in the day.
“Meat will generally leave the stomach in 2-3 hours and be fully digested in 4-6 hours. Our digestive system is well designed to digest meat in order to use its wide range of nutrients, such as iron, zinc and B vitamins.
No, eating one unhealthy meal will NOT make you gain weight.
A hamburger with one beef patty contains 250 calories, 9g fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 31g carbohydrate, 6g sugar, 12g protein, and 510mg sodium. Without added cheese, extra patties, and sauces that come in other burgers, the hamburger is the lowest in calories and fat, while still providing plenty of protein.
The popular 2004 Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me saw then-32-year-old Morgan Spurlock eat only three McDonald's meals a day for one month. By the end of the 30 days, Spurlock had gained nearly 25 pounds, greatly raised his cholesterol and experienced near liver failure.
Tips for Being Healthy
Of course, the more physically active you are, the higher your energy needs. Remember that junk foods are okay to eat occasionally, but they should not make up more than 10% of your daily energy intake. In a day, this may be a simple treat such as a small muffin or a few squares of chocolate.
Follow the 24/2 rule: 24 hours of paper stock, a maximum of 2 hours of frozen/refrigerated stock, 30 minutes for frozen fries. Check station equipment is clean, in good repair correctly assembled and safe. (Do not use equipment where readily visible parts and electrical fittings are not in good repair or safe.)
Although it may be beneficial to eat junk food once a week, make sure that you eat just one such meal throughout the day, or your body might end up stocking all those calories which may end up getting stored as fat.
KFC: Unhealthiest
The unhealthiest individual menu item, however, is the chicken pot pie, which contains 790 calories, 46 grams of fat, 37 grams of saturated fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, and 2,120 milligrams of sodium.
On the other hand, eating plans that follow the 80/20 rule — where you focus on eating healthy foods 80 percent of the time and can loosen up the other 20 percent — allow for the occasional hamburger. In fact, these rules encourage it in order to deliver certain beneficial nutrients (via NBC).
You should try to eat fast food no more than 1 time a week. Here are some tips on making smarter choices when ordering fast food: Order the smallest size possible or from the kids' menu. The smallest sizes have the least amount of unhealthy fat, extra sugar and salt.