This Type of Food Destroys Your Gut Health

Fast food companies manufacture foods for taste, convenience, and in most cases, affordability.

However, many of these foods can harm the community of bacteria within our gut.

They change its bacterial diversity reducing helpful bacteria and triggering health problems.

The Western Diet

According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, three-fourths of the U.S. population have diets that are low in vegetables, fruits, dairy, and oils.

The total amount of foods consumed from grains, protein, saturated fats, and sodium exceeds recommendations.

This high-calorie, unhealthy diet is known as the Western diet.

It’s has contributed to more than two-thirds of U.S. adults and nearly one-third of all children becoming overweight or obese and suffering from chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

One of the staples of the Western diet is fast food.

The Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics found that during 2013-2016, more than a third of adults consumed fast food on any given day.

Consuming fast food is often part of a lifestyle. If you haven’t noticed already, Americans are busy.

They are so busy that the Harvard Business Review discovered that referencing “crazy schedules” in holiday letters dramatically increased since the 1960s.

Americans move at a frantic pace no matter the season, and many don’t take time off to enjoy the summer months.

Two out of three respondents of the “Put the World on Ice” Green Mountain Coffee Roaster survey indicated that they would not be taking more breaks to enjoy the summer months.

It may be because nearly the same amount of respondents reportedly don’t even make time for themselves at least once a day.

Studies show that fast food appeals to all income and wealth levels.

The number of adults who consumed fast food rose with family income, according to the CDC, and additional work hours have only contributed to adults’ fast food indulgence, according to a study that examines the socioeconomic status and adult food consumption.

Regardless, fast food can wreak havoc on the gut.

Your Gut on Fast Food

The gut microbiome represents 100 trillion bacterial cells. It’s unique for each person and evolves as a person develops.

The gut is involved with:

Digestion
Preventing infection
Regulating our metabolism
Controlling the immune system

The biome consists of hundreds of different species.

They include microorganisms that can harm our health and those that are beneficial to our health, such as bacteria that reduce inflammation, which cuts down the risk of cancer, heart disease, and infection.

Eating fast food is among the things that can damage the gut’s microbiome.

The diet consists of chemical additives and ultra-processed foods, such as extracted sugars and starch, hydrogenated fats, flavor enhancers, and food colorings.

Eating ultra-processed foods reduces the number of good bacteria in the gut and creates an imbalance of the gut’s microbiome.

An imbalanced gut can impair the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, regulate blood sugar, and store fat.

Over time, the instability becomes apparent with symptoms, such as an increase in heartburn, constipation, and gas.

It can also lead to unhealthy cravings, such as a desire to eat more sugary foods, and poor sleep since the gut produces serotonin, a hormone that affects mood and sleep patterns.

Change Your Diet

Make the consumption of healthy foods part of your lifestyle so you can improve your body weight, nutrient intake, and lessen the risk of chronic diseases.

Swap out a diet that includes over-processed, high-sugar, and high-fat foods for lean protein, plants, legumes, and fruits.

Also, consider switching your daily routine so you can make sure you are eating healthy.

Here’s how:

Make breakfast a priority

Breakfast offers a meal that provides nourishment and energy at the beginning of the day.

Researchers indicate that breakfast can result in good diet quality, blood sugar levels, micronutrient intake, and weight status since the meal often incorporates fruits, vegetables, milk, lean protein, and whole grains.

Eating a healthy breakfast can also help you avoid overeating at your next meal.

Consider Prepping Your Snacks and Meals

Planning, preparing, and packaging your meals can save time and improve the consumption of healthy foods because it reduces portion sizes and helps reach nutrition goals.

Also, you can purchase pre-chopped foods to cut down on the prep time for the recipe.

Try signing up for services that deliver groceries or offer meal kits so you can quickly prepare meals, and look for recipes with limited ingredients.

Pack Healthy Snacks

Packing a small snack can stop you from grabbing unhealthy foods, such as a bag of potato chips.

Choose food combinations that help combat hunger pains, such as protein and carbohydrates; avoid unhealthy choices and overeating.

Common snack foods include yogurt, fruits, nuts, berries, and seeds.

Drink water

Water has many significant roles in the body, such as carrying nutrients, delivering oxygen to the brain, removing waste from the body, and hydrating our skin.

Water can also stop us from overeating.

Instead of reaching for sweetened juices and sodas loaded with “empty” calories, drink 16 ounces of water about a half-hour before your meals to create a sense of fullness.

Learn more about the different types of water and what you should be drinking.