Takeaways are boons for the nights when your laziness gets the better of you.
A mere phone call brings heaven on a platter and you blissfully chomp away to satiated glory. But there are some facts that you might want to consider before you order your next takeaway.
1. Salt Shocker
The average daily dietary requirement of salt is around 1.7 grams with maximum intake limited at 6 grams per day. In that case, an average takeaway meal at your favourite burger joint contains enough salt to flavour your entire meal for the following month. Your favourite chicken bucket at KFC contains 11.5 grams; Happy Meals at McDonalds contain 8 grams of salt per serving. With such rampant intake of salt, our physical functions are bound to break down. Salt is necessary to manage fluid levels, cellular osmosis and vascular health. While the recommended dietary intake maintains optimum physical health, consuming an excess might give way to hypertension and eventual cardiac arrests.
2. Sugar Overload
Those who believe that a burger meal is incomplete without fries and milk shake are unknowingly treating themselves to an intake of 94 grams of sugar per serving. While you happily gorge on your chicken burgers and French fries, remember that overloading your body with sugar will only result in either a marked increase in your calorie intake or a rise in the blood sugar levels.
3. Fattening First
While it is important to savour a tasty meal, it should not come at the cost of one’s health. The mass produced takeaway foods are high in trans-fats, cholesterol and preservatives. Not only does their consumption result in rampant weight gain, but also make us extremely susceptible to coronary and vascular diseases.
4. Expenses
Given that your Maharaja Mac is supremely satisfying to taste, it blissfully makes you forget the hole you’ve just burnt in your pocket. An average family tends to spend nothing less than 500 INR on a single takeout. You would be spending much less on groceries, if you were to cook your own food.
If you carefully measure the pros and cons, you will save yourself from a lot of potential health problems in the future. Sometimes, a sloppy chicken burger can be more satisfactory than home cooked food, but choosing flavour over health can prove to be detrimental in the future.
