The Lesser of Two Evils is Still Evil

When we think of fast food, we think of grease, fat and just plain bad food. Well, at least when we talk about fast food, that is what we say. It is hard for me to believe that people really dislike it when I see a full drive-thru every time I pass a restaurant.

No matter what time of day you go by, there will be a line around the building at every fast food joint you see. Morning, noon and night, people line up for it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, we have to have our fast food.

How did this start? Well, the key word is fast. I understand the concept of getting food quickly and how that can make the day feel easier. I understand the concept of not making your own food and somehow feeling like you are still getting what you need.

That is where we have gone astray. When you eat fast food, you are not getting what your body needs. It is easy, it is quick, but is not complete. I don’t need to tell you about what you are getting. The calories, the fat and the sodium speak for themselves. You can see that just by looking at the food.

What we miss is the nutrients that real food provides. That is the scary part. We don’t get any of the vitamins or minerals that keep us going. In order to function at a high level, we need so much more. With a fast food diet, we are barely getting by from day to day. Yet, we still do it.

One thing that has me even more upset is the marketing machine. Fast food is fast food. The burger and fries have always been the burger and fries. They don’t claim to be healthy. They don’t try to sell you on their health benefits or make you think they are good for you. They simply taste good and that is all they need.

There is a new wave of restaurants that is trying to tell you something different. You’ve heard the slogan “Eat Fresh”. You’ve seen calorie comparisons and comical views of people eating too much fast food and popping out of their close or breaking chairs. Who is showing this to you? The people that are making food that is no better. The people showing you this information simply want you to eat their unhealthy food rather than someone else’s unhealthy food.

A sub sandwich, while the calorie total may be slightly lower than a burger by volume is a misleading choice. The content of a sub can tell you more than just the total calories. Think about sodium and fat for starters. Often, they put cheese, sauces and fatty meats on the sub which gives you more than enough fat and sodium. They also use white bread, or “wheat” bread that is the same only a little darker. This doesn’t give you any satisfaction or nourishment. The additives and preservatives are another story altogether. Let’s just say that your body is either working really hard to break this stuff down, or it basically going right through you without you absorbing much.

Why do we eat this stuff? Well, it does look better than a burger. It has less fat and at least you can try to put more vegetables on it. Given the choice, I suppose it is the lesser of two evils, but the fact remains: fast food is evil.

With choices like this, how can we see it as anything else? You can choose between bad or worse. When it comes to making choices about what we eat, there should be something better. What happened to good? Oh yeah, there is also a restaurant telling us to “eat good” by going there. This is not even a better choice. It is just using the word good. When it comes to fast food, good has nothing to do with healthy.

The real problem is that food has nothing to do with health. When we go through our day, we are just getting by. The options that are right in front of us are the options we choose. The fast food companies know this, which is why they keep pounding the message home: eat more of this…please!

Just because it is convenient, doesn’t mean that it is easy in the long-run. Just because it is cheap, doesn’t mean that it won’t cost you in the long-run. No matter how good they say it is, make them prove it to you. Take a closer look at what you eat and remember that if you can get it in a drive-thru, it can’t be that good for you.

Sure, you can find options that may be a bit better. It may not be as bad, but remember what you are comparing it to. Fast food is fast food. There may be degrees of poor quality and unhealthy ingredients, but if you truly want to live healthy, this can’t be your idea of a healthy choice.

Is it better to eat a grilled chicken sub than a burger? Yes it is. Is it healthy to eat grilled chicken subs every day? Probably not. That is the real message here. Making a healthy choice is a good thing. The problem is that fast food has many of us fooled into thinking we are making healthy choices. What we are really doing is choosing the lesser of two evils. Guess what, we are still choosing an evil.