Fast food is the term that refers to food that is quickly prepared and that is served in specialty restaurants. Fast food refers to a high intake of red meat, saturated fat and concentrated sweets (meat-sweet diet), frequently associated with the western type diet. The most famous chains of fast food restaurants in the world are McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC.
The people who consume fast food consume more calories, lipids, saturated fat, salt, fizzy drinks, French fries, hamburgers, pizza and very little vitamin A, vitamin C, milk, fruits and vegetables, compared to those who do not eat fast food. The most frequent diseases related to the consumption of fast food are: obesity, increased insulin resistance (diabetes type II), metabolic syndrome, increased oxidative stress, cardiovascular risk, risk of stroke, eye changes, depression.
On the other hand, there is the concept of slow food. So when we ask, “what is slow food?” the answer is: real food. Slow food is just food as it is meant to be. The slowness is nothing more than a way to call attention to the fact that we have allowed the convenience of fast food to define our relationship with food. Food is not supposed to be fast. What we eat takes time to grow. It takes time to draw nourishment from the earth and sun. So it makes sense that it takes us time to source, prepare, and to eat food.
