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Is there a link between eating fast food and dementia? Yes, say researchers from Australia. Accordingly, brain function can be significantly impaired by an unhealthy diet.

People would “eat their brains out” with fast food

The scientists at the Australian National University put forward the thesis that people who eat unhealthy food and do not exercise enough “the brain

The researchers presented the worrying results in the journal Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. The Australian scientists evaluated around 200 international studies. They found that a person’s diet increases their likelihood of developing cognitive dysfunction.

Impaired brain function due to type 2 diabetes

Impaired brain function can result from type 2 diabetes, which is also triggered by fast food. However, there is also a direct connection between the performance of the brain and the diet – so the brain is damaged even without diabetes. ‘We found a clear link between brain deterioration and unhealthy lifestyle choices,’ the scientists explain.

Unhealthy Diet: Damage is irreversible

According to the researchers, anyone who had an unhealthy diet and exercised little up to their middle age can no longer reverse this damage – it is therefore irreversible. That’s why the Australians want to encourage people to think more about a healthy lifestyle and implement it as early as possible. This can protect you from dementia.

The tactic is common among people trying to lose weight: starve during the day and eat at night. Not a good idea, says nutritionist Holger Klemm. He reveals how to do it better and how to ensure that the “candy tsunami” doesn’t even roll in the evening.

Starvation diet has the opposite effect

At the latest with this tip, most people who want to lose weight rebel. They torment themselves with a meager fasting diet during the day and then hear from me that their metabolism would actually be really happy if it got a little more food. Instead, the starvation diet that many are struggling with conveys a very different message. With this behavior they put their bodies on the alert and signal: There is a shortage of food!

The metabolism is drastically slowed down and fat burning slows down. A rude awakening in the evening when the body finally gets energy supplies: practically every calorie consumed ends up in the fat depot.

How Many Meals Should You Eat Daily? There are many different recommendations: three, five or eight? Several smaller meals are better because you’re less hungry throughout the day. The blood sugar level remains constant – and the choice of food is simply more varied. My tip: Eat a low-carbohydrate diet with high-quality protein and healthy fats. Five meals a day are ideal – provided you exercise regularly.

Five meals

Five meals every three hours show the body that it is getting energy on a regular basis. So there is no pressing reason for him to store fat. This regularity also brings structure back to our eating habits. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, with two snacks in between. Eat every three hours, even if you don’t feel directly hungry. After some time, your metabolism will automatically become more active and adjust to your new rate.

Avoid cravings

Regular small meals not only boost your metabolism, but also avoid the infamous food cravings. Hypoglycaemia and thus an uncontrolled “candy tsunami” in the evening is unlikely if you eat regularly. The blood sugar level remains relatively constant and the fattening hormone insulin is put in its place. Due to the more frequent meals during the day, it is necessary that you make the main meals smaller than usual so that your total energy intake does not exceed the required level.

The conclusion

Conclusion: Starving during the day to be able to eat what you want for dinner is not a good idea and can lead to health problems and obesity. The body senses some kind of threat and switches over because it doesn’t get enough energy during the day. Especially during the day, when we have to be efficient, we need high-quality nutrients and vital substances from food. My tip: Eat regularly and in moderation – not in bulk – and you will gradually become slimmer. Guaranteed!

Healthy fast food sounds ideal: It’s quick and easy and still healthy. Unfortunately, the latter rarely applies – instead, fast food usually contains many calories and few nutrients. But there are exceptions.

“Fast food” – that means first of all “fast food”. This rather vague term has a wide variety of associations:

Fast food is food that can be prepared quickly and easily – partly because it is produced in large companies using standardized processes.
Accordingly, as a customer in the snack bar, you never have to wait long for your fries or currywurst – and you don’t have to pay a lot either.
Fast food is also “fast” because it is usually eaten quickly.
A wide variety of meals fit into this broad field. French fries, burgers, doner kebabs and currywurst are typical fast food, but you can also call sandwiches or cakes from the bakery and ready-made meals from the supermarket fast food.

With many fast food dishes it is quite obvious that they are unhealthy. But what about supposedly healthy fast food such as packaged salads? We take a closer look at the different cases.

This is why typical fast food is not healthy

Few believe that fast food classics are healthy. Dishes such as burgers and fries are characterized above all by the fact that they have a high energy density. This means that there are few nutrients for many calories. Instead, typical fast food dishes primarily contain:

simple carbohydrates that get into the blood quickly and can cause cravings.
a lot of fat, including many saturated fatty acids and various trans fats, which are said to increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, among other things.
a lot of salt and sugar – both of which are also considered unhealthy in large quantities.
Additives, thanks to which the product has a longer shelf life, tastes better and is easier to manufacture.
In addition, residues of harmful substances are often found in processed food. For example, Öko-Test tested various chicken nuggets and found multi-resistant germs and mineral oil residues in many products.

Because fast food is so diverse, it’s hard to say exactly how healthy or unhealthy it is. Hardly anyone eats fast food in such quantities as Morgan Spurlock in the shocking film “Supersize Me” and suffers obvious health damage as a result. As a review explains, studies nevertheless come to the overall conclusion that the above-mentioned unfavorable nutrient composition increases the risk of numerous lifestyle diseases.

Incidentally, this is also due to the substances of which fast food contains too little: vitamins, minerals, trace elements and other important micronutrients. On the one hand, the basic ingredients already contain small amounts, on the other hand, many of these nutrients are lost in the processing.

According to a study, eating too much fast food can cause nutritional deficiencies that are detrimental to the body and mind. Another study suggests that frequent consumption of fast food increases the risk of depression, as fast food tends to be high in pro-inflammatory compounds.

Fast food: How to make the healthier choice

As I said, not all fast food is equally unhealthy. Here are a few general tips on how to choose healthy fast food:

Organic ready meals contain ingredients of organic quality – and therefore less chemical pesticide residues.
The sandwich from the baker is more filling if it is made from wholemeal flour.
Look out for Asian snack bars that work without the flavor enhancer glutamate.
In the meantime, there are also many shops that offer high-quality variants of classic fast food such as burgers or fries. However, it is then no longer necessarily fast food – many burger restaurants have discovered the Slow Food movement for themselves.

Tip: Many fast food dishes contain cheap meat from factory farming. For the sake of the animals, choose a vegan burger or a kebab with falafel or fried vegetables and lots of salad instead of a burger with a meat patty.

Do you lack time and ideas for vegetarian or vegan cooking in your stressful everyday life? We have great ideas for quick vegetarian dishes and vegan recipes that are quick to prepare. So you can conjure up great dishes without much effort.

Vegetarian and vegan diet

Vegetarian and vegan diets are becoming more and more popular. And not just because of the need for more animal welfare. The many positive aspects of health also cause many people to eat less or no meat at all. Therefore, recipes for quick meals that are vegetarian or vegan are in high demand these days. Because the stressful everyday life absorbs most people very much. In the evening or in between there is little motivation for healthy, delicious food.

Fast vegetarian dishes

The vegetarian dishes presented below require little effort, only a few cooking utensils, and therefore ensure little washing up. There should be something for every taste. And vegan minced meat alternatives can also complement the dishes and effectively replace meat dishes.

1) Quick Gnocchi Mozzarella Casserole

If you want to go fast again, you can make a delicious gnocchi mozzarella casserole. Because this is a quick vegetarian dish that can be prepared without much effort. For this, you need the following ingredients: gnocchi, mozzarella, tomato passata, and spices. Also, note our recipe for gratinated aubergine casserole.

  1. First, boil the gnocchi in salted water, then drain them.
  2. Then put them in a casserole dish and cover them with the tomato passata.
  3. Then you can sprinkle spices (oregano, basil, or rosemary) on top if you like.
  4. Then cut the mozzarella into slices and cover the casserole with it.
  5. Finally, bake everything in the oven at approx. 150°C until the mozzarella has spread sufficiently.

2) Spaghetti Aglio as a quick vegetarian dish

The classic from Italy is an insider tip in many ways. Because it costs very little and it can be cooked in a short time without much effort. So all you need is spaghetti, garlic, pepperoni, salt, olive oil, and parmesan. Also, try the spicy vegetarian potato gratin.

  1. Depending on your preference, cut two to five cloves of garlic into thin slices.
  2. Then wash, halve, deseed the peppers, and cut them into strips.
  3. Now bring the water to a boil with plenty of salt and let the spaghetti cook for 10-15 minutes.
  4. Then drain the pasta, rinse with cold water and drain well.
  5. Then rinse the saucepan and put it back on the stove. Then fill with olive oil so that the bottom is generously covered. Heat on medium-high so the olive oil doesn’t burn.
  6. Then add the garlic and pepperoni and sauté lightly.
  7. Finally, add the drained spaghetti to the pot and stir well.
  8. Best served with grated Parmesan.

3) Vegetarian salads for a quick healthy meal

Salads are usually very healthy and quick to prepare, so they’re perfect as a quick healthy meal for lunch or dinner. For example, you can prepare a delicious beetroot salad with feta cheese. So you need the following ingredients:

  • 3 beets with greens,
  • 1 onion,
  • 100g feta cheese,
  • blackcurrants,
  • 1 clove of garlic and flat-leaf parsley,
  • 1 tsp mustard, 3 tbsp raspberry vinegar, 5 tbsp olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Then you have to clean the beetroot really well, wrap it in aluminum foil and bake it in the preheated oven for an hour. Wash and dry the lettuce. For the dressing, mix together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Then cut the onion into fine rings. Then remove the beetroot from the oven, cut it into thick slices and place the salad on the plate, followed by the beetroot, then the onions, the dressing, and finally the cheese. Finally, add the currants and some parsley, and done.

Fast vegan dishes

If you want to go one step further and eat vegan, you can try the following vegan recipes for a quick meal. In addition, you should note that with a vegan diet you get all the important vitamins and minerals for your body.

1) Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Spinach

A very quick and healthy dish is spaghetti with spinach. For this, cook the spaghetti of your choice in salted water. While this is cooking, you can wash the spinach leaves and drain them well. Then chop an onion and a clove of garlic, which you then sauté in the pan. Then add the spinach and let it cook until it wilts. Finally, add some soy or oat cream and season with salt, pepper, and a little nutmeg. And you can serve the whole thing with the pasta.

2) Fast tofu chili vegan

The meatless chili variant is ideal for the barbecue party. Read more ideas for vegetarian grilling. So you will need tofu, onions, red beans, corn, peppers, tomato passata, salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder or chili peppers, and oil for frying. And if you like, you can serve it with rice or the superfood quinoa.

  1. First, wash and cut the peppers (if necessary also chili peppers).
  2. Then chop onions and fry them in oil and grated tofu.
  3. Then add the peppers, the red beans, and the corn.
  4. Stir the ingredients well and then add the crushed tomatoes.
  5. Then add the spices and heat for several minutes, stirring frequently.
  6. Ideally, the chili should be allowed to stand on the exposed but still hot stove for a few minutes before serving.

3) Vegan Chickpea Curry

A delicious vegan recipe is chickpea curry. Because chickpeas are as rich as well-known and healthy superfoods. It provides you with plenty of proteins and vitamins. To prepare the vegan recipe you need the following ingredients:

  1. 2 cans of chickpeas
  2. 2 onions
  3. 1 clove of garlic
  4. 300 g frozen peas
  5. 1 red chili pepper
  6. 1 tsp red curry paste
  7. 2 tablespoons oil
  8. 1 can of tomatoes
  9. 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk
  10. salt and ground cumin

First, you need to wash the chickpeas and let them dry. Then cut the onions and garlic into small cubes. You can cut the chili into rings. Then fry these three ingredients in the pot and stir in the curry paste. Then add the tomatoes, chickpeas, and coconut milk and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes. Then add the frozen peas and cook for another 3 minutes. Then season the curry with spices and serve with rice.