McDonalds’; The Golden Arches; The American Icon. It’s a fast and easy pit stop when you’re on the road, in a rush, or just want a quick pick-me-up, but exactly what happens to your body after you eat McDonald’s? For example: a Big Mac.
In the first 10 minutes: Junk food triggers your brain’s reward system by releasing much more ‘feel-good’ chemicals, such as the neurotransmitter dopamine, which ignites feelings of pleasure. This process works in a similar way for drugs and contributes to the likelihood of compulsive eating.
After 20 minutes: Did you know that the Big Mac bun has high levels of high fructose corn syrup and sodium? Both ingredients are addictive and make your body crave more. These ingredients are also so harmful that they can cause obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
After 30 minutes: A Big Mac has 970 milligrams of sodium. This huge amount of salt can cause dehydration. A sodium overdose makes your heart work faster to pump blood through your veins. This causes high blood pressure and can ultimately lead to heart diseases and strokes.
After 40 minutes: Are you still feeling hungry after just having a Big Mac? This is because you have lost control over your blood sugar, making you crave even more fast food. The first time you consume a high calorie meal, your insulin response can bring down your glucose levels making you want to eat more.
After 60 minutes: Normally the body takes about 24-72 hours to digest food. However, hamburgers take a lot more time because they are greasier. It can take more than 3 days to fully digest a Big Mac. It takes approximately 51 days to digest trans-fats. The Big Mac contains 1.5 grams of trans fat. Studies have proved that trans fats can be linked to heart diseases, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
As you can see, a Big Mac can do a lot of harm to your body, and that’s just a Big Mac! Most will add on a large Coke and a side of fries with that order too…
Even though fast food is easy and convenient, the harm these foods can do to your body is not worth it in the long run.