Fast Food - Should It Be Banned?

[Sean]

Aspartame makes the food taste better, hence making you want more of it. Maybe not in the same day or whatever, but it'll make you crave more. Haha, we all know what it feels like to eat something GOOD, and want more. ^^

Aspartame is the sugar substitute used in diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks, also packaged as equal table sweetener and/or nutrasweet. It in no way tastes nearly as good as sugar, and they don't exactly add it to the burgers and fries. The reason people "crave" fast food is because of a saying we all have as cooks... "fat equals flavor."

Flavors really come from one of three things... protein, salt, or fat, or a lovely mixture of all 3 known as a hamburger.


Edit:

foot-long subways or a large meal at lunch time.

I had a footlong Subway today... it contained less than a quarter of the calories in a McDonald's burger, and nearly no fat. The main reason being, I basically ate calorie and nutrient free lettuce stuffed with a bit of chicken between starches with some silly sugar based sauce.

It also left me hungry, go figure.

IIRC, fat contains 9 calories/gram, alcohol 7 calories/gram and protein and carbohydrates 4 calories/gram, but your body only uses protein for energy (calories) when necessary, as it uses the amino acids in proteins to build body tissue, and even a fat-free diet doesn't mean your body will lose fat, because your body has the ability to convert any excess alcohol, protein, and carbohydrates into fat, as well as convert any fat in your body into a simple carbohydrate and burn it as calories when needed.

[Furore]

Aspartame is the sugar substitute used in diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks, also packaged as equal table sweetener and/or nutrasweet. It in no way tastes nearly as good as sugar, and they don't exactly add it to the burgers and fries.

Aspartame is used in many products as an artificial sweetener and that's what could cause it to be so alarming. While a little bit won't harm you much as long as you're not allergic to it, too much has been shown to likely carry negative effects.

And some studies have linked it to brain tumours among other things. Might be nothing as other studies have reported otherwise, but I felt it worth a mention. Also of note is the original studies were thought to be influenced by those wanting it to be a legally usable substance, but if I get too into that I'll likely sound like one of those aspartame conspiracy theorists.

[Azuteor]

It's a shame that something so delicious can destroy you. I don't think that fast food should be banned since basically everyone eats them and will eventually crave for the greasy, fattening delicacies. I would recommend that fast food restaurants enforce moderation rather than continue putting out unhealthier foods at cheaper prices.

Btw, check this out to see why you're fat. The website puts out photos that we actually consume (ex. Pizza Burger With Bacon And Baked Beans). Disgusting, yes, but it kinda makes you hungry or feel your heart burning in hell. This is nothing compared to McDonalds and Burger King.

In supporting the opinions of both Govinda and Sean, I found a website that compares nutritional values of the salads from different fast food restaurants. They are not as healthy as these restaurants say they are.