During the “Pandemic” one thing that has grabbed the attention of many Americans is FOOD DELIVERY! No, not delivered groceries (that’s something entirely different) were talking today about delivered restaurant food – right to your doorstep thanks to the many “take out delivery apps.” Yes, many of you may even be using them now, but issue you a warning – BE CAREFUL WHAT FOOD YOU HAVE DELIVERED AND WHERE IT’S DELIVERED FROM! Most all of the restaurants associated with this convenient food de-livery are not healthy, organic, farm-to-table dining establishments.
We all generally understand that eating lots of meals out isn’t the best idea for your health (and your wallet). We know its expensive, but many of us are “ok” spending an extra $5.00 delivery and 5% commission fee for our food to be delivered – especially since many restaurants are not allowed to serve you directly (or at traditional capacity).
Did you know that you are more likely to overeat when having your meal delivered to your house than if you went to the same restaurant and even more so than when you’ve prepared your own food! Many restaurants still offer freebies such as chips and salsa, or bread with oil when delivering food. We also have seen a significant increase in entrée sizes since the pandemic began – perhaps because the restaurants want you to seethe value in ordering-in, so you will re-order from them again (as you have zero interaction with the owners and wait-staff now!)
Extra portion sizes and more food than you would normally eat in one sitting makes you think that you’re still consuming a serving, because that’s what you’ve been served, but the reality is that the portion sizes are tremendously greater than they ought to be, sometimes enough for 3-4 people! A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition claimed that individuals who have meals delivered up consuming an average of 200 more calories per meal than those that eat at home.
Dining at home with delivered take out for your meals is associated with a higher percentage of body fat and heavier weight than American adults who prepare foods at home. This is likely due to the convenience of eating at home as if you were dining out, the many options at our fingertips when we are scrolling through a digital menu and inability to see the food creates “portion distortion.” In addition, most of the restaurants do not list ingredients and you do not have a waiter to ask how the food is pre-pared, where the food came form, if the beef is grass-fed and/or the fish is wild caught. This leads to an increased concern for those who are seeking healthier options when dining in with delivered take-out foods.
Tremendous Exposure To Toxins When Food Is Delivered: Have you noticed that delivered take-out comes in plastic and/or paper containers. Plastic utensils and even “plastic-paper” napkins!
The problem – Phthalates -a class of synthetic chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, meaning they can affect hormones in the body. It’s suspected that foods in restaurants are coming in contact with the chemicals via plastic packaging, food handling gloves, food tubing, and other materials containing phthalate
Phthalates can stay in the body for 24-48 hours and based on your consumption pat-terns, you may be more at high risk dependent upon the quality of your diet and the types of food you have delivered.
Low Quality Food with Toxic Preparation Ingredients: Chances are the selection of restaurants on your “to go app” are not Farm-To-Table, Organic or locally sourced. This leads to low quality ingredients and highly toxic preparation ingredients (seasons, oils, etc.) Most restaurants are trying to make money – and this involves reducing their #1 expense – FOOD! Grain fed animal proteins and farm-raised fish are inexpensive and able to be portioned more than their healthier counterparts. Vegetable oils (peanut, olive & canola) are the most common oils used in the food industry and each are extremely dangerous for your health. Why do restaurants use them? They are inexpensive when compared to coconut and/or avocado – each are capable of being used at high heat in fryers!
A study from the University of Wurzburg in Germany evaluated the link between protein consumption and stroke risk – which discovered that the risk of strokes was 41% higher in those who consumed 3.3 ounces of corn fed red meat each day, compared to those who consumed an average of 1.7 ounces per day! A portion of red meat at a restaurant is typically 4-8 times larger than 3.3 ounces!! Do the math on that one!
Your Waist Line: It’s no secret that those who dine out or “dine in with take out” often find themselves gaining weight over time. One study found that people who eating out for 4 or more of their weekly meals were associated with a higher percentage of body fat and heavier weight than American adults who prepare foods at home. This is likely due every-thing mentioned combined with the fact that most Americans still believe that weight loss is an equation… calories in < calories out = weight loss.
This “calorie equation” has been disproven thousands of times, yet everyone thinks they can “work off” their excess weight by putting in hours at the gym. While you might lose 5-10lbs that way, you won’t be able to throttle the needle when you need to do 30, 40 or even 60+ lbs.
That level of weight loss requires an entire shift in your lifestyle – which includes a significant reduction of delivery food AND a mentality that your dining out should be restricted to approved restaurants (visitwww.AskDrErnst.com) for a complete dining guide and approve establishments that might be on your delivery apps (maybe)!