This Is What Happens In Your Body After You Eat A Big Mac
It’s high in sodium and calories and makes our blood sugar levels rise, so we feel a strong urge to consume more fast food
Many find fast food, like a Big Mac, delicious and very handy when there is no time to cook at home. Yet everyone knows that it is not healthy and that it is high in saturated fat, salt, and refined sugars, which can lead to overweight and obesity.
McDonalds advertises a Big Mac , which is said to consist of “100% best beef, lettuce, onions, pickles, cheddar cheese and the Big Mac sauce”. The company is at least promoting this product on its own website.
However, behind this irresistible burger, which is one of the world’s best-selling fast food products, hides a high proportion of saturated fat and calories that can be harmful to health, even immediately after a meal.
To educate all consumers of this popular McDonalds product, the FastFoodMenuPrice website has provided an infographic showing what happens in the body after consuming a Big Mac .
Attention! The effects can appear just a few minutes after consumption.
After 10 minutes you feel good: But …
A Big Mac with cheese and sauce has about 540 calories. The consequences are not long in coming: First, the blood sugar level rises enormously.
This activates “the reward system” in the brain and leads to the release of dopamine, better known as the happiness hormone.
This effect on the brain is similar to that of drugs. After eating you feel satisfied: “What a delicious hamburger”.
After 20 to 30 minutes: You want to eat more
This hamburger is high in corn syrup, which in turn is high in fructose. There is also a lot of salt. This combination triggers the desire to eat more after consumption.
Both substances are addictive, so the body craves more and becomes restless.
The Big Mac contains approximately 970 mg of salt. This amount can cause dehydration of the body and adversely affect kidney and heart functions.
Possible consequences: high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity.
After 40 minutes: The blood sugar level gets out of control
You probably still feel like eating more. After consuming the many calories, the blood sugar level gets out of control – this also means that the body craves more.
A Big Mac contains just over 25% of the recommended daily calorie intake for an adult. Consumption changes the function of the pancreas and reduces glucose. The result: even more desire for fast food.
In addition, the digestive tract absorbs the corn syrup, which, as already mentioned, is rich in fructose, very quickly and therefore leads to insulin spikes, which further promote the feeling of hunger.
From the 60th minute after the Big Mac: A slow digestion
Normally it takes the body 24 to 72 hours to digest food. However, because the Big Mac is excessively fat, this process becomes complicated and it takes more than three days to digest.
Depending on the diet of the person, it can take up to 51 days for the saturated fatty acids to be completely digested.
This high fat content increases the rate of heart disease, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
In Germany, the Big Mac has 26 grams of fat, which is roughly 38% of the recommended daily dose. Of this, 10 grams of saturated fatty acids are of animal origin, i.e. from cheese and beef.
Since this hamburger is lacking in nutrients but contains many harmful substances, it should only be consumed occasionally. Of course, it is even better to forego it altogether.
Regular consumption can have serious health consequences that manifest themselves immediately and over the long term.
