Eating takeout frequently is really harmful to your body! Learn these 4 tips to order takeout healthily

Nowadays, working people in the workplace almost all rely on takeout for their meals. A variety of food ordering software allows them to fill their stomachs without leaving home or cooking.

How popular is takeout? Let's look at some data:

According to the Statistical Report on the Development of Internet in China, as of December 2022, the number of online food delivery users in my country reached 521 million. According to iMedia Research, in the age distribution of consumers on China's food delivery platforms in 2022, 2.2% of consumers are under 20 years old, 37.3% of consumers are between 21 and 30 years old, 50.8% of consumers are between 31 and 40 years old, 6.9% of consumers are between 41 and 50 years old, and 2.8% of consumers are over 50 years old.

It can be seen that most people who often order takeout are office workers. But there are too many harms of eating takeout frequently. This article sorts out 5 harms, hoping to change your eating habits. Finally, it will also give some suggestions for those who have to eat takeout.

01

The body is destroyed by "microplastics"

Eating takeout is inevitably inseparable from plastic. Think about the takeout you bought, are they all served in plastic bags, plastic boxes or other plastic containers?

In this way, what you eat when you eat takeout is not only food, but also "microplastics" with a diameter of less than 5 mm.

Professor Kieran D. Cox of the University of Victoria in Canada and his team estimated that Americans consume between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles per person per year based on their diet (eating takeout, drinking coffee, bottled water, etc.) and the amount of microplastics they inhale. In terms of weight, each person consumes about 5 grams of microplastic per week, which is equivalent to the weight of a bank card. [1]

However, this study was mainly conducted on the American population, which may be somewhat different from the dietary habits of China . China has also conducted relevant research on the issue of ingesting microplastics through takeout. Researchers collected takeout containers of different materials from five cities in China, and combined the average abundance of microplastics in takeout containers with the frequency of ordering meals by white-collar workers in China to conclude that each person can ingest 12 to 203 pieces of microplastics through takeout containers per week. [2]

Some people may ask: "Will foreign objects eaten be naturally excreted with feces? Will plastics have an impact on our health?"

Microplastics that we eat are indeed partially excreted in the feces, but some of them will still exist in other organs and tissues of our body . Studies have found that there are an average of 20 microplastic particles in every 10 grams of human feces. Scientists have also found the presence of microplastics in human colon specimens and even placental tissue. Scientists from the Free University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands have also found the presence of microplastics in human blood for the first time. This shows that microplastics may flow through the body with blood and affect various organs! [3]

That is to say, microplastics that enter the blood may be excreted through kidney filtration or bile excretion, or they may be deposited in organs such as the liver and spleen through porous capillaries.

Don't underestimate these microplastics that are ingested into the body. They will affect the absorption of micronutrients; increase intestinal discomfort symptoms such as diarrhea, rectal bleeding and abdominal cramps; plastic particles can also puncture and rub organ walls and induce inflammation.

At present, there are still many unknowns about the impact of microplastics on human health, and more exploration is needed. However, there is no need to panic too much. Not all takeaway tableware has so many microplastic particles . The following article will provide you with precautions.

02

Easy to gain weight

Most takeouts are high in calories, and most people like to order spicy hotpot, fried chicken burgers, spicy hotpot and other heavy-tasting foods, which means that the calories in one meal are off the charts. In addition, office workers rarely exercise after meals and have to take a nap, so calories tend to accumulate, making it easier to gain weight.

In addition, many people like to eat rice with vegetables. If the merchant pours the vegetables directly on the rice, the rice and oil will be fully mixed together, which will make the rice taste more fragrant, but the fat intake will be more likely to exceed the standard.

Other studies have suggested that microplastics ingested from takeout meals may make you more likely to gain weight, because when fat is ingested together with microplastic particles, the bioavailability of fat increases, causing more fat to enter the blood . [4]

03

Induce cardiovascular disease

In order to cater to the tastes of most people, take-out food is generally high in oil, salt and sugar , which not only increases the risk of obesity, but also easily induces cardiovascular disease.

People often say that “salt is the king of all flavors.” Takeout food demonstrates this statement to the fullest. The amount of condiments such as salt and MSG used in restaurant dishes is relatively high. For example, a serving of egg fried rice may contain nearly 4 grams of salt. [5] It should be noted that the average daily salt intake of the general population is 5 grams, and the salt content of this serving of fried rice accounts for 80% of this.

Frequent takeout leads to increased sodium intake among residents who eat out, and a high-salt diet increases the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease and gastritis .

In addition, dishes such as fried chicken, fried mushrooms, fried dough sticks, sweet and sour pork, braised pork, and stir-fried pork are high in oil or sugar, which can also increase the bad cholesterol in the blood and thus increase the risk of dyslipidemia.

04

Increased risk of diabetes

In addition to high salt, takeout also has the problem of high sugar, and the staple food in takeout also accounts for a large proportion, and it is basically white rice. If you eat it all in accordance with the principle of "no waste", it will inevitably lead to excessive intake of staple food and too high a proportion of carbohydrates. If you eat a lot of refined rice and white flour in your diet and do not pay attention to the reasonable combination of other foods, you may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes .

A cohort study of the American population showed that the percentage of energy provided by carbohydrates was U-shapedly correlated with all-cause mortality. When the carbohydrate percentage was 50% to 55%, the mortality risk was the lowest, while carbohydrate percentages below 40% and above 70% were associated with a higher mortality risk. [7]

In other words: if you order takeout and find that the vegetables are not enough and you have to make up for it with rice, it may not only increase your risk of type 2 diabetes, but also increase your risk of death.

05
Increased risk of constipation

Takeaway meals with more food and less vegetables can also lead to insufficient dietary fiber intake . Dietary fiber absorbs water and swells, promotes gastrointestinal motility, and improves the balance of intestinal flora. If there is a lack of dietary fiber in the diet, the risk of constipation will increase.

06

4 ways to eat takeout healthily

Although we know that eating takeout is unhealthy, we have no choice but to eat it. So, how can we eat a little healthier? Here are 4 suggestions that you can try to arrange:

1. Pay attention to the combination of meat and vegetables

When ordering takeout, it is best to choose a combination of vegetables and meat, and write "less oil and less salt" in the notes to remind the merchant to use a lighter dish. At the same time, bring some easy-to-eat vegetables, such as cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and tomatoes, which can be eaten directly after washing, which is very convenient.

2. Avoid heavy-tasting dishes

Spicy hotpot, braised pork, stir-fried pork, sweet and sour pork, boiled pork slices, stir-fried pig intestines and other dishes are all heavy-tasting, so try not to order them, and try not to drink the soup of dishes with soup. If you order rice with toppings, it is best to ask the merchant to keep the food separate and not put them together.

3. Don’t eat too much staple food

The staple foods ordered for takeout are all in large portions. You can order one staple food for two colleagues, which is just right. You can also bring your own roasted sweet potatoes, boiled corn, oatmeal, or whole-wheat bread to replace part of the staple food and increase your intake of coarse grains.

4. Bring your own cutlery

Take-out boxes are basically made of plastic. Some are disposable foam lunch boxes (PS material), some are rectangular or round plastic boxes (mostly PP material), and some are directly made of plastic bags (commonly PE material).

Experiments conducted by Chinese researchers have shown that these common plastic containers will release flaky microplastics, with PS containers releasing the highest proportion of microplastics, while PP containers release about half of PS. This may be because PS materials have a loose structure and a rough surface, which can easily lead to an increase in microplastics in the container. [2]

Especially when using take-out bags or boxes to hold hot food, more microplastics will be released. For example, hot coffee, hot milk tea, hot takeout...

Therefore, for those who often eat takeout, it is necessary to bring your own tableware! Be sure to ask the merchants not to use PS plastic boxes for packaging, and pour the delivered takeout into your own tableware in time.

Finally, we need to remind everyone that "takeout people" are advised to supplement complex nutrients every other day, and when ordering food, they should choose larger and regular restaurants to ensure hygiene.

References:

[1] Cox KD, Covernton GA, Davies HL, Dower JF, Juanes F, Dudas SE. Human Consumption of Microplastics. Environ Sci Technol. 2019 Jun 18;53(12):7068-7074. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.9b01517. Epub 2019 Jun 5. Erratum in: Environ Sci Technol. 2020 Sep 1;54(17):10974. PMID: 31184127.

[2] Du F, Cai H, Zhang Q, Chen Q, Shi H. Microplastics in take-out food containers. J Hazard Mater. 2020 Nov 15;399:122969. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122969. Epub 2020 May 26. PMID: 32526446.

[3] Leslie HA, van Velzen MJM, Brandsma SH, Vethaak AD, Garcia-Vallejo JJ, Lamoree MH. Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood. Environ Int. 2022 May;163:107199. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107199. Epub 2022 Mar 24. PMID: 35367073.

[4] Talsness CE, Andrade AJ, Kuriyama SN, Taylor JA, vom Saal FS. Components of plastic: experimental studies in animals and relevance for human health. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2009 Jul 27;364(1526):2079-96. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0281. PMID: 19528057; PMCID: PMC2873015.

[5] Wang Xinjie. Nutritional analysis of online takeaway Chinese food in Zhejiang and food safety intervention measures[J]. Food Industry, 2018, 0(6): 24-25

[6] https://www.anginarex.com/blog/some-chinese-ready-meals-found-to-have-more-salt-than-11-bags-of-crisps/

[7] Seidelmann SB, Claggett B, Cheng S, Henglin M, Shah A, Steffen LM, Folsom AR, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Solomon SD. Dietary carbohydrate intake and mortality: a prospective cohort study and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health. 2018 Sep;3(9):e419-e428. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30135-X. Epub 2018 Aug 17. PMID: 30122560; PMCID: PMC6339822.

Author: Xue Qingxin, one of the first nutrition instructors of the National Health Commission, and a registered nutritionist in China

Reviewer: Zhang Na, Associate Researcher, Doctoral Supervisor, Peking University School of Public Health