Modern nutrition trends (2/2)

Modern nutrition trends (2/2): Convenience food and fast food in vogue?

In the first part of this short series of posts on modern food trends, we introduced you to convenience food last week. You can find the complete article
HERE >>

In a world where progress and speed – intentionally or unintentionally – guide our everyday lives, it is not surprising that this also affects our eating habits. Quick and easy food preparation is top of mind for many people, especially those in the Western world. We cover resulting nutrition trends in our series of articles. Today, we’re taking a look at fast food.

What is fast food?

The word fast food is derived from English and stands for fast(fast) food(food). These are “dishes […] characterized by standardization, fast service and low prices.” [1]

Examples of different fast food offerings include:

• Fast food restaurants with burgers, fries, etc.
• Snack stands with sausages, hot dogs, pizza, kebab, spring rolls, crepes, etc.
• Bakeries with sandwiches, donuts, cakes, etc.

From a nutritional point of view, frequent consumption of fast food dishes is not recommended, as they often have an unfavorable ratio of macronutrients (fats, proteins and carbohydrates). In addition, they usually contain too few essential micronutrients ( minerals, vitamins). Elmadfa & Leitzmann (2019) write: “The products often contain too much energy (especially for a snack), too much fat, too much (animal) protein, and too few carbohydrates. Furthermore, they usually contain high levels of table salt as well as additives, such as flavor enhancers, and only low levels of dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folic acid.” [2]

Of course, if fast food is eaten and used at those exact moments when it serves its purpose, it’s perfectly okay to resort to this quick meal option. However, this should only be the exception, because nutrition societies such as the German Nutrition Society (DGE) advocate a wholesome and balanced diet. [3] And we at Salzburger Getreidemühlen are also convinced that a wholesome diet is of great importance.

If you have any questions about this topic (Modern Nutrition Trends (2/2)) or any other nutrition-related area, feel free to email us at [email protected].

All the best and see you soon,

the team of the Salzburg grain mills

credentials

Elmadfa, Ibrahim & Claus Leitzmann. 2019. human nutrition. 6th, revised and updated edition. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, pp. 755-757

https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Fast_Food

[1] Elmadfa, Ibrahim & Claus Leitzmann. 2019. Human nutrition. 6th, revised and updated edition. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, p. 756

[2] Elmadfa, Ibrahim & Claus Leitzmann. 2019. Human nutrition. 6th, revised and updated edition. Stuttgart: Eugen Ulmer, p. 756

[3] https://www.dge.de/index.php?id=52

That was: Modern food trends (2/2): Fast food