Whether canned soup or frozen pizza – ready meals regularly end up on many people’s plates. Because in the stressful everyday life, cooking is often neglected. But what does consumption actually do to our body? We explain what 5 things happen when you eat ready meals every day.
Ready meals are all meals that are already prepared and only have to be heated up after purchase – i.e. canned soup, stew, frozen pizza and Co. It is actually clear to everyone that it is healthiest to cook yourself with fresh ingredients. But ready meals can’t be that unhealthy. Or does it? In fact, industrially produced food can even pose a risk to your health. As a rule, the ready meals contain few vitamins and minerals, but large amounts of salt, fat, flavor enhancers and preservatives. In general, the longer a dish can be kept and the more processed it is, the more additives it contains. But what exactly happens in the body when we go to so-called convenience every day?
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Table of Contents
These 5 things happen when you eat ready meals every day
1. You gain weight
Since ready-made meals usually contain only a few vitamins and minerals, but lots of fat, salt, sugar and therefore calories, excessive consumption quickly makes itself felt on the scales. High salt and sugar consumption is associated, among other things, with an increased risk of obesity. The dangerous thing about ready meals: Our taste buds quickly get used to industrial food. Increased enjoyment means that we perceive the taste of the artificially produced food as normal and resort to it more and more often.
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2. Your cholesterol levels are rising
Many people have elevated blood lipid levels, which in turn promote the development of various diseases. Most ready meals are high in unhealthy saturated fats and trans fats, which increase the “bad” LDL cholesterol in the blood. If the LDL levels in the blood are too high, there is a risk that the cholesterol will be deposited in the vessel walls. As a result, the blood vessels are constricted and can eventually close completely.
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3. You take fewer vitamins
Whether vitamin C, E or A – vitamins are essential for a healthy body. A high consumption of fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of most diseases and has a positive effect on our weight. It is therefore particularly important to cover the daily vitamin requirement through nutrition. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends eating three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit every day. Ready meals usually contain only a few health-promoting nutrients – many vitamins are lost, especially when the products are preserved.
4. Ready meals increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
Both the trans fats contained in ready meals and the large amounts of salt are harmful to your health, as they promote the development of cardiovascular diseases. For example, according to the German Society for Nutrition (DGE), we should not consume more than 6 grams of salt a day. The reason? High salt consumption promotes high blood pressure and obesity, both of which are risk factors for diseases such as stroke or heart attack.
5. Ready meals promote heartburn
Do you often suffer from heartburn ? Then your diet could be the reason. For example, high-fat foods like ready meals can cause heartburn. This is because fats are digested more slowly and the stomach empties more slowly. Acid is also a cheap and effective preservative, which is why it is found in many ready meals.
