"Health from Food" Series | Is long-term takeout harmful to the body?

As the pace of life accelerates, many people do not have time to cook for themselves and often eat takeout. However, due to the lack of hygiene conditions in the processing sites of takeout food and the unguaranteed transportation conditions, eating takeout for a long time may cause certain harm to our bodies.

What are the possible dangers of eating takeout for a long time?

1. Harms of high oil and salt content: Take-out dishes are generally high in oil and salt, which can easily cause gastritis, constipation and other problems.

2. Food safety is not guaranteed: Some unscrupulous businesses use "gutter oil" or expired ingredients to reduce costs. These foods may contain carcinogens and microorganisms that cause gastrointestinal diseases, which are harmful to human health.

3. Hazards of disposable tableware: Poor-quality lunch boxes and chopsticks may contain harmful substances, such as calcium carbonate, talcum powder, industrial paraffin and waste plastics. Long-term use of these inferior lunch boxes can cause indigestion, body pain and other diseases. In severe cases, it may cause gallstones and heavy metal poisoning.

4. Non-standard delivery operations lead to cross contamination: During the delivery process, the delivery personnel are responsible for the integrity, hygiene, and safety of the takeaway food. However, some delivery personnel may not have received professional training or health examinations, which may lead to great food hygiene and safety risks. Secondary contamination is likely to occur during the delivery process. In order to improve delivery efficiency, many delivery personnel often put several portions of food into the delivery box at the same time. In the absence of food seals, the food may be cross-contaminated. In addition, some delivery boxes may not meet the food delivery safety standards, resulting in food contamination during delivery.

What diseases can be caused by eating takeout for a long time?

1. Gastroenteritis

People who often eat takeout are more likely to develop gastroenteritis. Especially in the hot summer, many foods are kept for a short time. If the takeout is not fresh, it is easy for bacteria to grow after eating, which increases the probability of gastroenteritis.

2. Nutritional Deficiency

Eating only takeout for a long time can easily lead to nutritional deficiencies. In order to save costs, many takeouts do not have a reasonable combination of meat and vegetables. If you eat these takeouts for a long time, the nutrients needed by the human body cannot be provided in time, which will lead to nutrient deficiencies and affect people's health.

3. Chronic diseases

Eating takeout frequently may cause changes in various indicators of the body. Most takeouts have a strong taste and high fat content. Eating takeout frequently may increase blood lipid and blood pressure levels, thereby inducing chronic diseases.

After knowing the above-mentioned hazards, will you still eat takeout frequently?

Author: Han Lu, Henan University of Science and Technology

**Audit expert: ** Wang Yao, Associate Professor of the School of Food and Bioengineering, Henan University of Science and Technology