A Taco Bell employee delivers an order to a customer at the drive-up window of the restaurant on March 31, 2020 in Hollywood, Florida.
Midnight cravings will sometimes give you the urge to come out of your house and drive, searching for the nearest fast-food chain like Taco Bell. Eating their food items just gives you satisfaction and ease away the jungles in your stomach without knowing that Taco Bell's menu has effects that occur in your body.
With their comforting food items and delicious taste, there might nights when your taste buds look for that distinct Mexican flavor.
But because they are still fast-food, you might be taking so much sodium, sugar in some of their menu, and of course, preservatives. To know more about what it does to your body, here are the ugly side effects of eating Taco Bell.
Read also: This is Not a Drill! Taco Bell Permanently Brings Back Potatoes in Their Menu
Still Feel Hungry
Taco Bell's signature menu items feature their meat. However, Eat This Not That shares that the classic burrito and few tacos will not satisfy you because of the lack of fiber you are consuming. According to Better Health, the fiber adds bulk inside the stomach because they are non-digestible. They absorb water, acting like a sponge. They add that it also slows down the rate of digestion, making you feel fuller for a longer period.
Cognitive Impairment
You see the meat you eat whenever you take a bit on your taco. Those are filled with trans fats, added sugars. They are also processed, according to a study published in Science Direct entitled Saturated and Trans Fats and Dementia: A Systematic Review, that higher consumption of saturated or trans fats has a relationship with an increased risk of dementia, AD, and MCI, along with the greater degree of cognitive decline.
Meanwhile, registered nutritionist Jay Cowin shares with Eat This Not that brain inflammation and insulin resistance are caused by saturated acids implicated in cognitive deficits.
Heart Disease
The saturated fats in the food items you eat from Taco Bell will cause cognitive decline and affect your heart health. According to Medline Plus, saturated fats raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, which heightens your risk of heart disease.
In an interview with Eat This Not That, Lisa young, Ph.D., RDN, shares that most of the food items in Taco Bell are fried, oversized, cheesy, or made with beef combo rich in saturated fats and calories that can also cause obesity.
Depression
According to Science Alert, Nitrate cured meats like jerky and bacon have been linked to extensive periods of hyperactivity, insomnia, and attention loss in people experiencing manic episodes. They add that episodes of these incidents can coincide with depression. Uma Naidoo, MD shares with Eat This Not That, that Nitrates in preserved meats and cheeses worsens the depression itself.
Stroke
Eat This Not That notes that eating taco bell is connected to a higher risk of developing a stroke. Cowin shares that the high level of LDL (bad) Cholesterol can also cause a stroke. Cowin adds that saturated fats should not go higher than 10 percent of an individual's daily calories.
Treating yourself by eating Taco Bell is okay but taking them excessively will stir up effects in your body, which is not desirable in the first place. Still, moderation is needed in eating foods to promote your health.
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