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Are microwave meals really healthier than fast food?

The modern day busy life leaves very little time for anybody to cook their own food at home. Most of us have to resort to eating outside. While restaurants are great, they are expensive and take too much time. The fast food centers have been able to fill in this gap by providing great tasting foods within minutes.

However, many researches have shown that these fast foods are not a healthy eating option. With the advent of microwave foods, some of us have switched to these foods rather than fast foods.

They are equally quick in terms of preparation and hence are great alternative. But the question still looms around: Are microwave foods any better than fast foods?

The question of “better” is best answered if we can determine “better” in what sense? This article will look at two vital aspects of any food that we consume.

Is it healthy for daily consumption?
Does it have all the essential nutrients that we need for our day-to-day life?

The big difference between the two questions is that there are some essential nutrients (like vitamins, minerals, anti oxidants, etc) that we all need in our diet; depending on our eating habits we may or may not be getting sufficient quantities of these.

Secondly, there are things that are present in almost everything that we eat (like carbs, fats, proteins, etc). But we must eat these in moderation. Excess fat for example is not good for our health.

The first question helps us understand if we are over eating some thing and the second look at are we depriving our body of some things.

Fast foods are storehouses of saturated fats and this is common knowledge. If we make it a habit of resorting to fast food daily, we can suffer from many diseases related to over consumption.

With microwave foods though, this is not true. The microwave meals are typically traditional foods - which we have been having for generations – with added preservatives that are frozen for future consumptions.

Typically, these have acceptable quantities of salt and fat so are healthy to eat. In most cases the total sodium in these foods is well below the minimum quantities required by the body. Thus, in this regard the microwave foods are better alternative to fast foods.

On the second question, we must understand that most essential nutrients are derived from vegetables and fruits. Hence, this question pertain mainly to do we get enough vegetables in our meals.

With fast foods, typically it is known that vegetables are scarce. Besides, most people prefer their fast foods with just buns and meat and no or minimal vegetables. Thus fast foods do not provide the essential nutrients.

With microwave foods, small quantities of vegetables are always present. So invariably we do eat some nutrients with microwave foods, but these are not sufficient. We must consume a lot more vegetables to get necessary quantities of nutrients. Thus, with regards to the second question, microwave foods are marginally better than fast foods.

In conclusion, the microwave meals are better than fast foods in terms of daily consumption. However, they are not the best option. You would still need to supplement your microwave foods with more vegetables and fruits. The biggest advantage with microwave foods is that you can control your meals better, as unlike fast food you do not rely on a pre-determined template to get your meal.

Microwave Meals

Are microwave meals really healthier than fast food?

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