Eating Fast Food Is Like Eating More Harmful Chemicals Than You Thought

If you are a fast food nut, then you had better rest assured that you get more exposed to phthalates than the average Jane.

Phthalates are a unique mix of industrial chemicals that are employed to make food packaging materials, tubing for dairy products, and sundry other items for producing fast food. Such chemicals can leach out of plastic food packaging and pollute processed food.

In this latest study  information was gathered from 8,877 participants, who were asked to record their diets for the past 24 hours, including fast food. Researchers examined their urinary samples.

They found that consumption of fast food inevitably led to exposure to phthalates.

"People who at the most fast food had phthalate levels that were as much as 40 percent higher," said Ami Zota, lead author of the new study and assistance professor of environmental and occupational health at Milken Institute SPH. "Our findings raise concerns because phthalates have been linked to a number of serious health problems in children and adults."

Moreover, these chemicals tended to leach out most from grain and meat items.

A larger field of research shows that they are found in a range of personal products, toys, perfume, and even food.

"People concerned about the issue can't go wrong by eating more fruits and vegetables and less fast food," Zota said. "A diet filled with whole foods offers a variety of health benefits that go far beyond the question of phthalates."

Phthalates can leach into fast food, causing health problems not only due to fat, but also due to the phthalates.

The findings were published in the April 2016 issue of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.