In Defense of Fast Food

Another modern trend - healthy food should be expensive, not nutrients-dense and preferably exotic, or you would be eating like plebs who live on a dollar McD menu. --Galina L.

I don't try to jump over seven-foot hurdles, I look for one-foot hurdles I can step over. --Warren Buffett, pleb who eats at McDonald's

Despite all the talk about wild-caught v. farmed, grass-fed v. CAFO and the vilification of fast food, a lot of us plebs benefit simply from carbohydrate restriction. But even though diabetes and obesity are rampant, and carb restriction alone would help millions of people, the impression is out there that you need to eat in a very specific way, far beyond just watching the carbs. Following a low-carb diet is already a high hurdle for many people. If some people want or need to raise the bar for themselves, that's fine with me, but there's no need to turn low-carb into a hurdle that a lot of people can't jump over.

Organic produce and grass-fed or pastured animal products are ideal, but they're not required for controlling blood sugar, improving lipids, losing weight or making ketones. This is an important point for people without access to pristine food or the inclination to buy it. People on a budget, people living in dormitories or motels, people who travel or are exhausted or  can't cook due to a disability or just don't see what all the fuss is about shouldn't get the impression that they need to eat perfectly. 

If eating a bunless burger from a fast food joint is what fits into their lifestyle, and that's what gets their weight or diabetes in check and saves them from blindness or amputation, or saves them hundreds of dollars a month in medications (some of which cause serious side effects), how in the world is that not an epic win? 

And if we're being honest, the places that really ought to be considered no-man's land are bakeries, yogurt shops, and most Italian restaurants.