The modern pace of life dictates its own rules, and food delivery has firmly entered the daily routine of millions of people. For busy professionals, this is a real opportunity to save precious hours and energy after a hard working day, avoiding tedious cooking. Nevertheless, there are still many disputes and myths surrounding takeout food and delivery services, the main one being that purchased dishes allegedly automatically harm the figure and health, yielding to homemade food in all respects.
The impact of delivery on diet and hidden calories
Renowned nutritionist Yulia Dragulova, in her commentary for the specialized publication Wave, explained whether one should really fear delivery services and completely switch to home cooking. In her authoritative opinion, food delivery in itself does not make the diet worse or more dangerous. The key role is played by the mindfulness of the choice, the composition of the dishes, and the regularity of such orders. When we cook at home, we can fully control the grammage, the amount of salt, sugar, and use a minimum amount of vegetable oil. In restaurants and delivery services, chefs often add more fats and sauces to enhance flavor, which is why a seemingly harmless dish can turn out to be significantly more caloric than it looks at first glance.
How to correctly place an order and balance portions
However, the expert emphasizes that there is no need to completely abandon convenient services. The main thing is to learn how to competently form your diet and choose items on the menu. An ideal order should be built on the principle of a healthy plate: a quality source of protein must be supplemented with a portion of fresh or stewed vegetables, as well as complex carbohydrates such as whole grains or baked potatoes. At the same time, heavy sauces, dressings, and sweet drinks are not at all mandatory for purchase. Special attention should be paid to portion sizes. A large plate from a restaurant does not at all mean that its contents must be eaten in one sitting — leftovers can safely be left for the next meal.
Contradictory data
In the expert community, there are various opinions regarding the impact of ready-made food on metabolism and eating habits. On the one hand, proponents of strict home cooking argue that restaurant food contains hidden trans fats, flavor enhancers, and an excess of sodium that cannot be fully tracked. On the other hand, modern practicing nutritionists and eating behavior researchers insist that excessive demonization of delivery leads to the development of anxiety in consumers and exhausting calorie counting. In their opinion, the diet should be assessed comprehensively over the entire week, rather than by a separate meal, so moderate use of delivery does not harm health provided the overall menu is diverse.
