I Always Loved Taco Bell, But These 6 Reasons Made Me Break Up With It

For many years, when I was deciding on which fast food restaurant to visit for the evening, Taco Bell would always be one of my top choices. There was something so great about going in for a Baja Breeze and a couple of hard-shelled tacos. However, over time, I'm starting to change my mind.

The more that I learn about Taco Bell, the more I feel like breaking up with it. We all know some of the downsides, like the fact that the restaurant wreaks havoc with your digestive system. There are other issues, like the sodium content of most of the menu items and the fact that some of their food can actually make you literally feel depressed. There's a lot to consider. Read this list, and you may change your mind, too.

As with many fast-food restaurants, the food at Taco Bell simply has too much sodium. A number of the items on the menu contain 2,300 milligrams of sodium. To put that in perspective, that's the most you should have in an entire day. Too much sodium can be very bad for you. Too much sodium can affect the blood and lead to high blood pressure, which can lead to death. Going overboard on sodium can also negatively impact your sleep, cause stomach cancer, and lead to obesity, among other issues.

Generally, the larger the item you have at Taco Bell, the more sodium will be involved. The breakfast Cruchwrap meals have a full day's sodium. Get a beefy 5-layer burrito and you'll be consuming 1,280 mg of sodium. Even sticking to only the nacho fries with cheese sauce will have you at about 770 mg of sodium. Then, if you pair that with just about anything else on the menu, you'll likely be at your day's quota.

They say you should not eat your feelings, and you certainly shouldn't eat them here. There's a reason why you shouldn't consume Taco Bell or any fast food on a regular basis. For starters, there are trans fats and heavy ingredients that may taste good at the time. However, when you finish the meal, you likely feel sluggish and overly full. Experience that every day, and you'll be feeling pretty bad. However, there's also a more scientific reason.

Yes, eating here often can lead to depression, and it's not just the fullness and becoming overweight. There are other factors at play. Many of the meats and cheeses include nitrates, food colorants, and preservatives. Many of them are inflammatory to the body and brain. Overdoing it can lead to a condition called neuroinflammation in the brain, which can lead to other mental health issues, including depression. Do yourself a favor and mix in a healthy meal.

Again, this is an issue that comes with many types of fast food, but you're not doing yourself any favors at Taco Bell when it comes to caloric consumption. You need to be careful of how much you eat every day. The typical end result is becoming overweight. Weighing too much can lead to other health conditions, including heart disease, cancer, and more.

So, how many calories are in the food? Let's take a look. The Bell Sauce alone has 210 calories per cup. The large nacho fries have 470 calories. A crunchy taco has 170 calories. The Doritos Cheese Gordita crunch has 500 calories. A black bean grilled cheese burrito has 690 calories. It may seem like some of these don't have too many calories. However, consider the fact that most people at Taco Bell get a meal that includes several items instead of just a single taco.

After eating at Taco Bell, you may sometimes feel full or sluggish, but that feeling won't last forever. Instead, you may find that you're hungry again soon after your meal. Part of that is blamed on how the food is made. Many of the meals don't include the fiber or nutrients that you need to remain full. As a result, the food moves quickly through the digestive system and is flushed out.

There are several issues with not feeling full after a large meal. For starters, you're paying money for the meal, and you're not getting much out of it. You're certainly not giving your body what it needs. The other issue is that if you're hungry again, you may go back for more, and it's a cycle that may never end. The result could be that you become overweight and experience health issues.

You may not immediately think of sugar when you think of Taco Bell, but rest assured that there's a lot of sugar in the meals. Drink a soda with your meal, and you'll be drinking a lot of sugar. Many of the food items have sugar as well. What are the risks of consuming too much sugar? Excess sugar turns into stored fat, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay, and acne. Plus, it can weaken your immune system, so you get sick more often.

Many of the items that you would expect are loaded with sugar. The Cinnabon Delights have 20 grams of sugar. Other savory items, like the Crunchwrap Supreme, have 6 grams of fat. However, the drinks are loaded with sugar. A Midnight Cherry Freeze has 34 grams of fat, the Mountain Dew Baja Blast has 51 grams of sugar, and the low-fat milk has 12 grams of fat. Just be cautious of the drink size you get. You don't need to get the largest size. You probably won't finish it anyway.

There are many menu items at Taco Bell that should be avoided. One of them, which is mentioned consistently on lists like this is the Doritos Locos Taco. These may seem like a fun novelty, but they're very unhealthy. The shells are loaded with unhealthy ingredients, like MSG. The shells also have various dyes, like yellow six, red, and five. Basically, you're adding a lot of bad things into your body just for a quick thrill of flavor.

Another of the menu items to avoid is the chicken quesadilla. In addition to having a lot of sodium and saturated fat, the ingredients are also very dangerous. This quesadilla includes dough conditioners. What is that, you ask? Dough conditioners are food additives that are meant to improve baking functionality. However, some experts say that dough conditioners can cause cancer and negatively impact the thyroid. It's not good, so you may want to avoid them.