Television and movies often push the stereotype of the disgusting cafeteria food menu. As a student, you know better. Some of the fabulous options you have include pizza, French fries, poutine, sandwiches, beef patties, chips, hot dogs, burgers, and a lot of other appetizing choices. With these selections, it could be very tempting to buy lunch every day, especially since it’s very convenient and leaves more space in your bag for other things. You probably already know a few friends who buy lunch every day. However, there are a few problems with daily visits to the cafeteria store:

It’s not that healthy

There may be a few tasty options at the cafeteria, but they won’t always promise to be healthy or even remotely good for you. Going to the cafeteria every day can be as bad as going for fast food on a daily basis. Fast food can take its toll on you. According to a 2011 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, people with regular diets who ate fast food for five days received a much lower score on tests of intelligence than they would have with their normal diet. The conclusion they came to was that fast food caused memory and learning problems in people who abused it. It also contains a lot of trans fats which tricks the brain into thinking that you haven’t eaten as much as you actually did; causes chemical changes that can lead to depression; and can cause blood sugar level changes that give you strange fast food cravings.

A much better option is to make your own lunch. Since you’re the one packing lunch, you’re also the one who controls what goes into it, which would (hopefully) include ingredients that aren’t going to slow you down both mentally and physically throughout the rest of the week. That’s not to say that you can’t have fast food at all, but with all things, it should be consumed in moderation.

It’s expensive

If you find that your pockets are a little lighter than you were expecting, it could be because of frequent visits to the cafeteria. In elementary and high school, the cost of school lunches can range from $3 to $6 dollars depending on where you live in North America. If you buy lunch every day during the five-day school week, you can spend as less as $15 a week and as much as $30 a week. Doesn’t sound too bad? After a month, you could be spending as much as $120 on lunch alone! That’s money that could go toward something much more interesting and fun.

All in all, it’s difficult to resist the cafeteria store with how handy it can be and how many options it can give you. If you can stick with the packable lunch, you can keep a clearer head and a fuller wallet.

Reference:

Smart Cooky: http://food.ndtv.com/lists/the-bad-the-worse-5-ways-junk-food-can-mess-with-your-brain-764392