The Fried Side
Ordering french fries with lunch. The compounding physiological load of routine deep-fried sides.
Ordering a side of french fries with lunch is a standard option, a golden comfort to accompany a meal.
We do not think of a side of fries as a long-term physical cost. The portion is small, and the body adapts to the starch and salt in the moment.
But consuming two servings weekly from age 30 to 65 means processing eight hundred and two pounds of deep-fried potatoes.
The metabolic system processes every ounce. The body records the load quietly, decade by decade, until the baseline shifts in our fifties and sixties.
A side salad once a week, not french fries. 401 pounds of deep-fried potatoes avoided.
The meal was pleasant. The default setting of choosing it every week was just habit.