Fast food deserves a bad rap, with poster child McDonalds earning plenty of negative press. Sure they do their share of hurling us towards armageddon, (including baked apple pie propaganda that may have shortened my life) but the fast food giants wear a huge target, while so many others slide under the radar.
Example: heading straight to a nearby restaurant after working out, I ordered an avocado turkey burger for the protein. Healthy, right?
After finishing, it didn’t feel healthy so I looked it up. Wow. If you want to die prematurely, Smokey Bones’ avocado turkey burger has all the angles covered: tons of calories, saturated fats, and cholesterol—but the sodium in particular is off the charts: 223% daily value of sodium (5,340 mg) for the sandwich alone. Mcd’s would face public crucifixion, with nothing on their menu nearly half that amount—in fact ou’ll struggle to find anything at any fast food chain approaching half that. However these “healthy” items are also salt grenades: Tofu at PF Changs, flatbread at Olive Garden, Chili at Panera, California Pizza Kitchen, turkey burger at T.G.I Fridays… grilled chicken at Chili’s, shrimp salad at Applebee’s… you get the idea.
http://www.health.com/food/high-sodium-restaurant-meals
Yes fast food restaurants do horrible things—but at least we know about them.
Speaking of horrible things, they’ve managed make simple, good ol’ wax paper toxic. Apparently the inherently edible, organic nature of wax paper didn’t repel grease (or wasn’t cheap) enough, so the wrappers now have a coating that sheds chemicals onto the food. (Couldn’t resist, like I said it’s a big bullseye.)
But the food itself won’t necessarily kill you quicker than gorging yourself elsewhere. That guy in Supersize Me that’s eaten 25,000 big macs? Still going strong—he skips the fries and drink. And really, that’s most of the battle. Fried food, sugary drinks, and processed foods are killers whether at a family restaurant, upscale chain, or fine dining. At least we have some info in store aisles.
So what if you go to Burger King and get… a burger? Just pick up a couple tacos at the Bell? In the alternative, how many people go to Whole Foods—but after buying a few healthy things, reward themselves by mobbing the sweets? That dessert area isn’t gigantic due to lack of demand.
Sure I eat organic and healthy now, but when working in warehouses and assembly lines we needed high calories and had just thirty minutes to drive, order and eat (options = brown bag or fast food).
For all its faults, fast food’s got it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Regardless, it’s all part of me now.
