[real-eyes] The Trans-Fattiest Foods in America 2009
- From: "Reginald George" <sgeorge@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:19:39 -0500
Now I'm sure you all are wondering, Why in the world would he be sending
this to our computer list? Well, the only excuse I have is that I had to
copy all this from about twelve different web pages in order to bring it
here to you for your enjoyment, so I figure that counts for something. For
those of us who might occasionally dream of the delusion of trying to lose
some weight this article scared the heck right out of me. I thought it was
very educational though. I got interested in the Eat This Not That books
from reading my Men's Health Magazine newsletter. The following round up
for 2009 comes from their newsletter and web site today.
Trans fatty acids are a form of dietary flab invented in the beginning of
the 20th century by food marketers looking for a cheaper, easier way to keep
baked goods fluffy and moist while they sat for days or weeks on the
supermarket shelf. On your grocery shelf, you'll find it under names like
"shortening" or "partially hydrogenated oil." In your local restaurant...
well, you won't find it listed at all, because restaurants in most parts of
the country aren't required to reveal it.
That's why we're here.
While nutritionists and researchers may disagree about how certain foods and
fats affect our overall cholesterol levels, one universal truth that
everyone can agree on is that trans fat is an ultimate evil lurking in our
food chain, proven time and again to lower healthy HDL cholesterol, raise
artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, and put us at increased risk for
cardiovascular disease. Several studies have found a correlation between
trans fat and Type-2 diabetes; a French study found a connection between
trans fat and breast cancer; and a 2003 study found a connection to
Alzheimer's disease. All of which explains why the National Academy of
Sciences recommends that people limit their intake of the harmful fat to no
more than 1 percent of daily energy intake (about 2 grams tops, although
zero sounds better to us). But even that's a compromise, since the Academy
acknowledges there's no "safe" amount. In fact, this artificial fat is so
hazardous that in 2007 the New York City Department of Health banned its use
in restaurants.
Protect your heart-avoid these ticker-harming fat blasts at all costs.
Trans Fattiest Supermarket Snack in America 2009
Pop-Secret Kettle Corn (4 cups popped)
6 g trans fat
180 calories
13 g fat (3 g saturated)
150 mg sodium
The only secret here is that the popcorn purveyor uses partially
hydrogenated oil to pop their kernels, turning a reasonable snack into a
nutritional nightmare of heart-wrenching proportions. This box has 3 bags of
popcorn, which means every time you buy it, you're bringing 54 grams of
dangerous trans fat into your house. There's not an easier-or more
important-swap to make.
Eat This Instead!
Orville Redenbacher's Smart Pop! Kettle Korn
130 calories
2.5 g fat (0.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
370 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Breakfast in America 2009
Bob Evans Stacked & Stuffed Caramel Banana Pecan Hotcakes
9 g trans fat
1,543 calories
77 g fat (26 g saturated)
109 g sugars
2,259 mg sodium
These problematic pancakes keep popping up on our worst lists for a reason:
They have more calories, sugar, carbs, sodium, and fat than nearly any other
breakfast in America. Add to that list 4 ½ days' worth of trans fat and you
begin to wonder why Bob Evans doesn't make you sign a waiver before applying
the syrup. When ordering from Bob's breakfast menu, stick with items labeled
"Fit from the Farm"-aside from scrambled eggs or a plain bowl of oatmeal,
they're the only healthy breakfast foods Bob Evans offers.
Eat This Instead!
Fit From the Farm Breakfast with a Parfait
371 calories
12 g fat (3 g saturated, 0 g trans)
707 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Burger in America 2009
Denny's Double Cheeseburger
7 g trans fat
1,540 calories
116 g fat (52 g saturated)
3,880 mg sodium
There's nothing redeeming about this atrocious cheeseburger-stacked between
2 buns is nearly three times your daily limit of trans fat, three-quarters
of the calories you should consume in 1 day, and the sodium equivalent of
118 saltine crackers. H, and did we mention the 59 bacon strips' worth of
saturated fat? Aside from the Fit Fare Boca, you're not going to find a
reasonable burger on the Denny's menu, so it's either this or a grilled
chicken sandwich.
Eat This Instead!
Top Sirloin Steak & Shrimp Skewers with Mixed Vegetables
370 calories
12 g fat (3.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
820 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Cold Treat in America 2009
Dairy Queen Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard (large)
6.5 g trans fat
1,440 calories
67 g fat (33 g saturated)
165 g sugars
Not a single Blizzard, shake, or malt at Dairy Queen comes without trans
fat-which is ridiculous, because most other ice cream and smoothie places
manage to leave it out of their products. This Chocolate Xtreme Blizzard is
terrifying on every nutritional level: It's the sugar equivalent of 6 packs
of peanut M&Ms, the caloric equivalent of nearly 6 McDonald's hamburgers,
and more than three times your daily limit of trans fat. Seek out relative
safety in DQ's line of soft serve sundaes.
Eat This Instead!
Hot Fudge Sundae (small)
300 calories
10 g fat (7 g saturated, 0 g trans)
37 g sugars
Trans-Fattiest Dessert in America 2009
Bob Evans NSA Apple Pie
13 g trans fat
491 calories
30 g fat (5 g saturated)
19 g sugars
It feels like just looking at Bob Evans's dessert menu will raise your LDL.
More than 75 percent of the sweet stuff contains trans fat, with a full 7
desserts containing 7 grams or more of the troublesome lipid. Clearly Bob's
bakers haven't found a way to make piecrust without shortening, despite the
fact that the rest of the world figured it out long ago (here's a tip, guys:
good old-fashioned butter). Until they get a grip on their penchant for
partially hydrogenated fats, your only viable option for a meal capper is a
simple, unadorned scoop of vanilla ice cream-the à la mode minus the pie.
Eat This Instead!
Vanilla Ice Cream
116 calories
6 g fat (4 g saturated, 0 g trans)
11 g sugars
Trans-Fattiest Food in America 2009
Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
13 g trans fat
760 calories
52 g fat (16 g saturated)
960 mg sodium
It's no surprise this side dish is bursting with fat and calories-it's a
plate of fried potatoes topped with bacon and melted cheese. To be fair, Bob
Evans also offers 2 items with 13 grams of heart-hammering trans fat (Slow
Roasted Chicken Pot Pie and the NSA Apple Pie)-but Jack's is so thoroughly
swaddled in the junk that they truly have earned the bottom slot, and the
troubling title of Trans-Fattiest Restaurant in America. The good news is
that not all of Jack's items are filled with the bad stuff-a smarter
appetizer or side dish would be the Grilled Chicken Pita Snack.
Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Pita Snack
310 calories
13 g fat (3 g saturated, 0 g trans)
640 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Mexican Food in America 2009
Baja Fresh Charbroiled Steak Nachos
4.5 g trans fat
2,120 calories
118 g fat (44 g saturated)
2,990 mg sodium
All Baja Fresh nachos come served with heaping piles of Jack and cheddar
cheeses, beans, pico de gallo, your choice of meat, and a complete overload
of trans fat. Even if you share this plate of nachos 4 ways, you'll each
still consume more than your daily allowance of trans fat and more than 500
calories-that's as much as a reasonable sandwich should offer. And whoever
heard of having a sandwich before your meal?
Eat This Instead!
Grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos (2)
460 calories
18 g fat (3 g saturated, 0 g trans)
600 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Salad in America 2009
Jack in the Box Chicken Club Salad with Crispy Chicken Strips, Bacon Ranch
Dressing, and Gourmet Croutons
4.5 g trans fat
840 calories
58 g fat (15 g saturated)
1,980 mg sodium
You know you deserve the dubious distinction of Trans-Fattiest Restaurant in
America when even your salads come layered with more than 2 days' worth of
the stuff. It all really comes down to one major factor: frying oil. Jack's
is one of the last chain restaurants in the country to still be frying in
partially hydrogenated oil, which means anything that touches the fryer will
emerge soaking in trans fat. Until they do what nearly everyone else has
already done and switch over to a trans-fat-free oil, stay away from the
beige food.
Eat This Instead!
Asian Chicken Salad with Grilled Chicken
160 calories
1.5 g fat (0 g saturated, 0 g trans)
380 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Sandwich in America 2009
Boston Market Classic Chicken Salad Sandwich
5 g trans fat
800 calories
41 g fat (7 g saturated)
1,900 mg sodium
Chicken and tuna salad sandwiches might not be the models of health some
purport them to be, but even we were surprised to see how bad this Boston
Market sandwich really is. Where do they possibly find the room to cram 2 ½
days' worth of trans fat into chicken, mayonnaise, lettuce, and bread? The
answer lies somewhere in the murky ingredient list, which, as with too many
of their dishes, runs at more than 40 items long. Boston Market has a swath
of solid entrees-from rotisserie chicken to slices of sirloin-and healthy
sides on their menu. Get a sandwich stacked with lean which meat, minus the
trans fat, with Boston Market's line of open-faced sandwiches.
Eat This Instead!
Rotisserie Turkey Open-Faced Sandwich
330 calories
6 g fat (1.5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,480 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Soup in America 2009
Schlotzky's Wisconsin Cheese Soup Bowl
5 g trans fat
460 calories
33 g fat (14 g saturated)
1,821 mg sodium
Schlotzky's web site proudly claims "our soups are made with the highest
quality ingredients and freshly cooked every day for optimum flavor." In the
Bizzaro World of fast-food marketing, "high quality" translates into nearly
a day's worth of sodium and twice your daily limit of trans fat. This dish
has the dubious distinction of being one of the only soups we've ever seen
with a significant trans-fat load. Even if you switched from the oversized
bowl to a cup, you'd still take in 4 grams of the stuff. Our suspicion is
that a decidedly low-quality cheese is to blame. Cheese has fat, of course,
but only the cheap imitation stuff contains partially hydrogenated oil.
Eat This Instead!
Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup Cup
109 calories
5 g fat (2 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,029 mg sodium
Trans-Fattiest Seafood in America 2009
Long John Silver's Breaded Clam Strips
7 g trans fat
320 calories
19 g fat (4.5 g saturated)
1,190 mg sodium
The word that should have set you off was "breaded"-it implies fried in
oils, and in this case, those oils are packed with heart-harming trans fat.
Who wants to order fried seafood through a squawk box anyway/ Luckily, Long
John also serves up a number of dishes that will boost good cholesterol,
none better than the simple grilled fillet of salmon.
Eat This Instead!
Grilled Pacific Salmon
150 calories
5 g fat (1 g saturated, 0 g trans)
440 mg sodium
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