Consumerist
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fast food
Americans Love Burgers. A Lot.
Apparently burgers are recession-proof. In fact, according to a recent survey cited by the Boston Globe, "It may be one area of food service where [consumers] are less willing to cut back, despite the current economic environment." We didn't know there was a shortage of burger options in the U.S., to be honest, but about half of us think restuarants should offer more burger variety.
"Report: Consumers crave premium burgers" [Boston.com]
(Photo: GorillaSushi) -
your health
Cut Back On Sugar, Says American Heart Association
The American Heart Association says we're eating way too much extra sugar, meaning sugar that doesn't naturally occur in our foods. The average American consumes 22 teaspoons a day. By contrast, the average woman should eat no more than 6 teaspoons daily, while the average man, owing most likely to his increased awesomeness, should eat no more than 9 teaspoons a day. [Eats another teaspoon of sugar before resuming typing.] More » -
artificial sweeteners
Will Nutrasweet Be Banned For Causing Cancer?
The Huffington Post is reporting that new FDA chief Dr. Margaret Hamburg is expected to ban the use of aspartame, the substance in Nutrasweet. Who expects the ban, columnist Samuel S. Epstein neglects to say. More » -
badvertising
Circa 1960s Ad: Sugar Prevents Overeating
Last week, we wrote about how sugar isn't any better than corn syrup when it comes to you health. But it turns out we were wrong. According to this old ad I just found, sugar is perfect for weight-watching: "That's because sugar helps prevent you from overeating... with sugar in your diet, you're happier with smaller portions of everything." More » -
fast food
Save Time With 2,000 Calorie Fast Food Meals
Recently, those buzzkills at Time published this mouth-watering article about the massive caloric content of fast food. Apparently, the Senate is considering federal legislation that would require chain restaurants to list calorie counts on menus. More » -
nutrition
Red Lobster Finally Makes Nutritional Info Available
Last May, we reviewed which fast food and chain restaurant websites were sharing nutritional information with customers and which ones weren't. Red Lobster has always been stingy about nutritional info, so we're happy to report that they've finally changed their ways and now offer an online and downloadable nutrition guide. The only thing we can't figure out is how their "1 1/4 lb" steamed lobster is only 45 calories—that works out to about 1.5 ounces of actual lobster. (Thanks to zlionsfan!) -
food
The Truth Behind Healthy Supermarket Foods
The Wall Street Journal takes a good look at items marketed as "healthier for you" on supermarket shelves, and as you can probably imagine, any actual health benefits vary greatly from product to product. Take all natural chicken, for example: if you buy "enhanced" or "plumped" chicken—it will say somewhere on the label that water, salt, and/or carrageenan has been added, but it will still be labeled natural—the sodium per 4 oz serving jumps from 45-60 mgs to 200-400 mgs. More » -
healthy eating
Fatburgr Collects Restaurant Nutritional For Easy Reference
Riley writes, "I remember seeing a couple of articles about restaurant nutrition information awhile back (ie the 2008 Ultimate Fast Food Nutrition Guide) and was motivated to create a site that houses nutrition information for chain restaurants across the country." The result is Fatburgr, where you can quickly look up info by restaurant or food type. More » -
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fast food
Which Restaurants Are Making Your Kids Fat?
Unless your kid is named Hansel, he probably doesn't need to be fattened up like a juicy Christmas goose every time you go out to eat. That's not what some of the biggest restaurants think, though: Chili's has a kids' meal that comes in at 1,020 calories, while Burger King and KFC both offer meals that are over 900 calories. Your healthiest option, says the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is Subway. Here are what some other restaurants are offering, as well as tips on how to make the best of a bad meal when your kid is eating out. For children between 4 and 8 years of age, the recommended amount of calories per meal, assuming three meals a day, is 430. If the child is active, the amount goes up to 565. Using these numbers as a guide, the CSPI looked at the biggest restaurant chains in the country, then whittled their list down to the ones that offer dedicated kids' menus and provide nutritional info. This meant the following were left out of the study because they won't provide nutritional info:- We don't need no stinkin' nutrition
- Applebee's
- T.G.I. Friday's
- Outback Steakhouse
- Olive Garden
- Red Lobster
- IHOP
Chili's has 700 possible kids' meal combinations, but 658, or 94 percent, of those are too high in calories, including one comprised of country-fried chicken crispers, cinnamon apples, and chocolate milk (1,020 calories) and another comprised of cheese pizza, homestyle fries, and lemonade (1,000 calories). Burger King has a "Big Kids" meal with a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk (910 calories) Sonic has a "Wacky Pack" with 830 calories worth of grilled cheese, fries, and a slushie. KFC has a wide variety of side items, but there are few meal combinations that keep a reasonable ceiling on calories, according to the study. One example of a high-cal combo KFC kid's meal (the chain calls them "Laptop Meals") has popcorn chicken, baked beans, biscuit, Teddy Grahams, and fruit punch, which has 940 calories. (KFC has since dropped Baked Cheetos from its kids' meals, and some outlets vary the number of chicken strips or sides.) Most of the kids'meals (93 percent) at McDonald's and Wendy's are too high in calories, as are the possibilities at Burger King (92 percent), Dairy Queen (89 percent), Arby's (69 percent), and Denny's (60 percent-though its kids' meals don't include drinks). (Since CSPI's study was completed, Burger King has introduced one new children's meal with macaroni and cheese, apple "fries," and 1 percent milk, which has a reasonable 420 calories.) Subway's kids' meals came out on top. Only a third of its Fresh Fit for Kids meals, which include a mini-sub, juice box, and one of several healthful side items (apple slices, raisins, or yogurt), exceed the 430-calorie threshold. Subway is the only chain that doesn't offer soft drinks with kids' meals.
So how do you improve the nutrition of your kid's meal the next time you eat at a restaurant? A spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association gave the following advice:"Don't be too alarmed even when [studies] come out and seem hopeless," said Dawn Jackson Blatner, an American Dietetic Ass>ociation spokeswoman. "With a few swaps and switches, people really can make healthier choices at these fast-food joints, especially when the decisions are made before going in. "Many of these restaurants have the nutrition information online that you can print out and go over with your kids even before you go, so that everybody is on the same page before they pull up to the drive-through or [head] to the counter," Blatner said. She also suggested that "instead of getting the fries, go with the apple slices. Many [restaurants] offer carrot sticks or apple slices or no-sugar-added applesauce or oranges, which make a big difference over deep-fried fries." And pay attention to how food is cooked. "Instead of the deep-fried nuggets, go for something like the grilled chicken, and you will save fat grams and calories," Blatner said. You'll also save calories by switching the soda, she added: "You can't go wrong with unsweetened iced tea, water or a skim milk."
As for the restaurants that refuse to provide nutritional info, maybe you should just eat elsewhere. Click here for some specific replacement suggestions from the Chicago Tribune. You can download a copy of the full CSPI report here. (Photo: Getty) -
taco bell
Taco Bell Offers Free Tacos To Dieters
Someone in Taco Bell's marketing department is unclear on the concept of "losing weight," or else just completely amoral (hence the marketing job), because the company is "sponsoring" Oklahoma City residents who have taken part in a weight loss challenge by giving away free tacos. To be fair, these "fresco crunchy tacos" are less than 200 calories each (the company says 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, but this independent analysis puts it slightly higher). But still—tacos? Free tacos to people who are trying to lose weight? More » -
diet
100 Calorie Packs Makes You Fat
Smaller-sized 100-calorie snack packs are supposed to help with weight loss, but the problem is they don't work. In an experiment published in the Journal of Consumer Research, subjects were primed to think about their body shape and then given bags of potato chips and placed in front of a TV. The group that was given nine small bags ate much more than those given two large bags, 46.1 grams vs 23.5. What's going on? It appears that the smaller size tricks people into thinking they're eating less, so they feel fine about chowing down more. Consumers may merrily consume the innocently small packages of Little Pleasures at an even higher pace,” wrote the study's authors, “leading to over-consumption.”
Overindulgence in Small Packages [NYT]
RELATED:
100 Calorie Packs Are Still A Scam, Cost More For Less Food
Like Those 100 Calorie Packs? You're Paying Twice As Much -
mcdonalds diet
Man Loses 86 lbs Eating 1,200-1,400 Calories Per Day Of McDonald's Food
Chris Coleson, a businessman from Richmond, VA told his wife he could lose weight by eating anywhere — even McDonald's. More » -
additives
10 Food Additives You Should Try To Avoid
Most people are familiar with the basics of good nutrition but many aren't aware of the thousands of food additives found in popular foods which if consumed in excess could create health risks. MSN Health has put together a list of 10 additives you should try to avoid. Let's be clear, we don't expect you to avoid all of these additives altogether, although, it certainly is possible. The key is being aware of them so you can effectively limit their intake. The list of additives, inside... More » -
nsults
Panera Bread Employees Now Offer Nutritional Advice, Insults Instead Of Soup
First it was breast reduction advice, now it's weight management tips, this time from a rude Panera Bread employee who didn't like being confronted by an angry customer. Here's what happened to Jeff's wife when she tried to buy some chicken noodle soup the other day: More » -
health
Rise In Gout Blamed On Fructose In Soft Drinks
Gout sounds like something characters in Dickens novels get, but apparently it's a modern affliction as well—at least in the U.S. where the number of cases has doubled in the past few decades. Now researchers are saying that "Men who consume two or more sugary soft drinks a day have an 85% higher risk of gout compared with those who drink less than one a month." More » -
cuba
Poverty Makes You Healthier!
The decreased caloric intake and increase in non-motorized modes of transportation following Cuba's economic crisis from 1989-2000 lead to a decrease in heart disease and diabetes, a University of Michigan study finds. More » -
nutrition
10 Popular Diets Ranked According To Healthiness
A new report in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association ranks ten diets according to nutritional quality and potential effects on heart health. The best of the ten is the Ornish diet, while the least healthy is the Atkins plan. Dieters, begin fighting. More » -
nutrition
30 Code Words For Sugar
It's yesterday's news that you can eat healthier by avoiding foods full of unnecessary sugars, and that sugars appear on labels under different names, but you might be surprised to see just how many different guises sugar and sugar-related substances can assume. More »
diet
New York, 9:44 PM
Sun Nov 8
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