Terrible Nutrition Advice

More of the usual nonsense:

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that at the 34 fast-food chains they analyzed, the average combo meal contains 1,193 calories, and that the quantities of sodium, saturated fat and sugar are through the roof.

But all a person has to do is hold the dipping sauce; remove toppings, such as cheese; and opt for water over soda — and you’ll be good as gravy, says lead author Kelsey Vercammen of Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in an interview with Reuters Health.

The problem with fast food is not calories, or saturated fat, or sodium. It’s the bun and the potatoes. The only good advice here is water instead of soda.

10 thoughts on “Terrible Nutrition Advice”

  1. Speaking as a type 2 diabetic who is med-free thanks to low-carb, I agree with Rand on this issue 1000%.

    What I do is order my cheeseburger lettuce-wrapped, and wrap that in a low carb tortilla (that I take in with me). I usually add a bit of mustard, and sometimes mayo, to the tortilla first. Makes one heck of a good cheeseburger IMHO (I actually prefer this to the awful buns they come with). I do this about once a month, and I’d do it more often if not for geography (No fast food places near me).

    One word of advise; if you’re trying to cut sugar, remember to tell them to hold the ketchup. (Ketchup is half corn syrup, so loaded with sugar).

    1. This is one area where the Brits are way ahead of us (and actually, always have been). They use vinegar on their chips (“French” fries), which draws derisive commentary from many people – even my favorite comedian, Jim Gaffigan. But vinegar is the real flavor ingredient in ketchup (or catch up, or whatever). The sugar part is superfluous, and kind of annoying.

      If you go to any Italian restaurant, they serve bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. That’s considered chic, while the Brits get dissed for putting vinegar on french fries. Give them a break.

      Besides, if you keep vinegar around long enough to go bad, it turns into wine.

  2. My solution is to stay out of those places, insofar as possible. On the rare occasion I’m trapped by people I’m with, I find I leave the place dizzy no matter what I eat. Maybe the rancid fat they use? I’ll take tex-mex over burger joint any day of the millennium. At least Jarritos Mexican sodas (so far) have cane sugar instead of corn syrup.

  3. I don’t eat a lot of fast food, but when I do it’s usually just a sandwich. I stopped drinking sodas, and went to mostly water, a few years ago, so I don’t get the combos. If I have a bad habit, it’s eating too many cakes, pies, cookies, etc. Cutting back on that stuff would be a good idea.

    1. One of the effects of a low carb diet has been a recalibration of my sense of sweetness. I make pumpkin pie with a few tablespoons of Stevia and no crust. The other day I made a mixed berry pie with no added sweetener or spices.

      1. I’d have just stopped at the pumpkin part and rethought my approach, like substituting creme cheese and eggs for pumpkin, or maybe going with blackberries.

    2. Cake and cookies are easy enough. It’s the lasagna-spaghetti-pizza realm that things get challenging.

      1. My wife and I are using chopped, roasted cauliflower under the sauce as a pasta analog. Even just microwaved, the cauliflower adds a pasta-esque texture.

        We’ve also used zukes, but they’re a bit wet and make the sauce too runny.

  4. Over the last year, I’ve shed 70 lb through keto and both intermittent and extended fasting. The arthritis I had in my feet is simply gone, my rotator cuffs have improved greatly, and my knees… well, two out three ain’t bad. I plan to do the Regenexx stem cell treatment as soon as I can afford it, but step one has certainly been getting rid of the damn carbs.

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