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WebMD: 10 Foods that Are Health Horrors

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10 Foods that Are Health Horrors

by Kathleen Zelman

http://www.meatlessmonday.com/site/PageServer?pagename=news2

Some foods are so bad for you, they qualify as a nutritionist's nightmare.

WebMD asked several registered dietitians and other food experts to

nominate their favorite " food horrors " . Their submissions ranged from

empty-calorie foods masquerading as nutritious, to outlandish

concoctions that tip the scales with obscene amounts of fat and

calories. Have any of them ever lurked around your plate?

1. Frightful Fried Foods

From a nutritional standpoint, some of the scariest foods are the

deep-fat fried concoctions you can find at carnivals and state fairs.

Americans have tossed everything from turkeys to Twinkies in the fryer,

but have you ever heard of deep-fried cola? Debuting at the Texas state

fair -- and winning the creativity honor at the Big Tex Choice Awards

contest -- was this deep-fried, Coca-Cola flavored batter, drizzled with

cola fountain syrup, and topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a

cherry.

2. Scary Steakhouse Specialty

Nutritional nightmares are readily available at many of your favorite

neighborhood restaurants. Palumbo, RD, nominated the

deep-fried onion appetizer popular at some chain steakhouses.

One such appetizer, Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion, has more than

800 calories, 58 grams of fat and 22 grams of saturated fat, plus 1,520

milligrams of sodium. These numbers don't include the dipping sauce,

which is also loaded with fat, calories, and sodium.

3. Monstrously Misleading

n Nestle, PhD, MPH, a New York University nutrition professor and

author of What to Eat, takes issue with not-very-nutritious foods that

are labeled or advertised with healthy-sounding terms. She nominates

" kids' fruit snacks that have no fruit whatsoever and are basically

candy in disguise " as one potentially misleading food.

4. Big, Bigger, Biggest Burgers

There appears to be no end to the amount of calories and fat you can fit

onto a bun.

Hardee's has the Monster Thickburger, boasting 1,420 calories, 107 grams

(g) of fat, 45 g of saturated fat, and 2,740 milligrams (mg) of sodium.

Carl's Jr. takes it a step further with the Double Six Burger, featuring

two burger patties and three slices of cheese -- weighing in at 1,520

calories, 111 g fat, 47 g saturated fat, and 2,760 mg sodium.

Burger King is not far behind with its BK Stacker, loaded with four

burgers, four slices of cheese, and 8 strips of bacon, coming in at

1,000 calories, 30 g saturated fat, and 1,800 mg sodium.

And the list doesn't end at fast-food chains. Ever hear of the " Hamdog " ?

This culinary creation from the former Mulligan's Tavern near Atlanta

starts with a hot dog padded with cheese and half pound of ground beef.

That's dropped in the fryer, then loaded onto a hoagie roll and topped

with chili, bacon, onions and a fried egg. Mulligan's was also famous as

the home of the " Luther Burger, " a giant bacon cheeseburger with a

Krispy Kreme doughnut for a bun.

Someone call the food police!

Of course, " most people know when they order one of these that it is not

good for them, " says Jayne Hurley, RD, senior nutritionist for the

watchdog group, Center for Science in the Public Interest.

If you are thinking of your health, try ordering a plain burger with

sauce on the side, along with a side salad.

The bottom line is that we should eat no more than 20 grams of saturated

fat per day. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 2005 Dietary

Guidelines recommend no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day (equal to

about 1 teaspoon). If you're salt-sensitive (that is, if your blood

pressure is highly affected by salt), the number drops to 1,500 mg.

5. Appalling Appetizers

Dietitian Sass, RD, nominated TGI Friday's " sizzling triple meat

fundido -- a combination of cheese, pepperoni, bacon, and sausage served

with breadsticks. " While nutritional information for this appetizer was

not available on the restaurant's web site, the fat-laden ingredients

ensure that the fundido is a nutritional no-no.

6. Calorie-Laden Cakes

As if cheesecake were not high enough in fat and calories, the

Cheesecake Factory adds chocolate candy, cookies, mousse, ganache,

flourless chocolate cake crust, and other equally caloric extras to the

rich dessert, says Jayne Hurley, RD. Even if you're just ordering a

plain slice, cheesecake will set you back 630 calories.

Looking for a little nosh with your coffee? Starbucks Old Fashioned

Crumb cake looks innocent enough, but that little square packs 670 calories.

7. Diet-Demolishing Drinks

The real problem with high-calorie drinks is that they go down easily,

and don't tend to fill you up.

" Coffee drinks and smoothies don't set off bells and whistles to alert

you to the calorie load, " says Hurley. " Starbucks' white chocolate mocha

is a Quarter-Pounder in a cup; any Frappuccino Blended Crème has 490-580

calories; and a venti Java Chip Frappuccino has the equivalent of 11

creamers and 20 packets of sugar.

To reduce the calories in your favorite coffee drink, order a small

size, make it " skinny " (with low fat milk), and skip the whipped cream.

8. Mammoth Mall Munchies

Most people know when they order a gigantic burger that it is not good

for them. But what really scares Hurley are the not-so-obviously

fattening foods that people snack on at the mall.

" The highly aromatic cinnamon used in a Cinnabon (810 calories) or the

smell of Mrs. Field's milk chocolate macadamia cookie (320 calories)

tempts mall goers into thinking nothing of eating a snack that has half

a day's calories or fat, " she says.

Bring along a 100-calorie pack of crackers, some trail mix, or raw

veggies to help you resist the tantalizing aromas of such high-calorie

mall treats.

9. Dining-Out Diet Disasters

" Fifteen years ago, when I first started evaluating restaurant food, I

was blown away by the 1,500 calories in a serving of Fettuccine Alfredo,

but the trend has gotten worse, not better, " says Hurley.

Fried macaroni and cheese and cheese fries were other nominees in the

category of frightening foods found on restaurant menus.

10. Stupendous Servings

It's not just fast-food meals that have been super-sized in the last

couple of decades.

" Muffins, bagels, salads, sandwiches, pasta servings -- almost

everything is much larger today than it used to be or needs to be, " says

Hurley. " You can expect most restaurant appetizers, entrees, and

desserts to each weigh in around 1,000 calories. "

Here's a sure-fire way to start your day off on the wrong dietary foot:

the enormous omelet sandwich at Burger King. This fork-free meal is

loaded with two slices of cheese, three slices of bacon, two eggs, and a

sausage patty on a giant bun, totaling 730 calories and 47 g fat.

Do Food Horrors Really Matter?

Yes, dietitians say, there are some truly frightening foods out there.

But do they really matter to the average American's diet?

May, MD, author of Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't

Work, thinks that once a person indulges in a decadent dessert or

monster burger, it triggers the " 'I've already blown my diet, so why

bother? " mentality.

Beyond that, May believes, the real horror may be the American mind-set

about food.

" We were raised to clean our plates so we could be rewarded with

dessert, which further enhances our desire to eat sweets and eat meals

without recognition of fullness, " she says.

Further, consider that many of the most frighteningly fattening foods

are sold in restaurants. Americans now spend 48% of their food dollars

in restaurants, according to the USDA Economic Research Service. And the

most popular restaurant food eaten by both men and women is the

hamburger, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.

Hurley thinks most people would think twice about ordering food and

drinks that they realize are " hideously high in fat and calories. " She'd

like to see nutrition information about restaurant foods become more

readily available, and believes this would encourage restaurateurs to

offer more healthful options.

" Let's give consumers the choice and educate them with the nutritional

information of restaurant foods at the point of purchase, not the web

site, " she recommends.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/

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