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FAST - FAT - FOOD IS BAD FOR YOU
I just got back from a trip to Birch Run, Michigan where we went shopping at the discount mall.
We stopped for a “little” lunch at Tony’s and had the pleasure to be welcomed by the owner ,Denise Fritzler. The menu is an eight page newspaper edition with headlines: “Tony’s serves the best and the most.”
For lunch how about a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with one pound of crispy bacon. You can wash it down with a 23 ounce glass of Diet Coke. There are no half orders so you may wish to split all of the meals.
For dessert there is a banana split that “you’ll want to take a picture of”- one half gallon of ice cream OR Tony’s Super Sundae-“ a mountain of ice cream (32 ounces) topped with your choices of hot fudge decorated with whip cream, nuts and a cherry. Heck, only one cherry!
We in London also have of choices of eating out at fast food restaurants that our now serving healthier alternatives. Sadly we have not altered our choices with the majority of youngsters/seniors choosing the taste good food.
We usually vote with our fork ordering the yummy stuff that continues to trounce conventional healthy food choices. “It is estimated by the Canadian Restaurant and Food Association that we will spend more than $14 billion at fast food restaurants this year.”
I went on line and found SFSU ,Student Health Services, Fast Food Guide.
Here are some stats for you to digest. Burger King has a Chicken Club Sandwich with 740 calories, 44 grams of fat and 1,530 mg of sodium.
McDonald’s Big McGriddle for breakfast( pancake, cheese, egg, sausage) tops their list with 680 calories, 33grams of fat and a whopping-imagine your blood pressure ,1,860 mg of sodium.
Subway’s Chicken & Bacon Ranch has 430 calories, 26 grams of fat and 1,630 mg of salt per six inch sandwich.
Wendy’s Big Bacon Classic has 580 calories, 30 grams of fat and 1,460 mg of salt.
A Taco Bell Quesadilla has 550 calories, 31grams of fat and 1,370 mg of salt.
Check out the numbers/ingredients before you order your meal. The fast food restaurants are supposed to post “Get the facts” chart for your information.
We have to ask ourselves why when given the choice we choose bad-for-you food?
Dr Stephen Witherly with a Ph.D. in nutrition has a plausible theory. “We’re genetically programmed to seek fat, sugar and salt. Because humans evolved in an environment that for thousands of years was low in fat, sugar and salt the brain has evolved to seek it out anywhere it can.” You can blame it on genetics. “The fast food outlets serves our needs to offer us an overabundance of all of the good, bad stuff.”
Stephen warns . “Even though the modern diet is killing us the brain won’t let us change. Most people would rather take a pill then change their eating habits.”
“Super Size Me” is a must see , let it all hang out, documentary video of the realities/consequences of eating a fat-fast-food diet. Everything is super sized in America/Canada including our children’s rate of diabetes & heart disease.
Perhaps it is all about schools, parents educating our children to make wise choices of choosing long term good health over their taste buds?
Len Lesser