What are some of the reasons why ordering a salad at
a fast food restaurant is not as healthy as some might think?
Some of us know that eating a salad from a fast food place, may not be the healthiest choice. After all, the salad dressing is high in calories, or the fish or chicken pieces may be deep fried.But that is only the beginning. Its time the public be made aware that they are endangering their health, by eating fast food salads, instead of choosing an organic salad from a place like Wholefoods.
Recently, EWG published a list of the most heavily sprayed foods, from data they accumulated from the FDA’s extensive testing, The conclusion was that the following produce must only be eaten organic, or else, you will be seriously endangering your health. This was a Public Health warning, the first of its kind. In order, worst first, are the foods to be avoided entirely:
strawberries, apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers.Although not on the list, potatoes, lettuces, and citrus fruits should also be eaten organic, as they are heavily sprayed with fluoride-based chemicals, far in excess of a safe dose. These are common produce ingredients, found in salads.
Meat, eggs, and cheese: All animals are given massive doses of Growth Hormone to increase their mass, which equals higher profits. So, only eat dairy stating “no BGH” on the label, or you will also get ‘fattened up’. Labels stating “Organic and no BGH”, are even better. Fast food places often have these dairy choices, in their salads.
Most fast food places use salad dressing which often contains High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS): HFCS is now in almost every type of sauce, due to it being far cheaper to manufacture than sugar. It is one of the main obesogens in the American diet, and has been theorized by many authorities, to be one of the leading causes of the fast-growing obesity epidemic in this country. Studies have found that regular consumption of HFCS will double your chances of becoming obese.
High fructose corn syrup is not corn, nor is it fruit. Yes, it is derived from corn, but once the glucose in the starch is chemically converted into syrup, by the time you eat it, it is a chemical, not a food.
Due to the bad press HFCS has received, BE AWARE that companies producing HFCS have been granted permission to use the following terms on labels: corn syrup, fructose.
The same goes for meat and chicken. Meat is heavily laced with bovine growth hormone, (rBGH). BGH is fed to cattle, to fatten them, and it will fatten you too. BGH is a GENETICALLY ENGINEERED, synthetic hormone, linked to weight gain, acne, and many other health problems. Chicken salad, for example, does not sound so innocent, once you know this.Antibiotics, which are given regularly to cattle and poultry, are toxic, and will create obesity, water retention, and antibiotic-resistance, over time. Eat only grass-fed organic meat, free range organic chicken, and wild-caught fish, including canned fish. Organic chicken, and wild-caught fish are free of heavy antibiotics and fattening hormones.
Seafoods which are high in mercury, such as king mackerel, swordfish, tuna, and canned white albacore, are so toxic that every pregnancy authority urges pregnant women to avoid these completely.So although fast food restaurant salads may be slightly higher in calories and trans fats, the fault is not with them, but rather, with the lack of information, provided to consumers, who are still happily throwing together what they think are ‘healthy’ salads, at home.Tuna salad anyone?