Fast Food

[Karim]

I decided to take a few minutes and look up the "nutritional value" of some of the crap I've been eating lately. I think I've been shocked into actually making a change. Here are just some examples. All the information is available on their websites.

KFC
breast - 380 cal, 19g fat, 145 mg cholesterol
thigh - 360 cal, 25g fat, 165 mg cholesterol
drumstick - 140 cal, 8g fat, 75 mg cholesterol
wing - 150 cal, 9g fat, 60 mg cholesterol

Pizza Hut
1 slice large pepperoni & mushroom on pan crust - 260 cal, 13g fat, 20mg cholesterol
1 slice large vegeterian - 200 cal, 6g fat, 15 mg cholesterol

McDonalds
double quarter pounder with cheese - 740 cal, 44g fat, 150 mg cholesterol
double cheeseburger - 430 cal, 22g fat, 75 mg cholesterol
large fries - 570 cal, 28 g fat, 30 mg cholesterol

Subway
foot long cold cuts on whole wheat - 920 cal, 46 g fat, 120 mg cholesterol

The "less than 6 grams of fat" Subway campaign really worked on me I guess because I didn't realize how it was limited to specific 6" subs. I knew a footlong would be more but never did I think it would be so much more.

Does anyone know what's a safe daily amount of cholesterol?

[mrsimperless]

1 or 2 is ok

[st.cronin]

Does anyone know what's a safe daily amount of cholesterol?

Not to be flip, but nobody actually knows, not even doctors who pretend they do.

[Mustang]

Subway
foot long cold cuts on whole wheat - 920 cal, 46 g fat, 120 mg cholesterol

The "less than 6 grams of fat" Subway campaign really worked on me I guess because I didn't realize how it was limited to specific 6" subs. I knew a footlong would be more but never did I think it would be so much more.


??

Where are you getting your values from? Subway has a 6" cold cut sub listed as 410 on italian bread and that includes cheese. I don't think wheat bread adds 12 g of fat and 110 calories...

Unless you are computing w/mayo. Mayo will ratchet up ANYTHING for fat/cholesterol. (Along with butter, some salad dressings). If you are one of those people that just haaaaaaaas to have things like this and you are trying to watch your weight well.. you're screwed.

I dropped fast food from my diet (used to eat there alot, now I eat maybe 1x per 2 weeks) and I lost 10 lbs in a month and I've kept it off. (only wanted to lose about 10 lbs)... and I still eat potato chips and other garbage more than I should. Fast food is just a killer..

[Karim]

Yeah, I should have listed it as 820 calories. I just have to cut it out of my diet.

[Karim]

Not to be flip, but nobody actually knows, not even doctors who pretend they do.

So there's nothing like "recommended daily intake" for cholesterol like you have for vitamins, etc.?

[Eaglesfan27]

There is actually. However, Cholesterol is a tricky thing. Genetics play a big part as well as diet. Ideally, less cholesterol is better, however, 300 mg is the recommended daily amount for a healthy adult based on a 2,000 calorie/day diet.

[Lorena]

McDonalds
double quarter pounder with cheese - 740 cal, 44g fat, 150 mg cholesterol


Oh man, the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese is the best thing on the menu I think, but damn, 740 calories? Wow! 740 calories of artery clogging pure tasty bliss!

[Eaglesfan27]

Dola -

For someone that has high cholesterol (the cut off for "high" varies based on how many risk factors of Cardiovascular disease you have), most doctors would recommend well below the 300mg/day that is recommended for healthy people on a 2,000 calorie/day diet.

[klayman]

I decided to take a few minutes and look up the "nutritional value" of some of the crap I've been eating lately. I think I've been shocked into actually making a change. Here are just some examples. All the information is available on their websites.

KFC
breast - 380 cal, 19g fat, 145 mg cholesterol
thigh - 360 cal, 25g fat, 165 mg cholesterol
drumstick - 140 cal, 8g fat, 75 mg cholesterol
wing - 150 cal, 9g fat, 60 mg cholesterol

Pizza Hut
1 slice large pepperoni & mushroom on pan crust - 260 cal, 13g fat, 20mg cholesterol
1 slice large vegeterian - 200 cal, 6g fat, 15 mg cholesterol

McDonalds
double quarter pounder with cheese - 740 cal, 44g fat, 150 mg cholesterol
double cheeseburger - 430 cal, 22g fat, 75 mg cholesterol
large fries - 570 cal, 28 g fat, 30 mg cholesterol

Subway
foot long cold cuts on whole wheat - 920 cal, 46 g fat, 120 mg cholesterol

The "less than 6 grams of fat" Subway campaign really worked on me I guess because I didn't realize how it was limited to specific 6" subs. I knew a footlong would be more but never did I think it would be so much more.

Does anyone know what's a safe daily amount of cholesterol?

Holy crap! You ate all of that in one day? :p

[ice4277]

There are a decent number of subs at Subway that are not that bad for you. I lost a lot of weight a couple years ago, and Subway was one of the places that made it easier to do that.

[Karim]

Holy crap! You ate all of that in one day? :p

One day? How about one hour. I'm training to be a competitive eater. ;)

[Karim]

Dola -

For someone that has high cholesterol (the cut off for "high" varies based on how many risk factors of Cardiovascular disease you have), most doctors would recommend well below the 300mg/day that is recommended for healthy people on a 2,000 calorie/day diet.

Thanks for this, Eaglesfan. My father has a history of high cholesterol and my mother has high blood pressure so... I guess the warning signs are there.

[yabanci]

Thanks for this, Eaglesfan. My father has a history of high cholesterol and my mother has high blood pressure so... I guess the warning signs are there.

just FYI, it's not so much the cholesterol in food that you have to watch out for, it's the saturated fats and trans fats.

See here (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/fats.html), for example:

Cholesterol in food

While it is well known that high blood cholesterol levels are associated with an increased risk for heart disease, scientific studies have shown that there is only a weak relationship between the amount of cholesterol a person consumes and their blood cholesterol levels or risk for heart disease. For some people with high cholesterol, reducing the amount of cholesterol in the diet has a small but helpful impact on blood cholesterol levels. For others, the amount of cholesterol eaten has little impact on the amount of cholesterol circulating in the blood.

In a study of over 80,000 female nurses, Harvard researchers actually found that increasing cholesterol intake by 200 mg for every 1000 calories in the diet (about an egg a day) did not appreciably increase the risk for heart disease.(5)

Dietary Fats

The Bad Fats

Some fats are bad because they tend to worsen blood cholesterol levels.

Saturated Fats

Saturated fats are mainly animal fats. They are found in meat, seafood, whole-milk dairy products (cheese, milk, and ice cream), poultry skin, and egg yolks. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats, including coconut and coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil. Saturated fats raise total blood cholesterol levels more than dietary cholesterol because they tend to boost both good HDL and bad LDL cholesterol. The net effect is negative, meaning it's important to limit saturated fats.

Trans Fats

Trans fatty acids are fats produced by heating liquid vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen. This process is known as hydrogenation. The more hydrogenated an oil is, the harder it will be at room temperature. For example, a spreadable tub margarine is less hydrogenated and so has fewer trans fats than a stick margarine.

Most of the trans fats in the American diet are found in commercially prepared baked goods, margarines, snack foods, and processed foods. Commercially prepared fried foods, like French fries and onion rings, also contain a good deal of trans fat.

Trans fats are even worse for cholesterol levels than saturated fats because they raise bad LDL and lower good HDL. They also fire inflammation,(6) an overactivity of the immune system that has been implicated in heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. While you should limit your intake of saturated fats, it is important to eliminate trans fats from partially hydrogenated oils from your diet. (Manufacturers must now list trans fats on the food label, right beneath saturated fats.)

[MizzouRah]

KFC is the WORST food you can put in your mouth. They use oils that are high in trans fats. In fact, there's a movement for them to put warnings on their food packaging. If I eat fast food, a nice lean Lion's Choice roast beef sandwich and small side salad does me well. :)

[Hurst2112]

i try to eat once a day. that way, i can have the high calorie stuff and still stay below the 2000 cals a day! ;)

[DolphinFan1]

Forget what they call Nutritional values at any fast food resturant. There is very little good stuff in that "Food."

I've been reading a lot of books about the stuff they put in food. In the last 6 months my family and I have been on all organic food. I have lost 25 pounds and have more energy than ever. I haven't eaten any fast food in the past year. If I do go out to eat at a resturant, I usually get fish and also drink a lot of water.

Take my advice. Stay away from any fast food.

[jeff061]

i try to eat once a day. that way, i can have the high calorie stuff and still stay below the 2000 cals a day! ;)

I lost 25 pounds this way :cool: