Fast-Food Healthy Tips

In this post, my goal is to point out the healthier choices from the majority of fast-food menus and briefly explain why.

This first thing I want to point out is that almost anything with processed white flour; sandwiches, wraps, burgers, fried chicken, etc, is going to be less healthy automatically.  The chart below lists the ingredients in various breads commonly found in fast-food restaurants.  Fast-food places make their money from cheap wheat and corn based products.

Borrowed from bk.com

Salad>Chicken strips/nuggets>Sandwiches/burgers>Wraps>Fries

The best choice would be a salad with no dressing and no croutons.  The salads do not have all the processed ingredients and preservatives that we see in the bread.  The chicken strips and nuggets are breaded except for things like Chik-Fil-A's grilled nuggets.  The less breaded, the better, but in any case they should still be less bread than a burger, sandwich or wrap. The reason fries are down so low is because they are fried in vegetable oil, corn oil, or soybean oil.  All of these contain trans fat which is hard on your body. (1)  Some of these contain trans fats which are made in a lab or by frying saturated fat.  Avoid fried foods whenever possible.

Sides:

Vegetables>Fruit>Beans/Coleslaw>Potatoes, Fried things, rice>Desserts

Fresh vegetables are a rare occurrence and the fruit is usually a fruit cup coated with ascorbic acid, but these two sides are far better than all the others.

1 Health effects of trans fatty acids.