Fast Food – How Much is Too Much?

Fast Food anyone?  Who doesn’t like an Egg McMuffin for breakfast or some grilled chicken at KFC?  Or, a good Subway sandwich and chips?  Can you enjoy Fast Food and still be healthy?  Registered Dietitian, Christy Brissette, has some easy rules to follow for Fast Food.  Her motto is the 80:20 rule.  At least 80% of the time, eat healthy.  Less than 20% of the time, “treat yourself” and enjoy some junk food.  Brissette wrote that a client asked her, “How often can I get away with eating junk food?”  She has given this advice to many of her clients and found that it worked well even with chronic dieters.  You have met these folks.  People who are always “on a diet” and then have one cookie or a Fast Food meal and they have “blown” their diet.  Learning to eat healthy and enjoying “treats” is a way to learn healthier eating habits and get off the on-again, off-again dieting spiral.  Brissette notes that once her clients who are on these “forever” diets are allowed some treats, they find it easier to eat healthy most of the time.  So what did Brissette tell her client?

What is Junk Food?

Everyone seems to know what “junk food” is but many people confuse foods that do supply nutrients with junk food which has little nutritional value.  Here are some foods – which would you say are junk foods?

• Ice cream
• Pudding
• Cheeseburger
• French Fries
• Coke
• Chocolate Milk

Surprising to me, some of my students rate ice cream as a “junk food”.  Yet, MyPlate counts ice cream as a dairy serving.  Both ice cream and pudding can contribute protein and calcium to your day.  Cheeseburger?  Not really junk food as it supplies 3 food groups, protein, dairy and grains.  Yes, you can make a burger at home and use leaner ground beef, but a cheeseburger provides a lot of good nutrients.  Chocolate Milk – a treat many kids enjoy.  Let them enjoy some chocolate milk as you are adding protein, calcium and vitamin D to their day.  Some sugar yes, but also a lot of good nutrients. 

  

So what is “junk food”?  Most nutritionists define it as foods that have few nutrients but lots of calories from fat and/or sugar.  So Coke would be 100% junk food as the calories are all from sugar and few nutrients are provided.  French fries are loaded with fat and frying the potatoes destroys vitamins like vitamin E.  So most people would put French Fries in the junk food category. 

Some people classify all Fast Food as junk food.  But there are many healthier options.  Subway has the Fresh Fit options, all 400 calories or less.  Choose the whole grain bread, add lots of veggies and choose some Sun Chips and milk and you have a healthy meal.  

Subway - Oven Roasted Chicken

Are there long-term health effects of eating Junk Food?

Brissette cites a study that found eating fast food more than once a week increased one’s risk of obesity.  Those eating fast food more than once a week has a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, and death from coronary heart disease.  Not surprising the obesity risk is higher as so much fast food is loaded with fat and calories.  Choosing grilled options instead of fried, cutting back on the amount of fat in the fast food selections you make would probably change some of these outcomes.

Every good meal helps your health

The good news according to Brisette, is that every healthy meal you eat helps your overall health.  What healthy meals mean is meals with fruit, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and lean meat.  Add a handful of nuts or seeds each day for good health. 

Kids and Fast Food - make your rule for Fast Food - milk with the meal, always ordering fruit. 

The American Heart Association has some recommendations for kids and Fast Food meals:

• Skip the fries – choose the apple slices or other fruit or veggies as the side
• Fries  -if you choose fries, order small and share it with your kid
• Potato – get the baked potato – amazing how many people think a baked potato is fattening but French fries are OK.  Skip the sour cream and choose one topping like cheese or bacon.
• Choose Grilled – this cuts the fat a lot.
• Whole Wheat – choose a whole wheat bun/bread when available.  Subway offers this as does Panera.
• Drinks – choose milk for kids and water or 100% juice for you.  (Milk for adults is also a good idea).  Skip the sugared sodas and make sure any “juice” you order is 100% juice and not a juice drink loaded with added sugar.

Eating healthy most of the time still allows for the “treat yourself” meals and desserts.   So enjoy a handful of nuts every day, eating 5 fruits and veggies a day but also enjoying some junk food.

McDonald's salad

Sources:  client, Fresh Fit, study, American Heart Association  Image sources:  Subway Fresh Fit, salad