Book Warns Against the Worst Foods in America

Posted March 25, 2008 at 03:00 PM by Denise Musumeci

Section: His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health, His Inspiration, Books, His Nutrition, Diets

Health experts, magazines, and doctors tell us to eat this, not that all of the time. Recently, Men’s Health editor-in-chief David Zinczenko wrote a book called Eat This, Not That! which has become one of the most popular diet guides in bookstores. The book includes pictures and descriptions of what you should not eat and what would be a better substitute.

While most choices in the book are agreeable, and sometimes surprising, you may not agree with some items. For example, New York Times columnist Tara Parker-Pope does not understand why Jelly-Belly Jelly Beans are in the “Eat This” category at 150 calories per serving, but Marshmallow Peeps, at 140 calories per serving, are a one of the “Not That” items.

Part of the book includes 20 of the worst foods in America, whether they are at restaurants or in stores. Tara Parker-Pope lists eight of them:

Worst Fast-Food Meal: McDonald’s Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips with creamy ranch sauce. Not that fast food is healthy for you anyway, but you would think that chicken would be a better choice than fast-food beef. At 830 calories per meal, you may be better off ordering something else.

Worst Drink: Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo’d Power Smoothie. This drink contains 166 grams of sugar, much more than the necessary amount. At this many sugar and calories, you could eat 2 pints of Ben and Jerry’s or drank way more cups of chocolate milk instead.

Worst “Healthy” Burger: Ruby Tuesday Bella Turkey Burger. This burger may be disguised as healthy because it is made with turkey instead of beef, but at a whopping 1,145 calories, 71 grams of fat, and 56 grams of carbs, you may want to steer clear of this meal. It even ranks at number 17 in Menshealth.com in their list of the 20 worst foods in America (2007).

Worst Airport Snack: Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Roll. In each bun, there are 813 calories with 5 grams of trans fat, raising the risk of heart disease.

Worst Kids’ Meal: Macaroni Grill Double Macaroni ‘n Cheese. There are 62 grams of fat in each of these meals, more than the daily-recommended amount of fat intake. You may as well stick with classics, such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

Worst Salad: On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef. With more than 100 grams of fat and 2,410 mg of sodium per salad, enough is said.

Worst Dessert: Chili’s Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream. As good as this desert may sound, you may want to skip desert: this one has over 1,600 calories. That is like eating at least 2 extra meals.

For more suggestions about healthy eating and what to avoid, pick up a copy of Zinczenko’s book at your local bookstore. If you’re not sure about how to make healthy choices at restaurant, look up your favorite restaurants on the Internet to find nutritional information. This will ensure that you stick to your diet while still eating great.

Research sources and for more information: [http://well.blogs.nytimes.com]; [menshealth]