The 10 unhealthiest fast-food meals

www.BeHealthConscious.orgby Jonathan Berr

• tweet4
• Email
• Print

provided by

From California, to the New York island; from the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land is filled with fatties, lard butts and people large enough to have their own gravitational fields. Yes, America is the land of the "large and in charge," and one of the main reasons for it is our love of fast food.

Though it's tempting to put all of the blame for America's obesity crisis on the fast-food industry -- and experts say they're at least partly at fault -- it's important to view it in context. The industry came of age during the 1950s, as suburban communities saw their populations skyrocket and social mores began changing as women began to increasingly work outside the home. Some of the savviest entrepreneurs in American corporate history sprang into action.

More from 24/7 Wall St.: • 10 Signs the Double Dip Recession Has Begun • Fastest-Growing State Economies • Breakfast Cereals Americans No Longer Love

McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD - News) started the trend in 1955 when businessman Ray Kroc wondered how the McDonald Brothers sold so many burgers at their Southern California burger joint. He opened his first McDonald's Drive-In in Des Plaines, Ill. There are now more than 32,000 restaurants that are home to the Golden Arches. Col. Harlan Sanders began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952. Five years later, Sanders began selling chicken in the signature buckets, and today there are more than 15,000 KFC outlets. James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King in 1954, when, as the company's website notes, "flame-broiled beef begins fulfilling its destiny." There are more than 12,500 Burger Kings today. Glen W. Bell Jr. opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with an investment of $4,000 and eventually sold the chain to PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP -News) in 1978. At that time, there were 868 Taco Bells. Today, there are nearly 6,000. At the tender age of 17, Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway Restaurants in 1965. They have 32,800 locations today.

Fast-forward to the beginning of the of the 21st century, and many of the same trends that helped create the modern fast food industry are still helping fuel its growth. Many children, especially racial minorities, live in single-parent households -- a whopping 65 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children as of 2007,according to Kids Count. Mothers are working outside the home at much higher rates than years past. Women comprised 46.8 percent of the total U.S. labor force in 2009 and are projected to account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018, accounting for 51.2 percent of the increase in total labor force growth during the same period. Add to this mix high unemployment rates caused by the uncertainty of the worldwide economy, and the allure of fast, cheap food becomes hard to resist.

And therein lies the problem.

Obesity rates are a public health crisis. They have tripled among children since 1980. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are obese are vulnerable to everything from diabetes to heart disease, resulting in some $147 billion in direct medical costs annually.

Determining how much fast food is at fault for the poor state of the health of many Americans "is impossible to quantify, but is definitely a factor," says Christina Munsell, research assistant at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, in an interview. The increase in obesity "definitely would correlate with eating quicker meals that are easier to obtain."

In order to create the rankings, 24/7 Wall St. examined the menus of the top 10 restaurant brands in the quick service category by sales as determined by QSR, an industry publication, looking for items that were the highest in calories, carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fat. We then ranked them against the nutritional guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A couple of important caveats to consider: Not all food sold at fast food restaurants is unhealthy. The industry aggressively promotes healthier choices on their menus. Subway, for one, makes a special point of doing this, even though its footlong subs are not healthy choices. Moreover, experts point out that some items sold at sit-down restaurants are actually much more unhealthy than many fast food items. Fast food, though, has gained ground during the economic slowdown, while casual and fine dining chains have suffered. McDonald's alone earned $24.58 billion in revenue in 2010. Yum Brands! Inc. (NYSE: YUM - News), parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, made $11.42 billion.

Methodology: We derived the rankings by taking the average nutritional ratings of menu items compared with USDA recommendations. Carbohydrates, saturated fat, and sodium were given the most weight. Calories and protein were also considered.

1. Pizza Hut Triple Meat Italiano

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1280 (49%)
• Saturated Fat: 23g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 123 (38%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,070mg (133%)

Pizza -- plain with cheese and sauce -- is not particularly unhealthy. This gastronomical overkill featuring "all-natural pepperoni, all-natural Italian sausage and baked ham" is terrible. Pizza Hut offers plenty of healthier choices.

2. Subway 12" Italian B.M.T

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 900 (35%)
• Saturated Fat: 16g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (27%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,000 mg (130%)

It's easy to see why Subway does not list this sandwich under its "low fat footlongs" on its website. It has a whopping 3,000 mg of salt, 130% of the recommended allotment in a daily diet. "The problem with Subway is the portion size," Munsell says, adding that the problem with this sandwich is the salty luncheon meats. Subway is getting the message about salt. As an April USA Today article noted, "Beginning today, sodium content in Subway's 'Fresh Fit' sandwich line in the U.S. will be cut 28% vs. 2009, when Subway first began to cut salt. And sodium in its overall sandwich line will be cut by 15%, compared with the same period."

3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 790 (30%)
• Saturated Fat: 37g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (20%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,970mg (86%)

Salty and high in calories, there is little positive that can be said about the KFC Chicken Pot Pie. A Yum! Brands spokesman had this to say: "It's all about providing our consumers with choices, and each of our brands has introduced products that are lower in calories and fat, such as KFC's Kentucky Grilled Chicken, Pizza Hut's Thin 'N Crispy Pizzas and salads and Taco Bell's Drive Thru Diet Menu with seven items less than 9 grams of fat."

In other words, diners have a choice whether they eat something with almost a full day's allotment of sodium in one sitting.

4. Sonic SuperSONIC Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,370 (53%)
• Saturated Fat: 36g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 55 (17%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,610mg (70%)

The name alone should make a diner want to grab a fistful of Lipitor. Those brave enough to chow down on this 1,370-calorie monstrosity probably shouldn't eat much for the rest of the day. Once a regional operator in the South and Midwest, Sonic (Nasdaq: SONC -News) now operates in over 3,500 locations.

5. McDonald's Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 800 (31%)
• Saturated Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,020mg (88%)

The Angus Chipotle is big and has bacon, two red flags for any dieter. "It's problematic," says Munsell, adding that the Golden Arches have borne the brunt of negative publicity about fast food. That's unfair. "We did find that McDonald's did have more healthy options" than other chains, she adds. Indeed, it ended its Super Size promotion a few years ago, no doubt spurred by the publicity surrounding the movie "Super Size Me."

6. Taco Bell XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 880 (34%)
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (26%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,130mg (93%)

Taco Bell has mastered the art of blending meats and cheese in ever-creative caloric combinations. The XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito is a monument to gluttony. Taco Bell calls it its "biggest burrito yet." It has "a blend of three cheeses -- cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella -- flavorful seasoned rice, hearty beans, reduced-fat sour cream, chunky guacamole, avocado ranch and fiesta salsa, wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla." Taco Bell's sales have been hurt by the publicity surrounding the quality of its beef.

7. Wendy's Triple

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,030 (40%)
• Saturated Fat: 28g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 43 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,800mg (78%)

Anyone eating this monstrosity might not realize that the USDA recommends that people eat a portion of meat roughly the size of deck of cards. This Wendy's monster burger clocks in at a whopping 423 grams. Wendy's (NYSE: WEN - News) has struggled for years against larger rivals. It unloaded its underperforming Arby's chain earlier this week to private-equity group Roark Capital Group. Wendy's did not respond to a request for comment.

8. Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 750 (28%)
• Saturated Fat: 2.5g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 117 (41%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,810 mg (79%)

Subway unhealthy? In some cases, the answer is "yes." While this sandwich is low in calories and fat, it is high in salt. The portions of Subway's footlong sandwiches are too large, Munsell notes. Subway did not respond to a request for comment.

9. Burger King Triple Whopper with Cheese

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,180 (44%)
• Saturated Fat: 30g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 52 (16%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,330mg (58%)

The Triple Whopper makes the Quarter Pounder with Cheese seem like health food. At 1,180 calories, it packs more than twice the punch of the McDonald's burger, which has 535 calories. In a statement to 24/7 Wall St., the company referred to the Triple Whopper as an "indulgent option for our guests." Burger King says it encourages customers to eat healthy choices that provide 650 calories or less -- approximately one-third of a 2,000-calorie diet.

10. Wendy's Baconator Double

• Calories (pct. daily diet): 930 (36%)
• Saturated Fat: 25g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 41 (13%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,840mg (80%)

Who says you can never have too much bacon? Anyone with sense, that's who. Rudd's Munsell noted with amusement how fast food chains "combine every type of meat on one sandwich." The Baconator was relentlessly hyped for a while. A Wendy's spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

___ 

What happens to your body after you drink a soda every day, for a long time

• by Bliss Tree, www.BeHealthConscious.org

• 2271 Comments
• Post a Comment
• Read More from This Author »
• Report Abuse

• Email
• Print

Thinkstock

Sugar rushes and caffeine highs followed by a depressing energy crash are what happens to your body if you drink a soda right now, but plenty of Blisstree readers actually seem to be okay with that. Some of you think it’s alarmist to compare a caffeine and sugar rush to doing drugs, and some just don’t really care about the slump they’ll find themselves in after drinking 39 grams of sugar, but what makes us really worried about a soda-slurping habit is what happens over the long term.

Here’s a quick snapshot of you, in a few years, after drinking soda on a regular basis:

You’ll Be Fatter: According to research in the Nurse’s Health Study, which monitored the health of 90,000 women for eight years, drinking a single soda every day of the week added 10 pounds over a four-year period.

The 50 Best Cookie Recipes on the Internet

You’ll Probably Have Diabetes: In the Nurses’ Health Study, women who said they drank one or more servings a day of a sugar-sweetened soft drink or fruit punch were twice as likely to have developed type 2 diabetes during the study than those who rarely consumed these beverages.

You’re Much More Likely to Develop Heart Disease: According to a study published in 2007 inCirculation, the journal of the American Heart Association, subjects who drank a soda every day over a four-year period had a 25% chance of developing high blood sugar levels and a 32% greater chance of developing lower “good” cholesterol levels. The Nurses’ Health Study found that women who drank more than two sugary beverages per day had a 40% higher risk of heart attacks or death from heart disease than women who rarely drank sugary beverages.

You’re Probably Also Less Healthy In Other Ways: Several studies, including the 2007 study published inCirculation, suggest that diet sodas have some of the same effects on health as regular sodas, despite having none or very little of the sugar. Why? Drinking soda is typically part of an overall lifestyle that’s not very healthy: We know you don’t like us to compare drinking caffeine and sugar to substance abuse, but when it comes to your lifestyle, some think that soda is just like a gateway drug.

You can reach this post's author, Briana Rognlin, via e-mail at briana@blisstree.com.

Blast off fat faster

Blast off fat (way) faster www.BeHealthConscious.Org

• by Health.com, 

• Email
• Print

By Myatt Murphy
Tired of plugging away at the gym without seeing the pounds disappear? We found simple tricks that will transform your usual regimen into the ultimate fat-blasting routine. Whether you use just two of these strategies or all seven, our insider tips will help you get the calorie-burn you deserve.

1. Know this: “You’ll be able to comfortably work out longer and harder if you’re cool,” says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. “Being too hot stresses your body out, so you don’t perform as well.” Translation: You burn less fat.
Do this: When exercising at home, put a fan in front of your workout area. Hitting the gym? Wait to use the treadmill that has a fan built into the console.

Health.com: Fastest fat burners ever

2. Know this: “Wearing a heart-rate monitor makes it easier to burn more body fat by showing just how hard you’re really working,” Kravitz says. “Keeping your heart rate in the right zone prevents you from slacking off, so you make the most of every minute.”
Do this: Invest in a heart-rate monitor and wear it every time you exercise. We love Life Fitness’s new Dual Watch and Heart Rate Monitor ($60; at CVS stores nationwide). It’s simple to program and use. It doesn’t require an uncomfortable chest strap—just touch the face with your fingertips. And it comes in a variety of sizes too.

3. Know this: “Warming up for five minutes before each workout helps you lose more weight,” says Heather Dillinger, an IDEA Health and Fitness Association elite-level personal-fitness trainer. “It not only makes your muscles more pliable but also increases their range of motion, so you end up using more muscle fibers as you exercise.”
Do this: Choose a warm-up routine that hits all of your muscles, not just your legs. The easiest option: Do three to five minutes of low-intensity walking while pumping your arms back and forth.

Health.com: 10 ways to walk off fat faster

4. Know this: “Saving your energy for the end of your cardio workout may prevent you from losing as much weight as you can,” says metabolism expert Dixie Stanforth, of the department of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas at Austin.
Do this: Instead of starting out slow and then finishing up strong, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout. After doing your warm-up, try exercising at a high intensity for 15 minutes before slowing down to a more moderate pace for the last 15 minutes.

Health.com: 50 fattiest foods in the states

5. Know this: “Two smaller workouts can be more effective than one,” Stanforth reveals. That’s because every time you do high-intensity exercise, your metabolism stays revved for an hour or more afterward. Splitting up your workout boosts your metabolism twice, giving you additional calorie-burning time from the exact same routine.
Do this: Divide your workout into two smaller, high-intensity sessions—preferably, doing one in the morning and one at night.

Health.com: The 7 best fat-blasters

6. Know this: If you’re convinced that you’re melting fat while exercising, you’ll make a mind-body connection that will actually help you lose fat faster, Dillinger explains. In a 2007 Harvard study, participants who believed they were getting a good workout showed greater reductions in body fat than subjects who performed the same activities but didn’t feel like they were really exercising.
Do this: The next time you do anything active, remind yourself every few minutes that you’re giving it your all. This little mental move may motivate you to push yourself harder, leading to even greater fat loss.

Health.com: 5 foods that are more fattening than you think

7. Know this: “The less time you rest between sets when strength training, the more calories you’re likely to burn,” Dillinger notes. “Keeping rest periods short keeps your heart rate at a higher rate, which naturally increases the number of calories you’re using.”
Do this: The best rule of thumb is to take only a 30-second break between sets (meaning you’ll need a watch with a second hand).

Atlanta Gospelfest Music Health & Wellness Festival

Wednesday June 15, 2011 1:00 PM - 8:00 PM 
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA  (map)

 Atlanta Gospelfest Music Health & Wellness Festival
Friday, July 15 8:00p
at Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Non Refundable/Non Transferrable Door Open @ 1pm

Shared with QR Droid: BeHealthConscious QR code
http://itsmyurls.com/qr.php?u=behlthconscious

SECONDHAND DEMAND

SECONDHAND DEMAND

www.BeHealthConscious.org    

We are putting the spotlight on SecondHand Demand, a website for a community for people who like to buy secondhand clothes, whether it be vintage, consignment, or thrifted. Stephanie Richardson, creator of Secondhand Demand goal is to engage people who shop at Goodwill, Salvation Army, and Plato's Closet...etc. She believes that if you begin to shop secondhand, you will notice how it changes your perspective of style and frugality. 

http://secondhanddemand.com/

                                                              
From the creator: SecondHand Demand is an emerging style and lifestyle weblog (website/blog) dedicated to individuals passionate about secondhand clothing, vintage clothing, and personal soul-driven style.

We are also a funky blended community that encourages an eco-friendly lifestyle by exposing the importance of giving back and recycling clothes. Finders Keepers brings up financial awareness that encourages individuals to end frivolous department store spending and trend chasing habits. We spotlight thrift stores, consignment stores, and vintage shops.

                                                              
I know I know....... you are probably asking, what does this have to do with health? Health is a part of our everyday life, whether if its how we brush our teeth or how we clean our bathroom, it all affects the outcome of our overall health. Many people view second hand clothing as nasty or a health hazard, but do not realize clothing items bought brand new can also contain dangerous pathogens and or bed bugs. The overall point is to properly clean any item of clothing you buy before you attempt to wear it. Personally in these economic times, thrifting can be the difference maker in keeping that home/car you love so much. But laundry hygiene is essential especially when buying clothes whether it is second hand or brand new. Laundry Hygiene pertains to the practices that prevent or minimize disease and the spreading of disease via soiled clothing and household linens such as towels. Items most likely to be contaminated with pathogens are those that come into direct contact with the body, e.g., underwear, personal towels, facecloths, nappies. Micro-organisms can also be transferred between contaminated and uncontaminated items of clothing and linen during laundering. 

Two processes are considered suitable for hygienic cleaning of clothing and linen:

• Washing or laundering at 60°C or above
• Washing or laundering at 30-40°C using a bleach-based product: This produces decontamination of fabrics by a combination of physical removal and chemical inactivation. However, some types of fungi and viruses that are harder to inactivate, may not be removed.

Washing at temperatures of 40°C or below with a non-bleach product is considered to carry a risk of inadequate decontamination.SecondHand Demand makes a very interesting and valid point when it focuses on washing thrifted clothes. Ms. Richardson states " In a perfect world, clothes are supposed to be pre-washed and stain-free before they are donated to thrift stores, but thrift store clothes, depending on the store, can have clothes that are lightly to moderately soiled. Also, clothes can sit in the store's storage for months before they are put on the floor to be sold. Clothes may become dusty and smelly; but this issue can be solved by washing your thrifted clothes properly."

Also on the website you can find more information about:

• Basic Care
• Cotton 
• Synthetics
• Dry Clean
• http://promotehealtheventsproductsbusiness.blogspot.com/

How to be a Health Conscious College Student

In college, you don't have your mother around to make you balanced meals or take you to the doctor. Most people experience life on their own for the first time in college, and realize they have to look out for their own health. If you want to be a health conscious college student, it's up to you to make the right decisions.

Make health conscious eating decisions. It's not easy to eat healthy when you are on campus all day and running from one class to another. When long lectures require that you stay alert and pay attention, a Monster energy drink is going to be nothing more than a quick fix. To stay at full mental capacity, it's important that your body gets the nutrients it needs, which starts with you making healthier eating decisions. Take the time to learn a little about nutrition and what vitamins and minerals your body requires to be able to function properly. The more knowledge you attain, the better decisions you will be able to make about what goes into your mouth.

Make health conscious exercise decisions. It's easy to get lazy when you spend most of your time sitting in class or laying on the couch studying. If you are no longer playing for your high school's soccer team or required to take a PE credit, the freshman 15 can quickly turn into the freshman 30. To stay active, it is important that you get plenty of exercise, which starts with you incorporating it into your routine or finding time to hit the gym. Visit your school's recreational center, join an intramural sports team, or decide to walk to class instead of taking the bus. Making decisions to be more active throughout the day will not only increase your energy level, but improve your mood and help with concentration.

Make health conscious medical decisions. It's easy to put off going to the doctor when you don't have time to go to an appointment between school and work. When your parents aren't around to make sure you go to regular checkups, or remind you to get your seasonal flu shot, you may find yourself catching things easier. To make sure that you don't come down with every single thing that is floating around campus, find a local doctor to visit for routine checkups or when you first start to experience symptoms. When it comes to catching diseases and illnesses, the sooner you see a doctor, the better, so putting off an appointment now may only make it worse later.

www.behealthconscious.org