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Reports from PCRM's Nutrition Department
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Report |
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Doctors Rate New Salad
Entrées Hyped by Chains
McDonald’s Chicken “Salad”
Packed with More Fat and Calories Than a Big Mac
Washington, D.C.—Offering a salad entrée
is the latest marketing push for fast-food and quick-serve
chains, but according to a new
analysis by the nutrition experts at the Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), many fast-food salads are
not any more healthful than a greasy burger. For example,
McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Bacon Ranch Salad with dressing
has a hefty 51 grams of fat and 660 calories while a Big Mac
has 34 grams of fat and 590 calories. Surprisingly, this salad
entrée also has just as much cholesterol, 85 milligrams,
as the Big Mac.
All six of McDonald’s entrée salads are packed
with fat and cholesterol, mainly from chicken and cheese,
earning them all the lowest rating of one star. Other artery-clogging
salads include Wendy’s Chicken BLT and Subway’s
Meatball Salad. Two salads out of the 34 rated by PCRM earned
five stars: Au Bon Pain’s Garden Salad and Subway’s
Veggie Delite.
“We did not expect these new salad entrées to
be so loaded with fat and cholesterol,” says Brie Turner-McGrievy,
M.S., R.D., the clinical research coordinator at PCRM. “Americans
thinking about getting in shape and heading to the beach this
summer should steer clear of the heavily hyped ‘salads’
that are smothered with chicken, cheese and other fatty foods.
Real salads with plenty of fresh veggies and chickpeas or
beans for protein are best for heart health and slimming.”
The two top-rated salads earned five stars for meeting all
of the criteria for healthfulness:
- One star for ≤ 13 g fat
- One star for ≤ 4.5 g saturated fat
- One star for ≤ 50 mg of cholesterol
- One star for ≥ 3 g of fiber
- One star for ≤ 1,000 mg of sodium
For an interview with Brie Turner-McGrievy, M.S., R.D.,
or a copy of the complete report analyzing 34 salads from
seven fast-food or quick-serve outlets, contact Jeanne Stuart
McVey at 202-686-2210, ext. 316, or 415-509-1833 (cell).
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes
preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also
conducts clinical research studies, opposes unethical human
experimentation, and promotes alternatives to animal research.
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