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Whether you're in London or Lubbock, a Big Mac is a Big Mac, right? Well, not exactly. Fast food chains serve up a very different amount of salt in their foods depending on where they're operating.
Researchers studied nutrition information from McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Domino's, Pizza Hut and Subway in six different countries. They found that restaurants in the U.S. served saltier burgers, subs, pizza and chicken nuggets than those same outlets in the U.K.
And the differences were more than a dash. A six-piece chicken nugget in Manchester, New Hampshire, contains 1.5 grams of salt, whereas in Manchester, England, it has just 0.6 grams—less than half. The findings are in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. [Elizabeth Dunford et al, "The variability of reported salt levels in fast foods across six countries: opportunities for salt reduction"]
The researchers also found that many of these meals contain more salt than doctors recommend getting in an entire day. Even salads were not entirely safe, with some containing seven grams of salt.
So, if you can't travel to the U.K. for your drive-thru lunch, cut the salt by cutting your portions—or skipping the fast food altogether.
—Katherine Harmon
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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13 Comments
Add CommentApparently the fast food joints are going to keep increasing the salt level, so the better idea is to cut the fast foods, but as long as fast food cost a fraction of the price of healthy food, people will continue to buy and take their chance with the high salt levels and high fat levels. I know that a lot of people say that they don't like government telling them what to do, but as you can see, if government doesn't do something then business will do as they please - no matter the cost to health. The government will have to order food providing companies to switch to sea salt, the safer alternative. Do some research on it and add that information to your next article and then use it instead of mineral salt (land salt). Before you say there is no difference between sea salt and mineral salt...do the research.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLet's be careful here. Is there a difference between sea salt and table salt: "No. Sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value, despite the fact that sea salt is often marketed as a more natural and healthy alternative. The real differences between sea salt and table salt are in their taste, texture and processing, not their chemical makeup." (Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., Mayo Clinic)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe only 'contradictory' information is from woo-woo sellers (read vested interest) of specialty salt. The bulk content is sodium chloride with trace amounts of potassium chloride and minerals. Sea salt is only better if it makes you happy to believe it is something better.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=its-time-to-end-the-war-on-salt
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this8 months ago on this very website. Look, there has never been a credible study which has shown a problem with salt intake in healthy people. Here in the SW (Arizona), we have a problem with people who think that somehow nutrition advice from the govt is worth what it costs and limit their intake. Then we get to do a $2500 work up to find out they can't maintain orthostatic BP because they don't have enough intracellular pressure and fluid due to limited salt intake.
If you have a medical condition which salt can exacerbate, stay away, if your healthy, ignore this stuff.
And before you tell me I'm FOS, please site the study which definitely shows a salt disease condition (not a condition salt makes worse).
No one can argue with that, because the proof is right in front of them. For 'lamporpa' to say that there is very little difference between sea salt and table salt is deceptive. Sea salt, if all its stabilizers are not processed out of it like the high processing of land salt is, does not jack your blood pressure up, nor does it causes your ankles to swell from fluid retention like table salt does. If land salt did not go through this high processing process, it would contain other heavy metals that could contain levels high enough to kill you. This is not so with sea salt since it is extracted from the sea water and the nutrient minerals, like that's in Celtic Sea Salt, is still there to aid in cleaning you cells, plus, it does make your food taste better, and I speak of that from a lot of experience in using Sea Salt.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"please site the study which definitely shows a salt disease condition (not a condition salt makes worse)"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot sure it would be ethical to do this study but based on the little I know I'm guessing that all animals will die of kidney failure if you raise salt intake high enough, and even if you raise water intake to compensate.
And how much salt is too much is sure to vary by subject irrespective of their initial health status.
Be careful stating things like, "Sea salt, if all its stabilizers are not processed out of it like the high processing of land salt is, does not jack your blood pressure up, nor does it causes your ankles to swell from fluid retention like table salt does." Since this is untrue, it could mislead people with high blood pressure. Sodium chloride (the 99% ingredient in all types of 'table' salt) is the main cause of these problems. Salt (anything containing primarily NaCl) moderation is one of the most important and controllable factors in BP management.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe anecdotal cases of BP control via 'sea' salt substitution are attributed to the unproven Sea Salt and Water 'diet', which includes a much larger than usual water intake (and subsequent output). The water is the likely factor there.
Correction
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"And how much salt is too much is sure to vary *even for healthy subjects*"
lamorpa your fighting the myth that natural is always better for for you. Till people start taking critical look at ideals like "cleaning your cells" or psuedo terms like "stabalizers" your not going to get anyplace.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn a piece on the BBC Radio 4 news programme "Today" a few months ago, 2 doctors talked about their research, which showed the statistics that although reducing salt reduces BP, there was not a corresponding reduction in deaths from heart attack and stroke, making the point that salt is a requirement for the body to function. (and there are big efforts here in the UK to reduce salt intake, as the article shows clearly)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this---and NaCl is NaCl is NaCl, whatever its source
What is sea salt?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe answer is in these web pages:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/sea+salt
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/sea+salt
The latter page brings one opinion in the item *Health* that is:
*The health consequences of ingesting sea salt or regular table salt are the same.*
This opinion is from these web pages:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sea-salt/AN01142
http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2010/11/23/3073792.htm
Most of the the time I eat these burgers,my stomach upsets very quickly.So i try to avoid eating these junk foods.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think more salts in these food may act like a medicine on intestines for people who get loose motions by eating these burgers, subs, pizza and chicken nuggets.
Salt is a poor second-rate choice as a 'spice' when it comes to spiciness, and the best cuisine uses the least sodium chloride ( which acts as a pickling agent on our tastebuds, so we end up with what I call the 'Pickled Tongue' syndrome.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFrom my own taste Odyssey through my life -from salt-laden German sausages to much better-tasting grated ginger, paprika & curry spices that I now relish, I have no regrets about skipping salt whatsoever.
Salt-free diets make you shed surplus kilos plus high blood pressure like nothing else, as the ratio of salt versus water retention is 1:9, meaning: Our body has to dilute each 1 part of briny food input with 9 parts of water,the increased water pressure over-stressing the tiny kidney tubules that were never designed to filter out high saline solutions in the first place! Our evolutionary past as primates, not to forget, was in the tree tops; where on earth would we have found salt there, other than in our plant food? For my taste:
Salt is the last resort of cooks trying to camouflage the insipid taste of a dead-food matter, be it dead animal or bread. What we mistakenly interpret as 'mouthwatering' is nothing but an automatic salt-lick reflex of our body, trying to dilute the salt 'assault' in the mouth by salivating!
For more details, see Youthevity.com
Definitely agree that we should eat less fast food as a country. I think the biggest reason most of us resort to fast food places like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's and the likes is that we don't have time to get food anywhere else. There is a solution, though! Food Trucks! Food trucks serve better food, serve MUCH healthier food, at a cheaper price, and are just as quick getting the food to you. For those of you who have negative preconceptions of food trucks, give them a try, I bet you're pleased. Oh, and for fellow New Yorkers, check out <a href="www.foodtoeat.com">Foodtoeat.com</a>, NYC's new online ordering site that allows users to place orders for pick up from food trucks, saving even MORE time and saving you from standing on line! Enjoy, ladies and gentlemen, and stay away from all those nasty "burgers" and "fries."
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