Five Worst Fast-Food Secret Menu Items

A Report from the Physicians Committee
March 2013

Secret menus at McDonald’s, Chipotle, and other restaurants are the latest dangerous fast-food trend. But the health hazard isn’t just the extreme amount of greasy burgers, bacon, cheese, sugar, and other junk foods crammed into one dietary disaster.

Some secret menu items are created by fast-food companies and posted on their websites, such as those at Panera and In-N-Out Burger. Others are created by customers and unofficially circulated via word of mouth, such as the Monster Mac at McDonald’s. Either way, calorie counts for these items do not have to be posted in restaurants because they are technically off-menu. This leaves customers playing Russian roulette with their lives.

Based on the ingredients described in five recently revealed fast-food secret menu items, dietitians collected data from restaurant websites and other sources to conduct a nutritional analysis resulting in the following nutrition estimates.

Secret Menu Item	Nutritional Information*	Shocker
McDonald’s Monster Mac	Calories: 1,390 Fat: 92 grams Sodium: 2,920 milligrams Calories from Fat: 830 Percent of Fat: 60 Saturated Fat: 43 grams Percent of Saturated Fat: 28 Cholesterol: 330 milligrams	Big Mac with eight burgers
Chipotle Quesarito	Calories: 1,370 Fat: 63 grams Sodium: 3,050 milligrams Calories from Fat: 567 Percent of Fat: 41 Saturated Fat: 26 grams Percent of Saturated Fat: 17 Cholesterol: 220 milligrams	Burrito wrapped in a cheese quesadilla
Burger King Suicide Burger	Calories: 800 Fat: 53 grams Sodium: 2,430 milligrams Calories from Fat: 477 Percent of Fat: 60 Cholesterol: 175 milligrams	Four burgers, four slices of cheese, bacon, and special sauce
McDonald’s Mc10:35	Calories: 540 Fat: 29 grams Sodium: 1,390 milligrams Calories from Fat: 258 Percent of Fat: 48 Saturated Fat: 13 grams Percent of Saturated Fat: 22 Cholesterol: 325 milligrams	McDouble burger (minus the bun) inside an Egg McMuffin
Starbucks Super Cream Frappuccino (Grande)	Calories: 510 Fat: 26 grams Calories from Fat: 245 Percent of Fat: 48 Saturated Fat: 15.5 grams Percent of Saturated Fat: 27 Cholesterol: 90 milligrams Sugar: 62 grams	Mocha Frappuccino with a half cup of whipped cream

*Estimates based on available data.

Commentary

A study published last year in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology found that damage to arteries occurs almost immediately after one junk-food meal. Study participants consumed just one meal with 15 grams of saturated fat. McDonald’s Monster Mac contains almost three times that amount. Chipotle’s Quesarito gets 26 grams of saturated fat from its cheese and sour cream. Dairy products are the No. 1 source of saturated fat in the U.S. diet, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Personal accounts of the effect of one fast-food meal are equally dire. Last year, a diner was hospitalized with an apparent heart attack while eating a Triple Bypass Burger—three burgers, cheese, and bacon—at Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas. Burger King’s secret menu includes a Suicide Burger with four burgers, cheese, and bacon. Eight burgers are crammed into McDonald’s heart-stopping Monster Mac.

Processed meats, sodium, and sugar also pose imminent danger. People who consume the most processed meat have a nearly 50 percent higher risk for an early death, according to a study published this month. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed blood flow through arteries was significantly impaired within 30 minutes of eating a salty meal. The American Heart Association recommends Americans cut their average sodium intake to no more than 1,500 milligrams a day. And recent study published in PLoS One links increased consumption of sugar with increased rates of diabetes.

Conclusion

The lack of precise nutrition information available for meals on secret menus makes it hard for consumers to make informed choices. But multiply the staggering fat, cholesterol, and sodium of a typical meaty, cheesy, fast-food meal and it’s easy to calculate the consequences of consuming a secret menu time bomb: obesity, heart attack, cancer, and diabetes. Fast-food restaurants found serving unregulated secret menu items should be fined as they would for any other violation that imperils customer health.

 

Dorm Survival Nutrition Tips

Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

Refrigerator and Microwave Tips

By now, freshman college students have been at school for a few weeks. I’ve got a freshman and junior in college myself so I know that dorm life is exciting and challenging all at the same time.

There are lots of reasons why college students might want to stock up on healthy snack and light meal options for their dorm room: late night labs, no time for breakfast, saving on meal card costs, food allergies, or simply not liking the choices in the dining halls.

There are two keys to dorm survival success. The first is rigging your dorm room with an approved microwave and refrigerator, which will open up your options for food to have on hand. The second is having access to a car so you can stock up on these items. Even if you or your friends don’t have a car, many campuses have shuttles you can use or cars on campus that you can rent to make your supermarket run every few weeks. There may even be a supermarket within walking distance of campus (take a few friends with you and make it a social thing on the weekend).

Here are some suggestions for foods to keep handy in your dorm refrigerator:

·         Fresh fruit. Some fruits do well in the refrigerator (apples, melon, berries) while some do not (bananas, peaches, pears)

·         Fresh veggies. Rready-to-eat choices include baby carrots, celery and jicama sticks, cherry tomatoes, edamame.

·         Nonfat Greek yogurt (fancy it up with granola, nuts or fruit)

·         Hummus (serve with whole wheat pita or veggies)

·         Lowfat string cheese or cheddar cheese sticks

·         Single serving cartons or bottles of lowfat milk or chocolate milk (look for brands with less sugar)

·         Lowfat cottage cheese (enjoy with fresh fruit)

·         Turkey roll-ups (roll turkey slices up with cheese or avocado)

·         Whole grain bread(keep it in your refrigerator so it doesn’t  get moldy)

 Here are some suggestions for foods you can make in your microwave:

·         Light microwave popcorn packs

·         Dry meals that you add water to and microwave

·         Canned pasta meals

·         Single serving soups (there are many options with lower sodium and fat)

·         Instant Oatmeal (less sugar options are available)

·         Quick Quesadilla–add some cheese to a whole wheat tortilla and pop in microwave to melt the cheese

·         Bake a sweet potato in microwave and add some cinnamon

·         Bake a Russet potato in microwave and add vegetarian canned chili and cheese

·         Make microwave nachos with whole grain tortilla chips topped with canned vegetarian refried beans and cheese (top with anything else you desire)

·         If you have a freezer in your refrigerator, there are some lighter frozen microwaveable snacks available such as Lean Pockets made with whole grain and Ore Ida Bagel Bites 3-Cheese

 

For College Students living in Dorms:

Grab & Go Breakfast, Snacks and Treats for Dorm Residents:

Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

For a variety of reasons, the one meal that college students tend to miss during the week is breakfast. The way I see it, breakfast offers an opportunity to save time and meal card money. By keeping quick breakfast options handy, you don’t need the extra time to get to the dining hall or campus coffee stop. The same can be said for snacks and treats too! Here are some dorm tips for all three of these.

Dorm Breakfast–Room Service!

·         Power bars (look for ones with more protein and fiber and less sugar)

·         Light frozen breakfast entrees like Smart Ones or Jimmy Dean Light (there are even some vegetarian options like Morning StarFarms Veggie Egg & Cheese Biscuits)

·         Instant oatmeal (less sugar options)—make with milk for added protein and calcium and topped with nuts and/or fresh or dried fruit

·         Whole wheat bagels (add peanut butter or light cream cheese or cheese for a more satisfying breakfast)

·         Whole grain (lower sugar) breakfast cereal enjoyed with low-fat milk and fresh or dried fruit

·         Yogurt parfait—yogurt topped with whole grain granola/cereal, nuts and/or fruit

·         Portable fruit adds to any breakfast (bananas, apples, grapes, pears, etc.)

Ready When You Need Them Snacks

To keep your snack portions sensible, put the amount you want in a small cup or snack size bag. You will be more likely to mindlessly eat from a large bag, large bowl or directly from the box.

·         Hearty healthy mixed nuts (unsalted or lightly salted)

·         Trail mix or dried fruit by itself

·         Tuna Salad Kit (i.e. Bumble Bee Fat Free)

·         Crunchy Almond Butter (spread on bread, rice cakes, fruit)

·         Whole grain cereal or granola

·         Whole grain crackers (pair with cheese)

·         Power bars with some protein and fiber

·         Multigrain chips and pretzels (Beanito’s Pinto Bean chips, Snyder’s multigrain pretzels, etc.)

·         No sugar added applesauce cups

For Your Sweet Tooth

·         100% whole grain Fig Newton’s (or other cookies with some fiber and less sugar)

·         Sugar free instant pudding cups

·         Chocolate Mousse Cups (Jell-O)

·         Graham crackers with peanut butter and banana

·         Exotic dried fruit like mango and pineapple

·         Microwave s’mores made by topping one half graham cracker with 6 miniature marshmallows and some dark chocolate chips on the other half (open faced). Microwave on high for 20 seconds. Put the two halves together and enjoy!

·         Hot cocoa hits the spot. Have mixes on hand or heat your chocolate milk in the microwave.

·         Chocolate, caramel or vanilla flavored lollipops will take a long time to enjoy (don’t chew on them) and will satisfy your sweet craving.

·         If there is a freezer in your dorm refrigerator:

                Light fudge bars, light ice cream cups, chocolate chip waffles (higher in fiber)

 

Drink a glass of wine a day to keep Depression away?

Glass of Wine a Day May Ward Off Depression, Study Suggests

But, moderate drinking might also just be sign of normal social life, researchers add

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- In the same way that a little wine may be good for the heart, it might also help avoid depression, a Spanish study suggests.

So while drinking a lot of wine or other alcohol may be a sign of depression or other mental health problems, alcohol in moderation may benefit mental health, the study authors contend.

"One drink a day, preferentially wine, may help prevent depression," said lead researcher Dr. Miguel Martinez-Gonzalez, chair of the department of preventive medicine and public health at the University of Navarra, in Pamplona.

But several mental health experts not involved with the study had reservations about the findings. And the research only found an association between moderate drinking and emotional well-being; it didn't prove cause-and-effect.

Martinez-Gonzalez said he thinks the apparent benefit of wine in preventing depression may work the same way that moderate drinking helps prevent heart disease.

"Depression and heart disease seem to share some common mechanisms because they share many similar protective factors and risk factors," he said. However, he added that depression prevention is not a reason to start drinking.

"If you are not a drinker, please don't start drinking," he said. "If you drink alcohol, please keep it in the range of one or less drinks a day and consider drinking wine instead of other alcoholic beverages."

The report was published Aug. 30 in the online journal BMC Medicine.

Tony Tang, an adjunct psychology professor at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., said the new research "is consistent with other studies suggesting modest health benefits of very modest drinking."

But, Tang said other factors may be at work in the potential connection between wine and depression. He noted that compared to nondrinkers, those in the Spanish study who drank a moderate amount of wine were more likely to be married men who were also physically active.

Being single or divorced, living alone and being sedentary "are well-established risk factors of depression. Thus, perhaps the correlation between modest drinking and depression is a coincidence caused by these other known factors," he said.

"An adequate social life is the most important factor we know that protects people from depression," Tang said. "Perhaps not drinking is a sign of serious social isolation in Spain while drinking a glass of wine a day is simply a sign of having a normal social life."

For the study, researchers followed more than 5,500 light-to-moderate drinkers for up to seven years. All the participants were part of a large Spanish study on nutrition and cardiovascular health, and were between 55 and 80 years old.

None of the individuals had suffered from depression or had alcohol-related problems at the start of the study. Over seven years, with medical exams, interviews with dietitians and questionnaires, the researchers kept tabs on participants' mental health and lifestyle.

Wine was the most popular drink and participants who drank two to seven glasses a week were the least likely to suffer from depression, compared to nondrinkers.

These findings remained significant even after the researchers took factors such as smoking, diet and marriage into account.

Eva Redei, a distinguished professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, in Chicago, also expressed doubts about the direct effect of wine on depression.

"Considering the increase of major depression in the age group examined in this study, the finding of protective effects of moderate alcohol consumption is intriguing," she said.

However, it raises more questions than answers. "Is moderate wine consumption related to increased socialization, decreased cardiovascular events, or as it seems, increased activity? These questions are not answered by this study, but the findings are definitely worth noticing," Redei said.

"Is it possible that 'in vino veritas' [in wine there's truth] reflects a bigger truth?" she asked.