by Sam Smart

Created on: June 18, 2009   Last Updated: February 03, 2010

What comes to your mind when you hear the term "fast food"? Probably hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, or even Ronald McDonald, especially if you have children who love trips to McDonald's. When health-minded people think about fast food, however, they think about the contents associated with it: lots of salt on french fries, hamburgers with grease, chicken that is fried in oil, and so on.

Some countries, especially the United States, have become "fast-food nations" because so many people enjoy ordering unhealthy foods at places such as McDonald's, Wendy's, and Rally's. True, fast food may be indeed quick; quick enough to purchase a meal using a Wendy's drive-thru service in three minutes. However, people still have the right to become concerned with the nutritional values. Some foods that are cooked are indeed healthy; some may not be so healthy.

Many times, foods that are fried in hot oil at fast-food restaurants can be loaded with lots of saturated fat. A bag of french fries is a perfect example, because those fries are typically fried in vegetable oil. Very few customers ask workers to bake french fries. Baking the fries doesn't call for using a draining basket to drain so much oil out. They can rather be cooked inside ovens. Beef cheeseburgers can be considered unhealthy as well. They are consisted of ground beef and loads of cheeses, making them culprits of raising cholesterol levels.

But there are some well-known restaurants that don't rely solely on junk fast food:

*Burger King

Burger King sells veggie burgers because the restaurant wants to sells nutritious burgers without losing the flavor people love. For people who want healthy burgers that can still be delicious, they would be wise to order a BK Veggie Burger, or ask for turkey burgers at other restaurants.

*Fazoli's

Fazoli's is an Italian-based restaurant which makes healthy pasta cuisines. Ordering a small plate of Fazoli's spaghetti will be wonderful because it only has two grams of fat and is consisted of pasta and marinara sauce. Add three dry breadsticks and bottled water as sides, and you got yourself a tasty meal that is worth only eight grams of fat.

*Subway

Subway is another restaurant that is hip to health. This company sells a wide range of submarine sandwiches that are low in fat. One example is a six-inch Veggie Delite. This vegetarian sandwich has 2.5 grams of fat and is loaded with vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes, and green peppers. Many of the sandwiches Subway prepares are loaded with vegetables, which are important for everyone's health.

Just how healthy fast food is? It depends on the foods you choose. Fast food tends to be both healthy and unhealthy. One can wish that more people should stop eating not-so-nutritious fast foods so often, and select healthy fast foods to promote better lifestyles and reduce risks of heart attacks.

Sources

Official SUBWAY Restaurants' Nutritional Information

www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/nutritionl ist.aspx?id=sandwich

SUBWAY FRESHBUZZ

www.subwayfreshbuzz.com/menu/freshfit_choices/veggie _delite

Nutritional Information - Fazoli's

www.fazolis.com/menu/nutrition/c/classic_pasta

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