If You Eat at This Fast-Food Restaurant, You’re in for a Surprise

Dear Natural Health Solutions Reader,

For most of my adult life, the hip, happening, educated people (HHEP) in my sphere have dismissed “fast food” as a nutritional disaster.

They are right, no doubt. But why, exactly, is it so disastrous?

This is where things get murky.

Fifty years of relentless anti-meat propaganda persuaded many of the HHEP that the principal evil in American food is saturated fat, like the kind found in a hamburger patty.

Excuse me, “artery-clogging saturated fat.” Almost forgot the obligatory modifier.

But sorry, HHEP, this has turned out to be completely wrong. Polyunsaturated seed oils (from corn, canola, soy, sunflower, and safflower) are now shown to be the likely drivers of heart disease.¹

Saturated animal fat, conversely, has no influence on heart disease risk.² In fact, I believe research will eventually prove it is heart protective.

So… should you begin pounding the Big Macs?

No. Here’s why.

In the first place, a fast-food meal usually contains a triumvirate of awful foods:

• Soda, the most health-destructive widely available consumable in modern America
• French fries, swaddled in the inflammation-causing seed oils referenced above
• And a pillowy bun of hyperprocessed wheat flour.

All terrible. All likely to spike inflammation, blood sugar, and lipogenesis — that is, fat formation.

But here’s the more surprising news.

And as it turns out, what should be the healthiest part of this meal — the burger patty itself — is no prize either.

The reason: antibiotic contamination.

A recent report by Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and four other consumer, public health, and environmental organizations pointed out that antibiotic residue in fast-food (and so-called “fast casual”) restaurants is common.³

Up to 80 percent of antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used in factory farms. This fattens the animals and allows them to survive the crowded, excrement-filled feedlots and cages in which they finish out their lives.

It also appears to drive the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant microbes including E. coli, which then become a threat to human health. As the report puts it:

“Misuse of antibiotics in human medicine is a significant factor in worsening resistance, but the CDC, the National Academy of Sciences, and other expert bodies agree that the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in food animals contribute to this public health problem as well.”

The new report provided a “scorecard” of the top 25 fast-food and fast-casual restaurants. It graded each restaurant’s policy regarding antibiotics in raising cattle and chicken and combined that with public statements the companies have made either to the press or on the websites.

The result?

Chipotle and Panera Bread were the only two to receive an A rating. The report noted that both have policies that prohibit use of antibiotics in their meat supplies.

Chick-fil-A received a B. That’s based on a pledge the chain made in 2014 to stop sourcing chicken raised with antibiotics over five years (as of March, the report notes, about 20 percent of the chicken they serve meets that goal).

Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s each got a C. Dunkin’ Donuts has stated its intention to phase out antibiotic-laced meat but hasn’t set a schedule for when that will actually happen. McDonald’s policy applies only to chicken. And according to the report, the company hasn’t revealed how much of the poultry served there is antibiotic free.

The other 20 restaurants all got a big, fat F. That includes KFC, Burger King, and Subway.

Is this report definitive proof of antibiotic contamination or lack of it? Probably not. I’d prefer that the report be based on lab tests and a willingness to undergo third-party audits rather than the stated policies of these restaurants.

But in order for such tests to be definitive, thousands of samples would need to be taken — that’s cost-prohibitive, and likely to remain so.

Bottom line: We should all exclusively eat homemade meals using organic ingredients from the farmer’s market or from our own gardens.

But life intervenes — sometimes there is no viable alternative to a meal from a chain restaurant.

This report confirms my observation that Chipotle appears to be one of the rare fast-food operations in America that warrants patronage from health-conscious consumers. Now I’ll add Panera Bread to that list (though, to avoid carbs, I’ll go for the soup and salad there and skip the bread).

As for the rest — they have a long way to go. Until they take up the antibiotic-free gauntlet cast by Chipotle and Panera Bread, I suggest passing them by.

Brad Lemley
Editor, Natural Health Solutions

Citations

1. Christakis G, Rinzler SH, Archer M, Kraus A. Effect of the Anti-Coronary Club Program on Coronary Heart Disease Risk-Factor Status. JAMA. 1966;198(6):597-604. doi:10.1001/jama.1966.03110190079022.

2. Siri-tarino PW, Sun Q, Hu FB, Krauss RM. Meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies evaluating the association of saturated fat with cardiovascular disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010;91(3):535-46.

3. Chain Reaction Report. webiva-downton.s3.amazonaws.com/877/d8/f/6472/FOE_ChainReactionReport. Accessed October 14, 2015.