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Eye-opening chinese food articleEye-opening chinese food article
Sweetvirgo said: "Because I've been hearing and reading for years through various health resources that chinese food is extremely high in sodium and not all that healthy because of the way they're cooked or because of the sauces they're all mixed in, I only eat it once or twice a year. I wonder if people reading the article will stop going to chinese buffet houses as a result or pay more attention to what they put on their plate?
I also only consume whole-weat pasta at home and limit myself to 1/2 cup cooked pasta (about 35 strands of dry spaghettini) with more veggies. I strive to hold-off eating pasta in restaurants because it's a white-flour starch product which health experts say is not all that good for us. If I'm in the mood for mexican-flavoured meals, I make my own at home since I can then control what is or isn't in it.
Like fallen_angel said, self-education is the best tool a consumer can possess."
Heather said: "I read that same article.
The reason General Tso's chicken is so bad for you is because everyone loves the stuff. :)
Whenever we order Chinese I get garlic brocolli so at least nothing is deep fried.."
spectrachic311 said: "I always order the steamed veggies with no sauce at all. I also make my own brown rice and it tastes a lot better. My husband ALWAYS get's General Tso's and he makes it into two meals and a snack. He eats half the dinner one night, takes the rest for lunch, and eats the egg roll as a snack. I think the veggie dishes with the hidden calories are the ones that are stirfried. You really gotta be careful. This is also why we only rarely eat Chinese."
xlilphishx said: "Chinese Food is SOOOOOO bad for you. Especially sometimes the quality isn't always great either. When I was little, I went to Chinatown with my family in the city and had general tsao's chicken. I had a parasite that was in my intestines. Let me tell you that was the most excruciating pain I was ever in. I NEVER eat Chinese Food. I am certain that next time I will find something else in my food. YUCK! Plus, it is the most fattening food."
GreenEyes said: "Oh my, I had Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, an Egg Roll and Crab Puffs last night:( After reading this, I will have to re-think some healthier Chinese food choices."
Matt_9 said: "[B]WASHINGTON (AP) -- The typical Chinese restaurant menu is a sea of nutritional no-nos, a consumer group has found.[/B]
A plate of General Tso's chicken, for example, is loaded with about 40 percent more sodium and more than half the calories an average adult needs for an entire day.
The battered, fried chicken dish with vegetables has 1,300 calories, 3,200 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of saturated fat. (Watch to learn how to make healthier choices when you eat Chinese food. )
That's before you add the rice (200 calories a cup), and the egg rolls (200 calories and 400 milligrams of sodium).
"I don't want to put all the blame on Chinese food," said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, whose report was released Tuesday.
"Across the board, American restaurants need to cut back on calories and salt, and in the meantime, people should think of each meal as not one, but two, and bring home half for tomorrow," Liebman said.
The average adult needs around 2,000 calories a day and 2,300 milligrams of salt, which is about one teaspoon of salt, according to government guidelines.
In some ways, Liebman said, Italian and Mexican restaurants are worse for your health, because their food is higher in saturated fat, which can increase the risk of heart disease.
While Chinese restaurant food is bad for your waistline and blood pressure -- sodium contributes to hypertension -- it does offer vegetable-rich dishes and the kind of fat that's not bad for the heart.
'Shocked' by the veggies
However -- and this is a big however -- the veggies aren't off the hook. A plate of stir-fried greens has 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of sodium. And eggplant in garlic sauce has 1,000 calories and 2,000 milligrams of sodium.
"We were shocked. We assumed the vegetables were all low in calories," Liebman said.
Also surprising were some appetizers: An order of six steamed pork dumplings has 500 calories, and there's not much difference -- about 10 calories per dumpling -- if they're pan-fried.
The group found that not much has changed since it examined Chinese food 15 years ago. That's not all bad, Liebman said.
"We were glad not to find anything different," she said. "Some restaurant food has gotten a lot worse. Companies seem to pile on. Instead of just cheesecake, you get coconut chocolate chip cheesecake with a layer of chocolate cake, and lasagna with meatballs."
Tips for healthier Chinese meal
The group says there is no safe harbor from sodium on the Chinese restaurant menu, but it offers several tips for making a meal healthier:
Look for dishes that feature vegetables instead of meat or noodles. Ask for extra broccoli, snow peas or other veggies.
Steer clear of deep-fried meat, seafood or tofu. Order it stir-fried or braised.
Hold the sauce, and eat with a fork or chopsticks to leave more sauce behind.
Limit salt, which means steering clear of the duck sauce, hot mustard, hoisin sauce and soy sauce.
Share your meal or take half home for later.
Ask for brown rice instead of white rice."
angel_rising said: "I used to think that chinese food was healthy when I was younger, but when I started to get serious about losing weight and doing research, I came to the sad relization that the americanmized chinese resturants are not healthy at all. It is up to us the consumer to do the research and make educated decisions.
Angel"
John_KY said: "I definately think overindulgence in Chinese food was a factor in my weight gain. These days we rarely eat out, but when we do, there are some Chinese restuarants around that will accomodate us with steamed chicken and vegetables (or sometimes shrimp or bean curd for variety). It's pretty tasty and we can control how much soy sauce we apply and can also skip the rice.
John"
lakelady said: "When he was in high school, my oldest son worked as a delivery guy for a chinese take-out place. When meal-times came for the proprietors, one of them went across the street to the grocery store, bought supplies, and cooked the family a meal in the restaurant kitchen. A kitchen already stocked with food! They NEVER ate anything for sale in the resaurant. He said if that family wouldn't eat the food they cooked for other people, HE certainly wasn't going to. To my knowledge he hasn't eaten chinese take out since that job! My youngest hasn't let that bother him. he finds a way to have general tso's at least 4 times a week! (we have a nearby chinese place) He's a teen of course, and eats a whole dinner-sized meal for a snack before supper, never gains an ounce!"
DrCOOL959 said: "[quote=xlilphishx]Chinese Food is SOOOOOO bad for you. Especially sometimes the quality isn't always great either. When I was little, I went to Chinatown with my family in the city and had general tsao's chicken. I had a parasite that was in my intestines. Let me tell you that was the most excruciating pain I was ever in. I NEVER eat Chinese Food. I am certain that next time I will find something else in my food. YUCK! Plus, it is the most fattening food.[/quote]
I have always wondered exactly what part of the chicken, or pig or whatever meat they decided to put into chinese food.
It seems to always be the nastiest, most scraggly piece they can find.
Grade F Clown meat"
Amber said: "[FONT="Verdana"][SIZE="1"][COLOR="Blue"]Wow! Reading that makes me feel horrible because I ate SO much Chinese food last night for dinner. :( Ugh![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]"