Avoid These Foods When Eating Out
By Sara Butler
Restaurants have a real knack for making even something that seems relatively healthy into a calorie/fat/sugar bomb, and some items are just plain unsanitary. Sure, you know to avoid the giant skillet cookie at the end of the meal, or give a pass to an appetizer with bloomin’ in the title, but what are the foods that are a bit sneakier in their unhealthiness? Read on to find out!
Water with Lemon
You’re probably scratching your head over this one, but it’s true! While not loaded with calories, the cut up lemons you get at restaurants can be loaded with something else -- bacteria. Unless you actually witness your server/cook cutting up the lemons with gloves on and using tongs, give lemons in your water a solid pass.
Movie Theater Popcorn
Popcorn has a reputation for being at least a little healthy as a snack, but when you go to the movies it’s really best to skip it. A Large popcorn at the average theater can have as many as 1,200 calories and several days’ worth of saturated fat to boot. If you can’t imagine watching a movie without popcorn, go for a small instead.
Chips and Salsa
Chips and salsa are usually a snack you can munch on responsibly, but when you eat it out at a restaurant you will feel compelled to eat and drink whatever is in front of you. So, unless you have otherworldly restraint it’s probably best to pass on any appetizer that is bottomless.
Salads
Salads seem like a good option, but when they’re loaded up with cheese, dressing and deep fried meat they can often have more calories than a burger and fries. If you like salads when eating out, you should ask for the dressing on the side and avoid the worst offenders which are usually cobb salads, Asian chicken salads, and Buffalo chicken salads.
Sprouts
Sprouts are usually something that doesn’t pose a threat to your health, but when you’re eating out you’re better served by leaving them off of what you’re ordering. This is because many foodborne illness outbreaks have been linked to alfalfa sprouts, including salmonella and E. coli outbreaks.
Medium Rare Burgers
Undercooked meat is a huge threat to your health. Ground beef needs to be cooked to the appropriate temperature to ensure that the bacteria in the meat are dead because in the grinding process it is exposed to many microbes that can make you sick. Make sure any burger you order is cooked to at least medium.
Chiropractic is about more than just the health of your spine, it's about your overall health -- and your chiropractor cares about the food you eat!
