Healthy Fast Food - Good Choices Gone Bad

Posted on Apr 13th 2009 4:00PM by Bethany Sanders

Fast food restaurants have long been criticized for their fatty, salty menu options -- greasy burgers, salty fries and gigantic sodas. So they've started adding choices for the health conscious, like salads, baked potatoes and yogurt. But it seems when healthy choices are on the menu, people might actually let down their guards and go big -- choosing the least healthy option instead of the salad.

Three small studies turned up this conclusion, and it's an intriguing finding. Study author Keith Wilcox attributes it to the "licensing effect." You know how sometimes after a long run, you think to yourself, "Well, I can indulge at dinner tonight, I worked out." The same appears to happen in the brain when salad or other healthy choices show up on a fast food menu. "People give themselves license to eat more indulgently because there is a healthy option," Wilcox tells That's Fit.

Smart Food Choices

By Liz Neporent
When it comes to making good food choices, conventional wisdom seems to be a moving target. Think you're up on the latest nutrition facts? Test yourself to see which of the following food pairs is the healthier choice.

Farmed or Wild Salmon?

Farm-raised salmon contain 13 times more cancer-causing pollutants than salmon caught in the wild. Since the bulk of the contaminants are stored in fish fat, you can eliminate them by removing the skin and grilling thoroughly -- but this also reduces heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Ketchup or Tomatoes?

Organic ketchups -- typically darker in color compared to non-organic brands -- are the best source of lycopene, a chemical that reduces the risk of heart disease and fends off many types of cancer. Ketchup contains about five times as much lycopene per weight as a tomato.

Cloudy or Clear Apple Juice?

The murkier the juice, the higher the antioxidant count -- up to four times higher than the sparkling version, according to a brand new Polish study. Though clear is more attractive, it's been processed to remove apple solids, diminishing many of the health benefits.

Butter or Margarine?

Believe it: Butter is the better choice. Both butter and margarine are high in calories and saturated fat but traditional margarines also delivers two to three grams of artery busting trans fats per tablespoon. A recent slew of new heart-smart margarines are trans fat free and can actually help lower cholesterol.

Red or Green Pepper?

All bell peppers are deliciously healthy because they're low in calories and high in vitamins, antioxidants and fiber. But when green peppers are ripened to red they become true nutritional champs by supplying a generous dose of lycopene and 50 percent more vitamin C as well.

Black Tea or Tea With Milk?

Hold that splash of moo juice to your spot of tea. A German study found that all of tea's cardio-protective effects are canceled out by adding milk. Milk proteins called caseins decrease the amount of catechins, the compound found in tea shown to guard against heart disease.

Bottled or Tap Water?

The thirst for bottled water has nearly doubled in the past decade despite the fact that it offers no real health benefits. A four-year study judged it no safer or cleaner than regular tap water. Bottles gobble up natural resources and cost up to 10,000 times more than turning on a faucet.

Low Fat or Full Fat Dairy?

More than 19,000 women who ate at least one serving of full fat dairy each day put on less weight over the long term, according to a Swedish study . Low-fat dairy didn't seem to prevent a bulked up waist line but researchers are unclear why.

In one study, Wilcox gave participants -- college students -- two different menus. One had french fries, chicken nuggets and baked potatoes. The other had all three choices, plus a salad. Participants were three times more likely to choose fries when offered the menu with the salad than without.

Before you think that this can't possibly apply to you because you've got incredible self-control, listen to this: Wilcox says that this effect was highest among those with high self-control. "When there's no healthy option, your guard is up," says Wilcox, "Particularly for those with good self-control. Those high in self-control can avoid french fries, but not when a salad is present." Those without as much willpower were less affected by the salad on the menu.

Wilcox even replicated the study using desserts. Those 100-calorie snack packs that are so controversial? When people saw those, they chose fudge-covered Oreos instead.

My husband and I were talking about this over lunch, and he made a really good point. "It's like eBay," he said, "Or shopping at a discount store. You think you're getting a really good deal, so you end up spending more."

Wilcox's advice, especially for those who think they've got good self-control, is to just be aware of this when you're eating out. Little things can get you to let your guard down, and you might not even realize it. If you're indulging, by all means, indulge. But if your plan is to order a low-cal meal, you want to make sure you follow through with that.

What do you think of these findings? Do you think they apply to you? Do you eat more when there are healthy items on the menu?