Scientists Identify The Least Healthy Menu Items At Chain Restaurants

Reports keep coming out that claim the food served by chain restaurants such as The Cheesecake Factory, Uno Pizzeria & Grill and Buffalo Wild Wings is really bad for our bodies.

But those reports couldn't possibly be referring to the entire menu at every restaurant, so which menu items are the worst, and how bad are they?

That's the basis of the Center for Science in the Public Interest's research into the least healthy menu items being served by chain restaurants across the country, a list so long they had to narrow it down to nine items.

High on the Xtreme Eating List is The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict, which weighs in at 86 grams of saturated fat and 2580 calories.

Buffalo Wild Wing's Dessert Nachos aren't far behind with 2100 calories, but Uno Pizzeria & Grill's weighs in even larger with their whopping 2850 calorie Whole Hog Burger.

Why do these lists always make me so hungry?

Read Scientists Identify the Least Healthy Foods at Chain Restaurants at mental_floss

Comments (1)

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Glad to say I've never eaten any of those things. Never even heard of most of those places.

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Coffee lowers the seizure threshold. A pretty good reason for epileptics such as I to avoid it, if you ask me, since I'm spending enough on Lamictal and Topamax to want to get my money's worth!!

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Do they have a melamine milk test too?
Do they have a pesticide veggies test too?
Do they have a mad cow test too?
Do they have a dioxin chicken test too?

OMG, we're doomed...

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Unfathomable, I know...

But - My wife is a coffee addict and continues to buy decaf soy lattes throughout each pregnancy. She can usually trust her local barista to give her decaff, but these strips would come in handy in other situations when an error is more likely.

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Similarly, my husband is on medication to keep his heart rate low. I try to emphasize to the baristas that his coffee *must* be decaf or he may end up in the hospital and we still occasionally get the high octane stuff from folks who don't pay attention. (He desperately misses the real stuff, though)

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My wife falls over if she takes caffeine - a good reason to avoid it, though this may be taking things a bit far. Just asking for decaff's usually enough.

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this would be good for when i visit the in-laws - mom seems to think we drink too much coffee and tries to brew decaf on the sly. then she wonders why i'm so cross by midday. beside the fact that i'm visiting my inlaws.

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Some people I know can tell if they got decaff or not. This would be good to proove a hunch.

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let me help you understand why someone would want to avoid caffeinated beverages. for someone who is not conditioned the the effects of caffeine, the caffeine can be quite potent, and i for one, am not interested in drinking any kind of speed, it makes me paranoid and jittery. bigtime.

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I can think of good reasons for this, actually. Say you want a latte at 8pm and you want it decaf-- these would be great. Or, if you abstain from caffeine (I think Mormons do). Or, if it gives you headaches. Or...

But I do love, just LOVE, my caffeine in the morning. :)

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Unfortunately, these don't appear to be quantitative - only "more than about 20mg of caffeine/6oz" or "less than...".

Since Caffeine is my Friend, I would love a more quantitative version of these. "Does this so-called 'energy drink' actually contain a decent amount of caffeine, or is it cheap, dilute, mass-market crap?"

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These test strips are a great idea, particularly since caffeine intoxication is becoming a serious health concern. Beverage, food and pharmaceuticals have higher and higher amounts of caffeine as an ingredient. Candy bars and gum even have caffeine. Most people have no idea just how much caffeine they consume daily. For example, Starbucks coffee has 50 percent more caffeine than home-brew.

There's a good article on Caffeine Facts on the Ethic Soup blog at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/abcs-of-caffeine.html

And if the serious aspects of caffeine get to you,lighten up and read a really funny article on "25 reasons you know you've had too much caffeine at:

http://www.ethicsoup.com/25-reasons-you-know-youve-had-too-much-coffee.html

Sharon McEachern

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Here's where you can get Caffeine test strips:

http://www.filterwater.com/pc-214-9-caffeine-test-strips.aspx

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Not so hard to fathom - I drank multiple cups of super-high-octane every day for many years. But one gets a little older, the metabolism changes, and suddenly caffeine becomes poisonous. what a shame!
So thanks for finding this excellent defensive product.

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