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>You can buy a salad at any fast food restaurant, meaning you have access to healthy food even in a "food desert". Sometimes the salads are less healthy than t

>You can buy a salad at any fast food restaurant, meaning you have access to healthy food even in a "food desert". Sometimes the salads are less healthy than the alternative at fast food restaurants because of the dressing and portion sizes they give.

asow92 5y ago
> Sometimes the salads are less healthy than the alternative at fast food restaurants because of the dressing and portion sizes they give. The dressing can be given on the side. This is also a personal choice.
- jfengel 5y ago
  Even without the dressings, they tend to be loaded with items like meat, cheese, bacon, and croutons. The lettuce is a nutritional non-entity -- at best, a way of getting some extra water into you. Salads can be pretty good, if they're loaded with vegetables. You can get those at places that specialize in salad, and maybe even Subway. But the "side salads" that you get at fast food restaurants, while better than a burger and fries, aren't very good. As you say, personal choice. But a decent diet consists of avoiding fast food restaurants most of the time. If you have to, make the the best choice you can, but be aware that lettuce isn't magic health food.
  - asow92 5y ago
    What is magic health food?
    - netizen-936824 5y ago
      Greens that are actually green would be a good start. Most lettuce I see in those salads look like the plant incarnation of water
    - jfengel 5y ago
      There aren't any magic health foods. There are a lot of ways to eat a healthy diet. Most of them are based on a lot of vegetables (in different varieties), whole grains, pulses such as beans, and (if you like) some meat and dairy. The last is optional but makes certain things easier. It doesn't act like a video game power-up. It just provides adequate nutrition without overdoing any one aspect. It fills you up without giving you too many calories (the main thing that people overeat).
    - mbrodersen 5y ago
      Spinach, Kale, and Beans are as close to “magic” health food as you can get. However there is of course no magic going on. It’s just a question of giving your body the right source materials to heal itself from the damage caused by eating unhealthy food. The body is amazing at healing itself. But it can’t do it if you keep damaging it with crappy food and don’t give it the nutrients it needs to heal itself.
    - asow92 5y ago
      /s
edanm 5y ago
Or possibly not less healthy, but higher in calories leading to weight gain. Though really, I think it's unlikely you'll have a salad that's higher in calories than a burger and fries.

asow92 5y ago

> Sometimes the salads are less healthy than the alternative at fast food restaurants because of the dressing and portion sizes they give. The dressing can be given on the side. This is also a personal choice.

jfengel 5y ago
Even without the dressings, they tend to be loaded with items like meat, cheese, bacon, and croutons. The lettuce is a nutritional non-entity -- at best, a way of getting some extra water into you. Salads can be pretty good, if they're loaded with vegetables. You can get those at places that specialize in salad, and maybe even Subway. But the "side salads" that you get at fast food restaurants, while better than a burger and fries, aren't very good. As you say, personal choice. But a decent diet consists of avoiding fast food restaurants most of the time. If you have to, make the the best choice you can, but be aware that lettuce isn't magic health food.
- asow92 5y ago
  What is magic health food?
  - netizen-936824 5y ago
    Greens that are actually green would be a good start. Most lettuce I see in those salads look like the plant incarnation of water
  - jfengel 5y ago
    There aren't any magic health foods. There are a lot of ways to eat a healthy diet. Most of them are based on a lot of vegetables (in different varieties), whole grains, pulses such as beans, and (if you like) some meat and dairy. The last is optional but makes certain things easier. It doesn't act like a video game power-up. It just provides adequate nutrition without overdoing any one aspect. It fills you up without giving you too many calories (the main thing that people overeat).
  - mbrodersen 5y ago
    Spinach, Kale, and Beans are as close to “magic” health food as you can get. However there is of course no magic going on. It’s just a question of giving your body the right source materials to heal itself from the damage caused by eating unhealthy food. The body is amazing at healing itself. But it can’t do it if you keep damaging it with crappy food and don’t give it the nutrients it needs to heal itself.
  - asow92 5y ago
    /s

edanm 5y ago

Or possibly not less healthy, but higher in calories leading to weight gain. Though really, I think it's unlikely you'll have a salad that's higher in calories than a burger and fries.