HEALTHY Fast-Food Breakfast?

Even Paleo Dude knows that "healthy fast-food" is a whole lot of hooey. And he's just a STOOPID caveman.

Or is he?????????

If our little caveman read CNN.com's latest article entitled "America's Healthiest Fast-Food Breakfasts", (http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/02/18/fast.food.breakfast.health/index.html) it would be very clear to him that modern man put the moron in that oxymoron.

But before I launch into my nutrition-geek rant, let me say this:

I know this stuff is well intended.
I know people are trying.
I know people are suffering and desperate for answers.
I know that some health professionals are curious and some are studious.

The curious treat people. The studious treat symptoms.

The studious collaborated on this article.

And the article starts out with this quote: "The key to finding a healthy breakfast, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, is finding a good-for-you mix of complex carbs (like whole grains), protein, and healthy fats to keep you satisfied."

Kinda sorta.

(Before I continue, let me point out that I am a layperson arguing with a doctor, which either means I'm nuts or she might want to check out some research by curious health professionals.)

Anyway, to her point, we do need a good-for-you mix, but hers isn't it. First of all, the order should be re-ordered. Proteins and Healthy Fats first, then Carbohydrates...and those that come from "whole grains" can be largely misinterpreted. For instance, A whole grain muffin is typically loaded with sugar, transfats and hydrogenated oils. All of which are unhealthy and cancel out any of the health benefits of the grains, which may have at one point been whole. And, ideally, we should get our carbohydrates from vegetables. (Yes, most vegetables are carbohydrates.)

Furthermore, we can live without grains entirely. We never needed them in the first place. Didn't have them for a long time, actually.

Yet guys like Paleo Dude were able to populate the earth for centuries...without diabetes, heart disease or Fibromyalgia.

What's more. Grains make us fat...fat doesn't. (WHAT!)

And if the grains are the processed and refined kind, like white flour, (what the bulk of the American diet is comprised of) well, that contributes to the growing population of growing individuals who have chronically high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high LDL (bad cholesterol), low HDL (good cholesterol), high triglycerides, low moods, compromised immune systems, a propensity for pills and a great chance for being a contestant on shows like The Biggest Loser, which is the biggest bummer.

So how do we become the biggest winners?

Easy!

Cook.
Read lables.
Buy local.

And be among the curious, who see the restaurants on the "Healthy Fast-Food Breakfast" list (Panera, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, IHOP, McDonalds, Denny's, Au Bon Pain, Jamba Juice, Starbucks and Cosi) and become even more curious.

Then remember these simple principals:

As Paleo Dude might say:

"Meat good. No meat bad."
"Fat Good. Lowfat bad."
"Vegetables good. Flour bad."

But since the article only defines the kinds of carbohydrates we should eat (usually sugar and bad fat in disguise ) and not what kind of protein and fat we should eat, allow me.

First, the protein: Make it grass-fed, cage-free, or wild-caught. Those proteins are all loaded with good fats like Omega 3's, that come from cows who walked around in the sun and got lots of Vitamin D and healthy enzymes from the soil (yes, even modern soil). They didn't get lots of hormones and antibiotics and they didn't sit around inside crowded pens, defecating all over each other...and eating...duh-duh-duh GRAINS! It also comes from free-range chicken (skin on!) cage-free chicken eggs (yolks a must!) wild-caught salmon, sardines, etc...

And the fat? Same sources. The stuff that comes from grass-fed cows (butter, cream, whole milk, not skim. Sorry, First Lady, Obama. I know you mean well, but kids need lots of good, healthy fats for their growing brains and bodies and skim milk is just a leftover trend from the 80's that is almost as bad as mall bangs, except mall bangs won't contribute to our ever-declining health. Skim milk will.) More of the good stuff: olive oil, avocados, fish oil...(from fish) nuts, seeds and even LARD...animal, not Crisco.

And if you think this is going to stop your heart, I hope you will stop thinking that and start trying something new, because the low fat/high carb diet is killing us.

So go get your labs done, try a diet with the above principals, then get your labs done again in six months and see what happens. Not just to your numbers but to your body and your overall feeling of well being.

Or don't believe me and believe the CNN article. (Cringe.)

But remember this: Your body stores fat until the carbs are gone. It won't burn fat before carbs. And given the ratio of carb-to-fat in these breakfasts, "IHOP" you will see that the math is not in your favor.

If you'd like some resources from curious health professionals, see my post "How's that diet workin' for ya'?" From 2-9-11.

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