The Misfortune of Loving Chinese Food

I wish I could say ignorance is bliss. But when you work in the media, you have tons of up-to-date information right at your fingertips all day long. So I cannot say with a clear conscience that I didn’t know Chinese food was bad for me.

At least not until yesterday when the Center for Science in the Public Interest spoiled my day by announcing that Chinese food isn’t all that healthy. What!? My son hates to go there because there are so many vegetables in the food. But culprits like sugary sauces and salty soups and deep-fried fare (goodbye crab Rangoon and egg rolls) aren’t very good for us. In fact, Lemon Chicken, which is battered, deep-fried, and served with a sugary yellow sauce, has 1,400 calories and 13 grams of saturated fat. CSPI says that's like eating three fried McChicken sandwiches plus a 32-oz. Coke at McDonald's.

Knowing just how much salt is in your favorite food is like…pouring salt into your wounds. Chinese restaurant meals can contain an entire day’s worth of sodium and some contain two days’ worth, according to CSPI’s new report. On the bright side, Chinese food is often rich in vegetables and the fat comes mostly from heart-safe, trans-fat-free vegetable oils. And it hasn’t gotten any worse since the last study – unlike some American fast food – double stuffed pizza, Hardees thick burgers.

Putting it all into perspective salt-wise, we aren’t supposed to have anymore than 2,300 mg of sodium in our diet each day. That’s only a teaspoon of salt, folks! I’ve seen them sprinkle more than that on fries while I was waiting at the counter at McDonalds. And think of the salt we sprinkle (er, pour) on our popcorn at the movie theatre. Salt equals more soda at the concession stand which spells big profits for the theatre owner.

I should have known this was coming, especially after I have sworn off other unhealthy foods and have began adding more fruits and vegetables (broccoli, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts) to my diet. Didn’t my fortune at the last Chinese restaurant say big changes were in store? I guess that’s the way the fortune cookie crumbles. But then again, that’s probably bad for you too.