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Chinese food packs in salt, calories

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 22, 2007

WASHINGTON - The typical Chinese restaurant menu is a sea of nutritional no-nos, a consumer group has found.

A plate of General Tso's chicken, for example, is loaded with about 40 percent more sodium and more than half the calories an average adult needs for an entire day. The battered, fried chicken dish with vegetables has 1,300 calories, 3,200 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of saturated fat. And that's before the rice (200 calories a cup).

"I don't want to put all the blame on Chinese food," said Bonnie Liebman, nutrition director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which released the report Tuesday. "Across the board, American restaurants need to cut back on calories and salt, and in the meantime, people should think of each meal as not one, but two, and bring home half for tomorrow."

The average adult needs about 2,000 calories a day and 2,300 milligrams of salt, which is about one teaspoon of salt, according to government guidelines.

In some ways, Liebman said, Italian and Mexican restaurants are worse, because their food is higher in saturated fat, which can increase the risk of heart disease. While Chinese restaurant food is bad for your waistline and blood pressure, it offers vegetable-rich dishes and the kind of fat that's not bad for the heart. But veggies aren't off the hook. A plate of stir-fried greens has 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of sodium.

The group found that not much has changed since it examined Chinese food 15 years ago. "Some restaurant food has gotten a lot worse," Liebman said. "Instead of just cheesecake, you get coconut chocolate chip cheesecake with a layer of chocolate cake."

Fast Facts:

Healthy alternatives

- Look for dishes with vegetables instead of meat or noodles. Ask for extra broccoli, snow peas or other veggies.

- Steer clear of deep-fried meat, seafood or tofu. Order it stir-fried or braised.

- Hold the sauce, and eat with a fork or chopsticks to leave more sauce behind.

- Avoid salt, which means steering clear of the duck sauce, hot mustard, hoisin sauce and soy sauce.

- Share your meal or take half home for later.

- Ask for brown rice instead of white rice.

Fast facts

The skinny on Chinese food

Average adult needs per day 2,000 calories and 2,300 milligrams of salt (about 1 teaspoon)

General Tso's chicken 1,300 3,200

Egg rolls 200 and 400

Stir-fried greens 900 and 2,200

Eggplant in garlic sauce 1,000 and 2,000

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 02:17:19]