Mâncarea din restaurantele chinezeşti nu este sănătoasă

Un studiu a constat că meniul tipic dintr-un restaurant chinezesc este plin de substanţe nutriţionale nerecomandate. O porţie de pui gătit
în stil chinezesc are cu 40% mai mult sodiu decât îi este necesar unui
adult şi are cu 50% mai multe calorii decât un pui gătit în mod normal.

Puiul prăjit în stil vhinezesc are 1.300 de calorii, la care se mai adaugă şi 200 de calorii, dacă se alege garnitura de orez.



"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
did a report released 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," Liebman said.

The average adult needs around 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 for
your health, 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
— sodium contributes to hypertension — it does offer vegetable-rich
dishes and the kind of fat that's not bad for the heart.
Chiar dacă mâncarea chinezească dăunează figurii şi inimii, pentru că sodiul contribuie la hipertensiune, acaesta oferă o varietate largă de feluri de mâncare care conţin legume şi care nu afectează inima, pentru că nu sunt compuse din grăsimi

However — and this is a big however — the veggies aren't off the hook.
A plate of stir-fried greens has 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of
sodium. And eggplant in garlic sauce has 1,000 calories and 2,000
milligrams of sodium.

"We were shocked. We assumed the vegetables were all low in calories,"
Liebman said.

Also surprising were some appetizers: An order of six steamed pork
dumplings has 500 calories, and there's not much difference, about 10
calories per dumpling, if they're pan-fried.

The group found that not much has changed since it examined Chinese food 15
years ago. That's not all bad, Liebman said.

"We were glad not to find anything different," she said. "Some restaurant
food has gotten a lot worse. Companies seem to pile on. Instead of just
cheesecake, you get coconut chocolate chip cheesecake with a layer of
chocolate cake, and lasagna with meatballs."

The group says there is no safe harbor from sodium on the Chinese
restaurant menu, but it offers several tips for making a meal healthier:

_Look for dishes that feature 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.