Eat This, Not That

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Science & HealthPage 15 The Lightning Strike • November-December 2010

People aren’t always aware of what they are consuming since large restaurant chains work hard to cover up the nutritional information of unhealthy products. Here are some food items sold at popular local restaurants and foods they can be replaced with. They may surprise you in their calorie and fat content.

By Helen Goldsteinscience and health editor

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NUTRITION

First Lady promotes Let’s Move! initiative

HEALTH

An Einstein Bagels Eggway with bacon (a plain bagel, bacon, egg and cheese)contains 580 calories and 11 grams of fat.

Replace this with a McDonald's Egg McMuffin which only has 300 calories. It contains 12 grams of fat but is stacked with 18 grams of hunger-fighting protein.

A Whopper at Burger King has 670 calories and 40 calories from fat.

Replace this with a Wendy’s ¼-Pound Single which contains 430 calories and 20 grams of fat. For a burger that’s portioned to be a meal in and of itself, this is the best option.

A Krispy Kreme raspberry frozen blend has 590 calories and 19 grams of fat.

Replace this with a Dunkin donuts strawberry coolatta which contains 290 calories and zero fat grams.

A “like it,” or small cup, of vanilla ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery contains 340 calories and 170 grams of fat.

Replace this with a small cup of low-fat vanilla frozen yogurt at Yogen Fruz which contains 120 calories and 2.5 grams of fat.

Caffeine can be lethal if consumed in large amounts

DRUGS

By Helen Monterostaff writer

5 A bottle of Lipton Green Tea contains 136 calories.

Replace this with a bottle of Honest Tea Green Tea which has only 34 calories and is sweetened with organic cane sugar.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: First Lady Michelle Obama speaks to students at Riverside Elementary in Little Havana about eating healthily. She came to Miami to kick-off her Let’s Move! program, which brings salad bars to schools and promotes healthy living and an active lifestyle. Riverside Elementary was the first out of 6,000 schools to get the new salad bar. “Turn off the T.V. and start moving,” Obama said. “Put down the chips and pick up carrots.”

ALEXANDRA FEUERMAN

Caffeine is a drug that many underestimate, but if enough is consumed it can result in lethal consequences.

Michael Lee Bedford, a 23-year-old man in Mansfield, England, was offered caffeine in powdered form at a party. 15 minutes after washing down two spoonfuls with an energy drink, he began sweating and vomiting blood. He later died in the hospital. The two spoonfuls are equivalent to drinking 70 cans of an energy drink.

According to the National Coffee Association, 54% of adults 18 years and older drink

coffee daily. But coffee is not the problem. The problem lies in the levels of intake.

A moderate intake of caffeine for an adult is considered to be about 300 mg a day.

Caffeine occurs naturally in plants which are used for tea and the cocoa beans used to make chocolate. But caffeine can also be consumed through caffeine pills sold over-the-counter at most supermarkets, convenience stores and pharmacies. As a result of their accessibility, it is easy to underestimate them.

Sophomore Laura Zuluaga has experimented with them before.

“Last year a friend gave some to me when I was tired and said they would work because she used it to stay up all night for her

research paper,” said Zuluaga. “After I took them in the morning, I was so hyper!”

Caffeine is a legal substance and sales are not limited in the United States. VarietyShoppe.com allows you to buy a ½ oz of 100% Pure White Crystalline Powder Caffeine for $12.95. A half ounce of caffeine can be found in about 44 cups of a large Starbucks b r e w e d coffee.