I was talking to TJFKAK the other day about eating ‘healthy’ at Panda Express. I mean, can this be done? Seems like everything there is pretty much saturated in oil. Here are a few interesting notes from the nutritional information posted on their website.
They’re putting something in the rice. One serving (8oz) of plain steamed rice has 380 calories, 2.5g of fat, and 81g of carbs. Fried rice has 450 calories, 14g of fat, and 710mg of sodium.
Orange chicken is the worst stuff there. One serving has 500 calories, 27g of fat and 810mg of sodium.
BBQ pork has 400 calories, 23g of fat and 1570mg of sodium - that’s over 60% of the recommended daily sodium intake. Sweet and sour pork is also pretty bad, with 400 calories and 23g of fat.
What’s not so bad?
As TJFKAK correctly pointed out, mixed vegetables are just that - 70 calories of healthy veggies, with minimal sodium and almost no fat.
Mushroom chicken ain’t bad either, just 130 calories, 6g of fat and 520mg of sodium.
Popular Kung Pao chicken has 240 calories, 15g of fat - not too bad.
Beef dishes are surprisingly healthy as well. Mongolian beef only has 180 calories and 11g of fat (although 800mg of sodium), while broccoli beef has 150 calories and just 7g of fat.
Shrimp is also healthy - but they do charge an extra $1 for it. Tangy shrimp has only 150 calories and 5g of fat. That seems encouraging, but I’m actually pretty sure it’s because they only put like 2 shrimps in there.
Looking for protein? Mandarin chicken has the most - 31g of protein, and a reasonable 250 calories, 10g of fat…but 1150mg of sodium.
Conclusions? As long as you stay away from the orange chicken and pork, Panda Express is not that bad for you. Although if you’re trying to stay away from sodium, perhaps go somewhere else. The BBQ pork may send you to the emergency room.
New York Times is reporting today that the former director of Chinese Food and Drug regulation has been sentenced to death following a series of scandals as a result of substandard drugs being sold abroad. In light of the recent pet food scandals it appears that industry in China is left to manufacture and sell products without any oversight. This poses a big problem globally as China emerges as a world power. In most cases it seems that a Chinese drug maker added a dangerous chemical to some product either to cut costs. The United States really should step in and begin testing these imports from China to issue safety before allowing these products on the market. I’m currently worried that purchasing a food or drug product in China might kill me down the road unless someone steps in to ensure its safety. Maybe this is a great idea for a private business?
Something that always gets under my skin is the prevalence of university studies that retroactively report benefits of an unhealthy lifestyle. Whenever these studies are released they get widespread attention just because they continue to reinforce the stubbornness of people. What many people don’t understand about statistics is since these studies aren’t done prospective rather than retrospective, the validity of these finding are suspect. Although the studies may show correlation between risk factors they do not prove causation.
Earlier this week I just purchased some of Trader Joe’s Strawberry Kefir drink. The taste is similar to yogurt and the consistency is like a melted milkshake. The health benefits of drinking Kefir is widely known and often quoted. I like drinking it because it tastes good and I like the idea of getting some extra protein without having to cook something. On a side note, Kefir is supposedly easier to digest than milk for people that have lactose intolerance issues. I personally can’t consume milk of any kind and I don’t have any problems with Trader Joe’s Kefir. If you like yogurt I’d give it a try, I’m definitely going to buy this one again. I have a pretty good suspicion that Japa will like this one too.
You can also make your own Kefir buy purchasing the starter culture and leaving your milk out on the counter. I’d rather buy mine than worry about leaving the milk out too long.
Budweiser has done it again and launched another beer. I’m beginning to think this is a yearly occurrence. Anyone remember the energy drink?World Select?Budweiser Select? Well this year its Landshark Lager: A new fun beach theme beer in the style of Corona and Pacifico just without the piss( just kidding.) MY guess is that this will be successful as those other launches. If I were Anheuser Busch I’d put my R&D into developing a beer that contains nicotine. Seriously, that would be some rad shit.
As someone that has to know about medical diseases for professional reasons, I came across a new medicine called Havidol. Apparently DSACDAD is manifested as someone that “…reported such symptoms as worrying about life, feeling tense, restless, or fatigued, being concerned about their weight, noticing signs of aging, feeling stress at work, home, or finding activities they used to enjoy, like shopping, challenging.”
The creator of Havidol is a genius, and her name is Justine Cooper. She created this medication to treat the millions of people suffering personally from this disease.
If you need more information about the drug or disease please follow the links above and get some help. You deserve to do it for yourself!
Dethroner had an interesting discussion about a clinical trial regarding the chemical composition of what is believed to be “commitment.” The idea being that one day scientists may be able to develop commitment in a bottle. The question I pose is whether its ethical to create this medicine. I would assume that this drug would be prescribed to spouses that have cheated and are struggling with commitment. Is it right to create a connection that is not there naturally?
My gut instinct would say that its wrong to chemically create anything that could be used to manipulate people. Would we be ok if there was a love pill people could take to create an attraction? We would probably say a pill like that would be unethical because the chance for someone to be taken advantage of is high. The same could be said about a pill that would make someone want to have sex; there’s no way we’d allow a drug like that on the market. A natural sign of someone that doesn’t want to be in a relationship is cheating behavior. Is it a disease if someone doesn’t want to be married?
One tenet we have in America is that people are allowed to make free choices about who they marry and who they stay married to. A “commitment in a bottle” type drug would attempt to override someone’s “true feelings” and try to keep a relationship that isn’t really there. Furthermore, I do think the potential of abuse remains high since there are many people that would like to find a way to tame a cheating spouse. If my spouse cheated on me I certainly would look for anything to keep the marriage together including putting her on medication.
I was talking to TJFKAK the other day about eating ‘healthy’ at Panda Express. I mean, can this be done? Seems like everything there is pretty much saturated in oil. Here are a few interesting notes from the nutritional information posted on their website.
Earlier this week I just purchased some of Trader Joe’s Strawberry 
Budweiser has done it again and launched another beer. I’m beginning to think this is a yearly occurrence. Anyone remember the 
As someone that has to know about medical diseases for professional reasons, I came across a new medicine called 
Dethroner had an interesting discussion
