Fast Food Choices

Information Resources

By Evelyn Cunico, MA, MS/LIS
Health Science Communications
Posted March 29, 2023

Fast Food Choices

Eating fast food does not mean you have to settle for the foods that come with your meal or sandwich. Although fast food restaurant menus are designed for convenience, you can ask for healthier options, substitutions, and portions. You can choose.

Here are a few tips to help you to decide which foods to choose when you visit a fast food restaurant.

• In general, eat at places that offer salads, soups, and vegetables. Select low-fat salad dressings, or vinegar, or lemon juice.
• If a fast food restaurant offers hamburger sizes, choose the smallest size, or a single meat patty. Ask for extra lettuce and tomatoes.
• Develop a taste for a baked potato, instead of French fries. Or add a fruit bowl or a fruit and yogurt option.
• Make a habit to look for chicken, fish, or red meat that is baked, broiled, grilled, or roasted. Avoid meals that are breaded or fried.
• If the dish on the menu comes with a heavy sauce, ask for it on the side, so that you can choose to use just a small amount.
• When ordering pizza, ask for a vegetable pizza or a pizza with a thin crust.
• Select low-fat desserts or order a dessert and ask for a doggy bag to enjoy part of the dessert at home.
• Many beverages are high in calories. Instead of a regular soda, order water or unsweetened iced tea. Water without sweeteners quenches thirst.

Nutrition specialists at the National Library of Medicine suggest that your own food choices can teach your children, too, how they can learn to choose nutritious foods.

For more information, see the following Selected Information Resources.

Disclaimer: Information in this blog should not replace the medical advice of your doctor. You should not use this information to diagnose or to treat any disease or other health condition without first consulting with your medical doctor or other health care provider.

Selected Information Resources

American Academy of Family Physicians. Making Healthy Choices at Fast Food Restaurants
Summary Note: Learn how often to eat at a fast food chain. Be prepared to look for healthy food choices before you order at a fast food chain. For example, look at the menu at chains, such as Burger chains, Chinese chains, Fried Chicken chains, Italian chains, Mexican chains, and Sandwich chains.
(Accessed 2023 March 25)

Mayo Clinic. Healthy Lifestyle. Nutrition and Healthy Eating. Fast Food: Tips for Choosing Healthier Options
Summary Note: Make a decision before you enter a fast food restaurant that you will order only healthy foods when you are in the restaurant. Consider food portion sizes and nutritious choices.
(Accessed 2023 March 25)

National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. Encyclopedia. Calorie Count – Fast Food
Summary Note: Browse a list of fast food items, their serving sizes, and the number of calories of each item. Categories include the names of fast food chains and the types of foods, such as Breakfast foods, Burgers, wraps, and sandwiches, Chicken, Tex-Mex, and Pizza.
(Accessed 2023 March 25)

National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. Encyclopedia. Fast Food Tips. Can You Eat Fast Food?
Summary Note: Cautions that in general, persons with diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure must be very careful about eating fast food. Offers tips for when you go to a fast food restaurant.
(Accessed 2023 March 25)

National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. Nutrition
Summary Note: MedlinePlus Home Page on Nutrition includes a section entitled, The Keys to a Healthy Eating Plan. In the section entitled, Related Issues, includes links to information about Fast Food choices.
(Accessed 2023 March 25)

High Blood Pressure

Information Resources

By Evelyn Cunico, MA, MS/LIS
Health Science Communications
Posted October 25, 2022

What Is High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a medical condition that develops when your blood pressure – the force of the blood on the walls of your arteries – flows through your arteries at higher than normal pressures.

Medical doctors make the diagnosis of high blood pressure after measuring blood pressure on two or more occasions. Your blood pressure is measured using two numbers, systolic and diastolic.

Systolic pressure is the pressure when the ventricles pump blood out of the heart. Diastolic pressure is the pressure between heartbeats when the heart is filling with blood.

A blood pressure reading is written as systolic pressure/diastolic pressure, for example, 120/80 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). This reading is referred to as 120 over 80.

Classification of Blood Pressure Levels

Normal blood pressure is classified by a systolic reading of less than 120 mm Hg and a diastolic reading of less than 80 mm Hg.

Elevated blood pressure is classified by a systolic reading of 120 – 129 mm Hg, and a diastolic reading of less than 80 mm Hg.

High blood pressure is classified by a systolic reading of 130 mm Hg or higher, and a diastolic reading of 80 mm Hg or higher.

This Classification of Blood Pressure Levels is according to the National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in the article entitled, What is High Blood Pressure (Hypertension), last updated on March 24, 2022.

High Blood Pressure: The Silent Killer

High blood pressure usually has no symptoms until it has caused serious health problems, such as chronic kidney disease, heart attack, heart failure, and stroke, so it has been called, the silent killer.

About one in three U.S. adults with high blood pressure are not aware they have high blood pressure and are not being treated to control their high blood pressure.

So, it is very important to have your blood pressure checked by a medical doctor at least once a year, according to experts at the NHLBI.

Three Things to Control or Lower High Blood Pressure

One: Adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle, including choosing heart-healthy foods, such as those in the DASH Eating Plan

Two: Get into the habit of daily physical activity, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Three: Schedule an appointment with your medical doctor to have your blood pressure checked every year. A doctor may prescribe medications to lower your blood pressure. See What is High Blood Pressure

For more information, please see the following Selected Information Resources.

Disclaimer: Information in this blog should not replace the medical advice of your doctor. You should not use this information to diagnose or to treat any disease or other health condition without first consulting with your medical doctor or other health care provider.

Selected Information Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Heart Disease and Stroke
Summary Note: Discusses high blood pressure as a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Advises people to eat a diet low in sodium, to be physically active, to maintain a healthy weight, and to take medications as recommended by their doctor.
(Accessed 2022 October 23)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. High Blood Pressure. What Is High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Summary Note: Defines high blood pressure, also called hypertension. Includes a list of stages (classifications) of high blood pressure and options for treatment.
(Accessed 2022 October 22)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Your Guide to Lowering Your Blood Pressure with DASH Eating Plan.
Summary Note: Blood pressure can be lowered by following the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) Eating Plan – and by eating less salt, also called sodium. This booklet, based on DASH research findings, tells how to start and stay on the DASH Eating Plan. It includes a week of menus and some recipes.
(Accessed 2022 October 24)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, second edition, 2018.
Summary Note: Guidelines for amounts and types of physical activities needed to maintain or improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic disease.
(Accessed 2022 October 24)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Move Your Way Activity Planner.
Summary Note: Move Your Way is the promotional campaign for the second edition, 2018 of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Describes moderate-intensity physicial activity and vigorous-intensity physical activity. Ask your medical doctor which level of physical activity is best for you.
(Accessed 2022 October 2022)