Fast food is not good for you.  It is usually filled with fat, refined sugars, gross amounts of sodium and countless carbohydrates, but most Americans seem to enjoy having fast food.  Besides eating a balanced diet, exercising, and taking vitamins and supplements, maintaining or improving your health is about making daily choices. 

If you have high blood pressure or are going to have a high sodium meal, make sure that whatever you eat the rest of the day balances with your goals.  The best diet for your overall health is one rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and whole grains that supply a lot of nutrients, antioxidants, and fiber.

Even though I’m giving you my recommendations on what to eat at fast food restaurants, I’m not endorsing that you should eat there.  I will say, however, that many of your favorite chains have done a better job recently of considering your nutrition and have provided you with some good alternatives. 

The one thing to remember is that just because something is low in sodium or cholesterol doesn’t mean it is healthy.  Almost everything a fast-food restaurant offers is saturated in fat and has a high caloric count.  Even salads, which appear to be healthy, are not healthy once you add the calorie and fat laden dressing. 

Be aware!  Many of these chains have different tricks or standards for calculating sodium and cholesterol, or any of their nutritional facts for that matter.  Some base it on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, others on a 1,500 calorie per day diet.  Also, serving sizes might differ between chains. 

If you click on your favorite fast-food chain, it will take you directly to the nutritional facts section of their website and you can put together your own choices for a high blood pressure diet.

For lowering your blood pressure, the US Department of Health and Human Services and its National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood have issued a diet to lower blood pressure called DASH. Most medical experts consider this diet to be the best diet there is for this issue.  The DASH diet recommends that you should eat no more than 2100 calories per day broken down as follows:

• Total fat 27% of calories Sodium 2,300 mg*
• Saturated fat 6% of calories Potassium 4,700 mg
• Protein 18% of calories Calcium 1,250 mg
• Carbohydrate 55% of calories Magnesium 500 mg
• Cholesterol 150 mg Fiber 30 g

Eat carefully and try to achieve a balanced diet.  If you have a fast food meal one day, make sure your other meals are filled with fiber, fruits, vegetables, and vegetable protein. 

In this section, we do not focus on beverages.  Most drinks have less than 100mg of sodium, if any at all.  There are so many issues regarding your health and soda.  If you can, avoid them and drink water or 100 percent juice.

Carl’s Jr.

If you need to order a burger, go with the Big Hamburger. It has 60mg of cholesterol.  If you add cheese, it goes up to 85mg of cholesterol.

If you prefer a chicken or fish sandwich, go with the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which has 40mg of cholesterol, and you could have the Charbroiled BBQ sandwich, which has 60 mg of cholesterol.  Carl’s Catch Fish Sandwich is a good choice at 30 mg of cholesterol.

Fries, Onion Rings, and Zucchini have no cholesterol, but do contain saturated fat.  The lowest amount of fat would be in a small order of fries

A side salad without the dressing only has 5mg of cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 25mg except when you order low-fat balsamic, which has none.

For breakfast, you have limited choices.  I would recommend the French Toast Dips, which have no cholesterol.  The Hash Brown Nuggets have no cholesterol, but are loaded with fat and sodium.

The chocolate chip cookie is your best choice for dessert at 20mg of cholesterol, but I doubt it would be worth the calories and high fat.

Churchs

All of Church’s chicken has saturated and trans fat.  The original leg has 55mg of cholesterol and is your best choice.

All of Church’s chicken and fish sandwiches come in between 25-35mg of cholesterol.

1 Chicken Tender has 25mg of cholesterol.

When ordering sides, I would recommend the mashed potatoes, okra, corn, and whole Jalapeno peppers, sweet corn, and collard greens.

If you have to order dessert, I’d stick with the apple pie, which has 5mg of cholesterol.  Try just eating the apples – for the sweetness – and avoid the crust.

All of the condiments are okay except the Creamy Jalapeno Sauce and Honey Mustard Sauce which have 10mg per serving

Jack in the Box

Krispy Kreme

The Maple Iced Glazed and the Cinnamon Bun have no cholesterol.  The rest of the Krispy Kreme donut line come between 4.5-5mg except the Traditional Cake and Fudge Iced Cake, which hits 15mg.  The Fudge Iced Glazed Cruller has 10mg.

The Veggie Lover’s Pizza at 15 mg, Quartered Ham & Pineapple or Pepperoni and Mushroom at 20mg for a 12” Medium Pan Pizza.  I’d stay away from the 6” Personal Pan Pizzas unless you order the Veggie Lover’s at 40mg.  The 12” Fit n’ Delicious Pizza is your best choice; all varieties come in between 10-15mg.

If you want a salad, stick with the Italian or French dressing.

All of their desserts have no cholesterol, but are loaded with other stuff you might not want.

If you need to order a burger, go with either the Classic Grill Hamburger, which has 40mg of cholesterol, or the DQ Homestyle Hamburger , which comes in at 50mg.  If you add cheese, it adds an additional 10mg of cholesterol.

The All-Beef Hot Dog is 30mg.

If you prefer chicken, go with the Grilled Chicken Sandwich, which has 55mg of cholesterol.

A side salad without the dressing only has 10mg of cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 25-35mg except when you order Asian Sesame, Lite Ranch, and low-fat balsamic, which have none.
 
Fries and Onion Rings, have no cholesterol, but contain saturated fat.  The lowest amount of fat would be in a small order of fries. 

DQ has so many ice creams and desserts, you need to check it out for yourself, but probably the best one would be the Arctic Rush Slush, which has no cholesterol.

Blimpie has many good no-to-low cholesterol choices.  Here’s a list of their sandwiches with no cholesterol:  Blimpie 6” Turkey Sub on White, Blimpie 6” Turkey Sub on Wheat, Blimpie 6” Chik Max on White, Blimpie 6” Chik Max on Wheat, Blimpie 6” Vegi Max on White, Blimpie 6” Vegi Max on Wheat, Blimpie 6” Mexi Max on White, Blimpie 6” Mexi Max on Wheat. 

A tossed green salad has no cholesterol and Blimpie’s has many dressings without cholesterol, for example, Blimpie Light Italian or Blimpie Light Buttermilk Ranch.  Ask your server for more information.

Instead of mayo at 10mg, ask for Guacamole at less than 1mg.  Every bit helps.

If you need to order a sandwich, your best choices would be the, Ham & Swiss Melt at 27mg or the Swiss Melt at 29mg, the Sourdough Roast Beef Melt at 30mg, Sourdough Ham Melt at 31mg or the Super Roast Beef at 44 mg.

If you prefer a chicken or fish sandwich, go with the Chicken Fillet Sandwich at 9mg, the Chicken Bacon & Swiss Grilled Sandwich, which has 25mg of cholesterol, or Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich at 32mg.  The Fish Sandwich has 55mg of cholesterol. 

Fries, Seasoned Curly Fries, and Onion Rings, have very little cholesterol, but do contain saturated fat. 

A salad without the dressing is less than 10mg of cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 25-35mg except if they have Light Butter Milk, which has 1mg or the Raspberry Vinaigrette, which has none or the Santa Fe Ranch Dressing at 5mg.

For breakfast, you have limited choices.  I would recommend the French Toast Sticks, which have no cholesterol.  The Hash Browns have no cholesterol, but are loaded with fat, trans fat and sodium.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie is your best choice for dessert at 26mg of cholesterol, but I doubt it would be worth the calories and high fat.

For breakfast, stick with the Biscuit or Croissant – both are under 30mgs.  Better yet, the French Toastix have none.

Subway is known for their lighter choices and fresh ingredients, but try to stay away from some of the creamy sauces.  The 6” Veggie Delite, which has no cholesterol or the 6” Roast Beef at 15mg are great choices.  If you are hungrier, you could order the Veggie Footlong Delite, which has no cholesterol, or the Footlong Roast Beef or Turkey at 40mg.

We’re still trying to figure out their nutritional values.  Overall, I would stick to a basic cheese or veggie pizza, and I would limit your slices.  You don’t want to eat too much pizza.

Taco Bell now offers “Fresco” Style items under 10grams of fat.  All of these options are 25mg or less of cholesterol.  If you want a taco, stick with the basic one at 25mg.  The Bean Burrito only has 5 mg.

If you need to order a burger, go with either the Whopper Jr w/o mayo or the Hamburger, which have 40mg of cholesterol, or the Hamburger Deluxe, which comes in at 45mg.  If you add cheese, it adds an additional 10mg of cholesterol.  Your best choice is the Basic Veggie Burger w/o mayo, which has no cholesterol.

If you prefer a chicken or fish sandwich, go with the Original Chicken Sandwich w/o mayo, which has 50mg of cholesterol.  BK’s Big Fish Sandwich w/o Tarter Sauce is 50 mg.

Fries and Onion Rings, have no cholesterol, but do contain saturated fat.  The lowest amount of fat would be in a small order of fries. 

A side salad without the dressing no cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 25-35mg except when you order Ken’s Lite Italian and Ken’s Fat-free Ranch, which have none.

For breakfast, you have limited choices.  I would recommend the French Toast Sticks (3), which have no cholesterol.  The Hash Browns have no cholesterol, but are loaded with fat, trans fat and sodium.

If you need to order a burger, go with the Hamburger, which has 25mg of cholesterol.  If you add cheese, it adds an additional 15mg of cholesterol. 

If you prefer a wrap, chicken or fish sandwich, go with the McChicken, which has 40mg of cholesterol.  The Fillet-of-Fish is 35 mg.  The Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap with Crispy Chicken is only 25mg and if you want it Grilled, it’s 45mg.

Fries and Onion Rings, have no cholesterol, but do contain saturated fat.  The lowest amount of fat would be in a small order of fries. 

A side salad, Asian salad, or Southwest salad without the dressing has no cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 20mg except when you order any of the Newman’s Low-fat, which have none.

For breakfast, you have limited choices.  I would recommend the fruit, biscuit, or English Muffin, which have no cholesterol or you could go with the yogurt at 5mg.  The Hash Browns have no cholesterol, but are loaded with fat, trans fat and sodium.

McDonald’s has many choices for no-or-low cholesterol desserts, but I doubt they are worth the calories and high fat.

All of KFC’s chicken has saturated fat, but no trans fat.  The chicken breast without skin or coating has 65mg of cholesterol and plain wings come in around 55mg.  Avoid all of the specialty Wings.  They begin at 65mg and go up to 105mg for a serving of 5 wings.

All of KFC’s chicken sandwiches come in between 25-70mg of cholesterol depending on their size and condiments

2 Chicken Crisy Strips have 50mg of cholesterol.

All KFC’s sides are 5mg or less except their Mac & Cheese, which has 15mg.

If you need to order a burger, go with the Jr. Hamburger, which has 30mg of cholesterol.  If you add cheese, it adds an additional 5mg of cholesterol. 

If you prefer a chicken or fish sandwich, go with the Crispy Chicken, which has 30mg of cholesterol or the Home-style Chicken Fillet Sandwich at 45mg.  The 5-piece Chicken Nuggets come in at 35mg, but try to avoid the sauces except for the BBQ or Sweet and Sour.

Fries and Onion Rings, and the Plain Potato have no cholesterol, but the fries and onion rings do contain saturated fat.  The lowest amount of fat would be in a small order of fries. 

A salad without the dressing has no cholesterol.  Add a dressing and it goes up to 20-35mg except when you order Italian Vinaigrette or a Low-or-reduced fat dressing, which have none.

For dessert – if you must – stick with the Mandarin Orange Cup or Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt

All of their bagels contain no cholesterol except their reduced Carb Bagel with Cheese, which comes in a 20mg.  Avoid the cream cheese.  The English Muffin and Biscuit are good choices and all of their donuts are between 0-25mg.