For Immediate Related Links:
|
Greek Restaurant Food: From Fab to Fat Souvlaki Gets Thumbs Up Moussaka, Gyro Get Thumbs Down
WASHINGTON - The first-ever study of popular dishes from Greek restaurants shows that some
entrées are among the most healthful foods available at any restaurant, while others are as bad for
your heart as two McDonalds Big Macs. Findings from the study are reported in the November
issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter, published by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public
Interest (CSPI). The good news is that the chicken, lamb, or pork souvlaki (kebobs) are great choices
fairly low in fat and rich in vegetables, said CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley, who
conducted the study. The heart-throbbingly bad news is the fat-filled moussaka and gyro. Among CSPIs key findings: The gyro is a Trojan horse stuffed with saturated fat and salt, CSPIs Hurley said. It
ought to be called sausage on a spit. Its one of the worst sandwiches weve ever seen. Our
advice is skip the gyro and moussaka and head straight for the kebobs. Traditional Greek diets are among the healthiest you can get, said Dr. Dimitrios
Trichopoulos, a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. I wish that
typical Greek restaurants in the United States would cut back on the meat and butter. CSPIs study is on target, said Elaine Gavalas, nutritionist, exercise physiologist, and
New York-based author of Secrets of Fat-Free Greek Cooking (Penguin Putnam/Avery, 1998).
Over the centuries, the Greek diet consisted largely of vegetables, grains, fish, and olive oil,
with small amounts of meat and cheese a healthy diet by any standards, continued Gavalas,
whose family is from Greece. What you find in many Greek restaurants in the U.S. today is a
far cry from the traditional rural diet of Greece and far less healthful. To conduct its study, CSPI bought dinner-sized take-out portions of six popular main
dishes, one sandwich, one side dish, and one dessert at nine mid-priced Greek restaurants in
Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. The group then made a composite sample of each
dish and sent the composites to an independent laboratory to be analyzed for calories, total fat,
saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, and (for baklava) sugar. |
(These main dishes are listed from best to worst from the least to most artery-clogging fat ) | |||||
Calories | Total Fat (g) |
Artery-Clogging Fat (g) (saturated plus trans) |
Sodium (mg) | ||
Main Dishes | |||||
Chicken Souvlaki | 260 | 8 | 2 | 370 | |
Lamb or Pork Souvlaki | 310 | 11 | 4 | 550 | |
Chicken Souvlaki with rice | 500 | 14 | 5 | 1,050 | |
Spanakopita | 410 | 24 | 12 | 730 | |
Greek Salad | 390 | 30 | 12 | 1,060 | |
Dolmades | 540 | 32 | 15 | 1,470 | |
Moussaka | 830 | 48 | 25 | 2,010 | |
Side Dishes | |||||
Greek Rice | 240 | 7 | 3 | 680 |
Calories | Total Fat (g) |
Artery-Clogging Fat (g) (saturated plus trans) |
Sugars (g) | ||
Desserts | |||||
Baklava | 550 | 21 | 5 | 32 | |