The Fast Food Guide

by Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., and Sarah Fritschner

Workman Publishing; 225 pp.; $4.95

IN THIS HUSTLE and bustle world we live in, it's hard to avoid eating some fast-food every once in awhile. I don't eat red meat and was a happy camper a few years back when the places began offering alternative menus. I was especially happy that I would be able to have it may way at the local Burger King once they began to sell something chickeny for my late-night gastronomical pleasure. Little did I know, though, that Burger King was cooking their chicken sandwich in deadly beef fat, as opposed to more healthful vegetable oil, and was throwing enough salt onto the thing to melt a polar icecap.

That the gurus of the fast-food industry might not have my best interests at heart should not have come as a shock, though. I spent a few weeks in the spring of 10th grade working at a Taco Bell outlet in town. My most lasting memory of my tenure there is of the time the manager, Jack, asked me to get some beef out of the freezer. When I returned to tell him that the meat was a most peculiar shade of green, he told me not to worry: "No one will notice once we cook it, Steve."

THE FAST-FOOD GUIDE is a sensible, crisply-written survey of all that fast-food restaurants have to offer. Fortunately, its co-authors are both experts in nutrition and not a pair of glazed-eyed granola freaks. They recognize that fast-food places can't be avoided. Their book is an attempt to educate the general reader on what's good and what's bad in the fast-food world and how to tell the difference. But as they amply document, most of the gristle served in fast-food joints isn't just bad--it's also bad for you.

Unfortunately, though, more and more people are eating more and more of their meals at fast-food restaurants. Savvy commercial campaigns--the industry spends $2 billion a year on advertising and promotions--and the lure of a quick, convenient repast have made the restaurants so popular that fast-food restaurants have become an American institution.

Surveys show that Ronald McDonald is the second most recognized figure among tots next to Santa Claus. It's hardly surprising that from time to time Junior decides he won't be happy until he meets Ronald McDonald in the flesh--there are 50 constantly touring the country--and Pee-Wee won't stop crying until he gets to Burger King for a Luke Skywalker commemorative glass.

As a result, 55,000 fast-food restaurants feed 46 million people every day. Americans spend $50 billion every year on the slop.

The popularity of fast-food restaurants has also affected what Americans eat, not just where and how they do it. The places started to explode in the early '60s. Since then our per capita consumption of french fries has jumped from two pounds to 14 pounds, and soft-drink consumption has tripled.

The greasy, grimy goop served by fast-food places has only exacerbated a trend over the past 75 years during which the typical American's fat and sugar intake have increased 31 percent and 40 percent respectively. And, of course, lots of fat plus lots of sugar can add up to heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

In recent years a growing number of health-conscious Americans--myself included--have made the decision to cut down on their intake of red meat. That's not good news for an industry that thrives on selling lots'o'burgers to keep its growth charts from becoming ungrowth charts. Hence, the number of salad bars and alternative menus that have sprung up in fast-food bistros across the land.

I can easily imagine the authors of this handy little book singing a little jingle in the shower most every morning: "Mm-mm bad, mm-mm bad, that's what most fast-food is, mm-mm bad." They're right. Considering how much of the drek we eat every year, a little knowledge about it can only be helpful, if not pleasant. And considering how much we spend on the stuff every year, a $4.95 investment in the book is a bargain.