If you’re a fan of authentic rich and creamy Alfredo Sauce, then this is some information that may be good for you to know. Alfredo sauce can be a deceptive food that is even worse for you than eating fast food. At least some fast food restaurants let you know about healthy menu options. With the real deal on Alfredo, it is what it is and it’s packed with unhealthy fats and calories. Here are the reasons why we say that Alfredo sauce is worse for you than fast food.
Alfredo sauce poses as a healthy food
This is purely a psychological thing for many of us, but it’s too easy to be fooled into thinking that Alfredo sauce over whole wheat or vegetable inspired pasta is actually a healthy meal when compared to fast food. The danger in this kind of thinking is that it is faulty. Most of us understand the dangers of fast food, particularly those which are made with processed food ingredients, excessive salt, deep fried and so forth. We get that, but we don’t look at Alfredo in the same way unless it’s brought to our attention. This is just one of the ways that it’s worse for you than fast food.
Alfredo Sauce encourages the consumption of more calories
How is Alfredo sauce usually consumed? We usually eat it over pasta. This increases the calorie count by a large number. In addition, it amounts to a meal that consists of a lot of unhealthy carbohydrates. While some people try to make it a little healthier by adding a few florets of broccoli and some lean and healthy chicken meat. While these are good additions and they are definitely healthy foods, they don’t negate the effects of the other ingredients. At least with fast food, you know what you’re putting your body through with no illusions.
The ingredients that make Alfredo sauce unhealthy
There are several ingredients in authentic Alfredo Sauce that are considered to be unhealthy when consumed in moderate to high amounts. Most Alfredo is made with cream cheese and oil. When we examine it a little closer, these are the negative aspects of Alfredo Sauce.
Calories
A two-cup serving of Fettucine Alfredo is loaded with 660 calories. This can take up 33 percent of a 2,000 calorie a day meal plan. It’s good to eat this food in moderation because it can absolutely wreck a diet if you overindulge. Part of the calories is due to the sauce and the pasta is also a significant contributor.
Saturated fat
Alfredo sauce is also high in saturated fat. Health experts believe that the amount of fat is too much for a single meal making it more difficult to break down the fat and calories. Just one serving of Fettucini Alfredo contains ten grams of fat and 7 grams of this fat is unsaturated with 3 grams being saturated fat. The recommended limit of saturated fat per day is at 15 grams. This takes up a major part of your allowance of saturated fat for the day and if the serving portion is larger or if you have seconds, it eats up even more than the recommendation for limiting this type of fat.
Cholesterol and sodium
One serving of Fettucini Alfredo contains 10 grams of cholesterol. The recommended daily limit is 300 grams per day or less. This amounts to 3.3 percent of the limit. This is the type of cholesterol that can lead to plugging of the arteries when levels in the bloodstream reach beyond the recommended percentages. The next health risk presented in Alfredo Sauce is the sodium. Just one serving contains 1,280 mg of sodium. This is nearly the recommended daily limit of 1,500 mg per day by the American Heart Association. This along with cholesterol is another reason why you need to limit your intake of Alfredo Sauce.
A steady diet of Alfredo sauce can be bad for the health of your heart and it can cause you to over consume on the calories. The reality of the situation is that we’re not going to stop eating our Alfredo, but there are some great tasting alternative recipes out there for reducing the health risks. Using low calorie and low-fat cream cheese is one of them. Healthy pasta made of whole grains are another. You can still enjoy your Alfredo if you know the parts that are unhealthy and make good choices for substitution of unhealthy ingredients. It’s not necessarily more unhealthy than fast food, but it is deceptive unless you know about its nutritional content, this is what makes it worse than fast food.
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