why is pad thai so bad for you

At fewer than 140 calories each, this appetizer won’t spoil your dinner. Summer rolls feature a medley of veggies, including lettuce, carrots, and cucumber, along with noodles and shrimp. That’s all wrapped in a rice-paper skin. Have one roll and skip the dipping sauce, which tacks on extra sodium and sugar. Can’t find them on the menu? They’re also called fresh spring rolls.

Sodium Content: Traditional Pad Thai often includes fish sauce, which is high in sodium. Consuming excessive sodium can contribute to high blood pressure and other health issues [2]. Potential Allergens: Pad Thai commonly contains allergenic ingredients such as shrimp, peanuts, eggs, and fish sauce.

Best: Tom Yum Soup

The scoop on this hot-and-sour soup? It’s a healthy pick. Tom yum has fewer than 100 calories per cup. It also has shrimp, veggies, and fragrant spices, such as lemongrass. Tom yum and other broth-based soups, like tofu-vegetable or wonton, are usually lower in fat and calories than soups made with coconut milk, such as tom kha.

Like its red and green counterparts, massaman curry gets its creaminess from coconut milk. But this version is made with peanuts and potatoes, so it’s often higher in calories. One cup can have more calories than a cheeseburger and fries — and twice as much fat. And that doesn’t include the side of rice that comes with it.

It may be a salad, but this dish can be a satisfying meal. It’s made with protein-packed minced chicken with cilantro, mint, onions, and chili peppers. And all that’s tossed in a lime juice dressing. Larb is often served with sticky white rice and lettuce. Use the lettuce leaves as salad cups, and you’ll get extra heart-healthy vitamin K. But skip the rice; it tacks on extra calories without adding much nutrition.

This dish is a menu staple of Thai restaurants. It’s made from rice noodles sauteed with spices, peanuts, egg, and bean sprouts. Get it with shrimp, chicken, or tofu for lean protein, and extra veggies for fiber and vitamins. Just watch your portion: Pad thai clocks in at 300 to 400 calories a cup. Some restaurants’ entrees are three or four times that.

Worst: Fried Spring Rolls

Sure, they’re filled with cabbage and carrots, but those veggies are stuffed into a flour wrapper, then deep-fried in oil. The result: Each small roll can pack in roughly 130 calories and 6 grams of fat. And that doesn’t include the sugary dipping sauce. Polish off an order of four, and you’ll take in an entire meal’s worth of calories.

Start your meal with a serving of fruits and veggies. The main ingredient in this salad is crisp green, or unripe, papaya. One cup serves up 3 grams of fiber and more than all the immune-boosting vitamin C you need in a day. This shredded fruit is tossed with green beans and tomatoes. Peanuts add crunch, along with protein and heart-healthy unsaturated fat.

The Truth About PAD THAI

FAQ

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