I’m a huge fans when comes to Subway. I’m invested in quite a lot in Subway and it became a habit for me to take Subway as my breakfast to the extend that if I don’t, I don’t know what else I can have for breakfast as regular bread are just too tasteless.
Most of the health benefits as promoted by Subways and from what we can see are true and there is no need to doubt it. Just that I encourage you to look at things a little different and ask yourself, if you consider Subway as a healthy meal, are you eating it right?
Just as many things have a limit and border, can you ensure that your Subway meal is 100% healthy? Why not? The moment you add any mayo, thousand island, honey mustard or just some ketchup on it, your Subway can no longer be labelled as “healthy”. Sure, your vege and stuff have nutrition and there’s no need to doubt on that. But your sauce had turn a 100% healthy meal to more than 50% unhealthy + less than 50% healthy food.
It’s also questionable on how “healthy” for the amount of green vege you added into your meal without the bad sauce I mentioned earlier.
First: understand the foundation of available nutrition in a single meal
Let’s look at a general view on how much nutrition you actually get from a typical veggie subway meal. Assume we ask for all vege with a presumed amount in grams, units, slices or the relevant measurable amount, without any meat and sauce. Just the veggie and white bread (any type).1. White bread, 6 inches long (71 grams)
| Total Fat | 2.5g | Sodium | 340mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | - |
| Vitamin A | 0 IU | Total carbohydrate | 38g |
| Vitamin B6 | - | Protein | 7g |
| Vitamin B12 | - | Calcium | 40g |
| Vitamin C | 4.8mg | Iron | 1.8mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | - |
| Vitamin E | - | Magnesium | - |
| Vitamin K | - | Zinc | - |
2. Lettuce, 1 cup (36 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 10.1mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 69.8mg |
| Vitamin A | 2665 IU | Total carbohydrate | 1g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0.5g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 13mg |
| Vitamin C | 6.5mg | Iron | 0.3mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 13.7mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.1mg | Magnesium | 4.7mg |
| Vitamin K | 62.5mcg | Zinc | 0.1mg |
3. Red Tomatoes, 3 small slices (45 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 2.4mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 106.8mg | Vitamin A | 375 IU | Total carbohydrate | 1.9mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0.3g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 4.5mg |
| Vitamin C | 5.7mg | Iron | 0mcg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 6.6mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.3mg | Magnesium | 5.1mg |
| Vitamin K | 3.6mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
4. Cucumber, 3 slices (28 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 0.6mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 41.2mg |
| Vitamin A | 29.4 IU | Total carbohydrate | 1g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0.2g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 4.5mg |
| Vitamin C | 0.8mg | Iron | 0.1mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 2mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0mg | Magnesium | 3.6mg |
| Vitamin K | 4.6mcg | Zinc | 0.1mg |
5. Pickles, 3 slices (21 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 253.8mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 4.8mg |
| Vitamin A | 40.2 IU | Total carbohydrate | 0.6g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 0mg |
| Vitamin C | 0.3mg | Iron | 0mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 0.3mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0mg | Magnesium | 0.9mg |
| Vitamin K | 9.9mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
6. Onion, 3 to 5 thin slices (9 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 0.4mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 13.1mg |
| Vitamin A | 0.2 IU | Total carbohydrate | 0.8g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0.1g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 2.1g |
| Vitamin C | 0.7mg | Iron | 0mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 1.7mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0mg | Magnesium | 0.9mg |
| Vitamin K | 0mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
7. Green Pepper, 2 to 3 thin slices (9 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 0.3mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 16.2mg |
| Vitamin A | 34.2 IU | Total carbohydrate | 0.4g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0.1g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 0.9mg |
| Vitamin C | 7.4mg | Iron | 0mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 0.9mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0mg | Magnesium | 0.9mg |
| Vitamin K | 0.7mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
8. Olives, 3 units (6 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 116.7mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 3mg |
| Vitamin A | 29.4 IU | Total carbohydrate | 0.3g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0mg | Protein | 0g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 3.9mg |
| Vitamin C | 0mg | Iron | 0mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 0.3mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.3mg | Magnesium | 0.9mg |
| Vitamin K | 0mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
9. Jalapeno, 2 to 3 units (7 grams)
| Total Fat | 0g | Sodium | 0.1mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 15mg |
| Vitamin A | 56IU | Total carbohydrate | 0.5g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.1mg | Protein | 0.1g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 0.7mg |
| Vitamin C | 3.1mg | Iron | 0.1mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 3.3mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.1mg | Magnesium | 1.4mg |
| Vitamin K | 0.7mcg | Zinc | 0mg |
(Note: Above nutrition information is obtained from SELF Nutrition Data and it's based on estimated grams/units as labeled above)
And here is the cumulative total amount of nutrition of each type for the combination of above ingredients.
| Total Fat | 2.5g | Sodium | 724.4mg |
| Cholesterol | 0mg | Potassium | 269.9mg |
| Vitamin A | 3229.4 IU | Total carbohydrate | 44.5g |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.1mg | Protein | 8.3g |
| Vitamin B12 | 0mcg | Calcium | 69.6mg |
| Vitamin C | 29.3mg | Iron | 2.3mg |
| Vitamin D | - | Folate | 28.8mcg |
| Vitamin E | 0.8mg | Magnesium | 18.7mg |
| Vitamin K | 82mcg | Zinc | 0.2mg |
Nutrition highlighted in blue means providing good nutritional value for your daily needs. And nutrition that is highlighted in red means providing too little amount or consider too much which is quite bad in any way comparing with the total amount of nutrition you need in a day. Here is some brief explanation on the nutrition info according to the figure above.
For those that are not highlighted with red or blue, it means the nutrition value is considered safe to consumed for a single meal.
- Vitamin A (3229.4 IU): Vitamin for the eyes and immune system. Above 3000 IU for a single meal is considered a lot and thus, it's not difficult to fill up your daily needs of Vitamin A after this meal.
- Vitamin C (29.3mg): Vitamin C is usually available in fruits and certain vegetables, so it's not easily available in our usual meal if you don't go for fruits often. The amount of Vitamin C in this meal is quite high and able to provide you good amount of Vitamin C if you don't take too much of food with vitamin C.
- Sodium (724.4mg): Sodium is a form of salt. As you probably know, Malaysian food has usually high amount of salt so we can get sodium in many foods despite we want to take it or not so we always need to limit it. A sodium nutrition value of more than 700 is approximately 30% of the total amount of sodium you need in total. If you consume more meats or other foods with high sodium during your lunch or dinner, it's very easy to exceed your daily nutrition needs for sodium.
- Potassium (269.9mg): Potassium is a form of water. It's an important nutrition for our heart and most of our body system. We need to have approximately 3000 to 3500 mg a day to make sure our body system get enough potassium. This is why approximately 269.9 mg of potassium is too little despite having a multi-vitamin meal of many different food type, and you can't call it a balance meal.
- Calcium (69.6mg): Calcium is a type of nutrition for bone and body in overall. Many sources suggested an average of 1000 mg of calcium to be consumed in a day. But the average amount of calcium you can get for this meal is only 69.6 mg. And the bread only providing 40 mg of calcium. You need far more than this amount of calcium to achieve a healthy daily calcium intake.
- Folate (28.8mcg): Folate is a type of nutrition for our body cell. Various sources suggested an average of 400 mcg of folate to be consumed in a day. Taking less than 30 mcg in a meal got you really far away from 400 mcg of folate in a day.
- Magnesium (18.7mg): Magnesium plays many important roles in our body, in short it give us the energy we need and a healthier body in overall. Just like folate, people usually required average of 400 mg of magnesium to keep the body health optimized. An average of less than 20 mg in a meal give us very little health benefits.
- Zinc (0.2mg): Zinc is another important nutrition to regulate immune system and body recovery. Average necessary amount of zinc in a day is about 11 to 15 mg. Getting 0.2 mg in this meal is, obviously, too little and far away from 10 mg.
- Vitamin E (0.8mg): Vitamin E is required to prevent and fight disease, as well as providing better immune system. Average daily intake for vitamin E is between 15 to 30 mg. So less than 1 mg in a meal is too little.
Second: Add additional nutrition value according to your chosen menu
Now we are going to add more value into the defined nutrition above according to the type of menu you chose. I'm going to use the bread and veggie above as a foundation and add the extra nutrition right into what we have.Just a side note for this additional info. Some people do not want cheese added into their meal, so I excluded one slice of cheddar cheese as they will usually put into the bread. If you are adding one slice of cheddar cheese, you can add the following significant nutrition value into your meal.
- Cheddar cheese (1 slice, 28g)
- Protein: 7g
- Sodium: 174mg
- Potassium: 27.4mg
- Calcium: 202mg
- Vitamin A: 281 IU
Disclaimer: The nutrition values provided for each type of meal below are based on estimation and it's not the actual nutrition value as served in any Subway's outlet. It's solely for reference purpose and some of the nutrition values are incomplete.
So you have decided on the menu right? Now you got the total estimated nutrition value that you will consumed as you swallow your Subway's meal.
Third: Check if you are getting enough for your daily needs
All of us need to know how much we need to consume for each type of nutrition to ensure we are getting enough to maintain our body system and keep us healthy.As mentioned above, you can refer to a general average daily intake for most people in Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling by Netrition or calculate your own recommended daily intake here.
Now you got yourself the daily intake for your nutritions and the amount of nutrition provided by the Subway's meal that you chosen. Next, you need to get yourself a piece of paper or open a spreadsheet to compare and check if you are getting enough nutrition from your Subway meal.
Here is a demonstration of how I compare the daily intake and amount of nutrition available in a Subway meal. I will be using the general average daily intake for people who need to consume 2000 calories as provided here. I will divide the total of each nutrition amount by three to assume that I'm taking 3 meals a day. And then, I will insert the nutrition value for one type of Subway's meal above to check if I'm getting enough nutrition for a single meal. In this case, I will use Chicken Slice as my meal.
| Nutrition Type | Daily intake (One meal) | Nutrition for Chicken Slice |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | 21.7g | 2.9g |
| Cholesterol | 100mg | 40mg |
| Vitamin A | 1666.7IU | 3229.4IU |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.7mg | 0.1mg |
| Vitamin B12 | 2mcg | 0mcg |
| Vitamin C | 20mg | 29.3mg |
| Vitamin D | 133.4IU | - |
| Vitamin E | 10IU | 0.8mg |
| Vitamin K | 26.7mcg | 82mcg |
| Sodium | 800mg | 1940.4mg |
| Potassium | 1166.7mg | 345.1mg |
| Total Carb. | 100g | 46.4g |
| Protein | 16.7g | 27.1g |
| Calcium | 333.4mg | 75.4mg |
| Iron | 6mg | 2.7mg |
| Folate | 133.4mcg | 30mcg |
| Magnesium | 133.4mg | 28.7mg |
| Zinc | 5mg | 0.6mg |
Here is a brieft explanation of the highlighted nutrition info above:
- Cholesterol/Vitamin A/Vitamin C:
Cholesterol is a nutrition that you need to limit because you have a high chance exposing to food with high cholesterol in many places. So a low amount of cholesterol in your meal means you have lower chances to exceed the limit of cholesterol in a daily basis. Same goes to Vitamin C. It's a good nutrition but it's dangerous when you have too much of vitamin C intake.
- Vitamin K/Sodium/Protein:
These amount exceed the required intake for a meal. If we assume 2100mg of Sodium to be consumed as a daily basis, the above Sodium level in one Chicken Slice subway meal had almost reach the amount you needed for a day. Same goes for Protein as a good nutrition if you have a proper intake level.
- Vitamin B6/Vitamin B12/Potassium/Total Carb/Calcium/Iron/Folate/Magnesium/Zinc:
These are the nutrition that have too little intake for a single meal. Some of the foods during your lunch and dinner probably have much higher nutrient to compensate the small amount of nutrition value above, but consider some of the massive gap for some of the nutrition like Potassium, Carb, and Magnesium, they are very important to our body and a Chicken Slice subway meal only able to provide very little of nutrition value so it's not consider a good choice for a breakfast.
Fourth: Adding sauce.... NOT!
Adding some sauce make the Subway meal a huge differences comparing to not adding any sauce at all. I don't have any nutrition info about the sauce because the method to produce the sauce vary depending on all places, and there is no info about what brand of sauce Subway is using.However, it is not recommended to add any sauce at all, if possible. Sauce definitely make your Subway meal a lot tastier, but so far there isn't any sauce that is consider healthy enough, or beneficial to your body if you are considering a healthy Subway meal.
No matter which sauce, and no matter what ingredients are used in producing the sauce, it contain certain level of fats and cream that, usually, has high amount of cholesterol and bad fats. Once consumed, it's not easy to detox your body to flush them out of your body and it's fattening effect could be worst that the fats contain in meats that are cooked in unhealthy method.
In Summary
Based on the info above, we can think of the nutrition info in few ways.As a way of measuring if you are getting sufficient or too much of nutrition in a daily basis, you can use the average daily nutrition intake as a benchmark. Not only that you need to use the nutrition value according to your chosen Subway menu above for calculation, you also need to consider the food consumption for the rest of the day. If you took too much of Vitamin A in one Subway meal, try to limit food that has good amount of Vitamin A such as tomato and carrot.
On the other hand, despite some of the nutrition value is consider very high in a single Subway meal, there are lots of nutrition that has too little value and it's difficult to consider them in your balance meal plan. You can measure this by considering 3 main meals and 1 or 2 light meals/snacks in a day. Due to the reason that some of the nutrition has really high value, it's not recommended to consider it to be your light meal/snack. But if you consider it as your main meal, you are lacking lots of important nutrition such as Vitamin B, Magnecium, and Calcium. You can still get them from other meals, but you need extra consideration in order to achieve the proper daily nutrition intake.
Planning and measurement to ensure that you are getting sufficient nutrition and avoiding or limiting overdose of nutrition could be troublesome and require lots of time to identify food that could make up on the nutrition that is insufficient in your Subway meal and certain nutrition that you need to avoid could be troublesome at first, but the end result is that you are able to get balance diet and optimize your body system so that you can perform your best in your daily activity.
0 comments:
Post a Comment