Take Out vs. Cooking In: Health in The Big Apple

After a few weeks of living in NYC, I’m slowly beginning to adjust to the crazy, insomnia-driven, and might I dare say eccentric lifestyle. While there is already so much I can begin to write about, after a great recommendation, I’ve decided to start a mini-series “Health in the Big Apple” to share some of my NYC health experiences with all of you!

Although I have only been living in NYC for a short period, it’s safe to say I’ve noticed a pretty recognizable trend in the everyday dining routine of New Yorkers. Take out - a word that has become so well ingrained in the New York City lifestyle – has taken the city by storm. Crammed menu drawers appear to be the norm in most NYC apartments. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a late Insomnia Cookies snack (yes this restaurant exists!), take out appears to be the NYC method of choice.

I’ve asked co-workers, friends, and family what they usually cook for dinner in NYC, and the overwhelming response is “I don’t cook”, or “I rarely cook”, or “I have a kitchen but I’ve never used it”. I’ve even met a few people who’ve told me they don’t even have a kitchen (I guess only in New York City!). While I admit there are a few who don’t fit this generalization, I was pretty surprised by this response. Always “on the go”, delivery seems to fit right in.

With endless options for delivery dining (Italian, Vietnamese, Mediterranean, Thai, French, Turkish, the list goes on…), I too have become victim to this dangerous trap. Shamefully, I admit home cooking has fallen secondary to doorstep delivery. It’s quick, and a whole lot more convenient than shopping and carrying my heavy groceries all the way back to my apartment! While I agree take out can be easier, (with the help of genius online ordering sites like seamlessweb.com, and menupages.com), the costs, and calories definitely do add up. I thought this would be a great opportunity to do a little research to educate myself on some of the health differences between take out and cooking in.

In the NYT article, In New York the World is Brought to Your Door, a consumer research company in 2004 found that residents in the New York region were 30% more likely to eat a take out meal than people elsewhere. About 49% of restaurant meals sold in the New York area were take out, as opposed to 38% elsewhere.

According to one Consumer Reports article 6 secrets of the slim for your diet plan, “As the number of days per week respondents ate restaurant or take-out meals for dinner increased, so did their weight.” And in another article, The Center for Science in the Public Interest recently examined 17 popular restaurant chains and found that 85 of the 102 meals had more than a day’s worth of sodium, with some meals having more than four times the limit!

What are the risks associated with increased daily salt intake? High blood pressure, asthma, kidney stones, stomach cancer, and even osteoporosis. By increasing your calorie intake you not only increase your risk of obesity, but also your risk of heart disease and diabetes as well.

In the article Health Experts Recommend That Good Home Cooking, nutritionists are “calling Americans to reduce their risk of cancer and other diseases by cooking at home more and eating out less”. By cooking in your home, you not only have more control over what is on your plate, but you can avoid unhealthy temptations. The article claims that people consume 50% more calories, fat and sodium when they eat out, as well as missing out on essential vitamin-rich foods that reduce the risk of cancer.

Finally, for fun let’s examine one of my favorite take out meals, General Tso’s Chicken. According to a msnbc article, the average General Tso dish is loaded with around 40% more sodium and more than half the calories an average adult needs for the entire day. The fried chicken dish has 1300 calories, 3200 mg of sodium, and 11 grams of saturated fat (and that’s just in one meal!). An order of six steamed pork dumplings? 500 calories. Rice? 200 calories a cup. Egg rolls? 200-400 mg of sodium! Wow!

The moral of the story: try to reduce the number of meals you take out, and replace them with more home cooked, reduced sodium meals. Plan the week’s meals ahead of time to avoid impulse deliveries. When ordering in, check the nutritional information of your meals before you order them, and cut the portions in half.

And if you’re like me and can’t cook, buy a cookbook!

For more information on healthier eating tips check out this link.