By Karen Langston ~ Nutritionist
Kentucky Fried Chicken is trying to shake off its saturated high fat image and asking everyone to unthink what they have thought about KFC with their new invention of unfried – grilled chicken. I suspect Kentucky Fried Chicken is finally understanding we are a fat saturated nation that needs to lighten up and hopes that grilled chicken will lure back health conscious consumers who dropped KFC like a bad coronary habit. If you truly care about what you are eating and you suffer from food allergies and sensitivities, especially to gluten, peanut and MSG pay attention!
KFC lay claims to have a closely guarded secret combination of herbs and spices for their fried chicken and perhaps there is not enough legislation to demand to know what lies in that closely guarded vault. However, we do know and have the right to know what the main ingredients are for their new grilled chicken and it is no secret you may be in for a shock!
According to KFC’s Nutrition Guide:
Fresh Chicken Marinated with: Salt, Sodium Phosphate, and Monosodium Glutamate Seasoned with: Maltodextrin, Salt, Bleached Wheat Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Spices, Palm Oil, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Soy Sauce (Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Chicken Fat, Chicken Broth, Autolyzed Yeast, Beef Powder, Rendered Beef Fat, Extractives of Turmeric, Dehydrated Carrot, Onion Powder, and Not More Than 2% Each of Calcium Silicate and Silicon Dioxide Added as Anticaking Agents. Contains Wheat and Soy.
I don’t care how many ridiculous turkey-looking people, there are, dancing their approval; with an ingredient list like this, I can’t possibly “unthink” the unthink KFC wants me to unthink!
Now, I will admit the Grilled Chicken with 70 to 180 calories with four to nine grams of fat and 160 to 440 mg of sodium is a far better choice health-wise than the original recipe at 110 to 370 calories with seven to 21 grams of fat, 290 to 1,050 mg of sodium. But, at what cost? Does it truly take a list of obnoxious anti-health ingredients to do so?
Wheat, soy sauce and beef powder to most means nothing, but to those who are wheat sensitive, gluten intolerant, or suffer celiac disease, or sprue this is deadly! And although it is listed on the website, in small print, how many people are going to read that grilled chicken contains wheat? And when you order chicken does someone ask you if “would you like gluten with that?” I am sure there are many out there inflicted with gluten intolerance clutching their sensitive stomach’s in disbelief.
When you think of grilled chicken the last thing one might think of is a coating of flour. Think about it; when you are grilling at home, do you add flour to grill chicken? And, why do we need flour on grilled chicken anyway?
KFC is thinking about changing their name, to incorporate grilled, to give the illusion of healthy food. After all they refer to themselves as KFC so that people will not think they are all about fried chicken even though KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Maybe they could name themselves Kentucky Gluten Grilled Chicken.
For the health conscious individuals that KFC is hoping to capture, let’s get up close and personal with the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity. Notice the first three ingredients are salt, sodium phosphate and monosodium glutamate. These are, in essence, three types of salt. And, the chicken is also marinated in this bath of shame.
Monosodium glutamate known as MSG is actually listed twice. What this mean to you is there is an abundance of MSG in this product. MSG (Monosodium glutamate) is a potent excitotoxin whose only purpose is to enhance the flavor of food. The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs, the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has all determined that “MSG, at current consumption levels is safe.” What exactly are “current levels”? Does “current levels” apply to batches or individual pieces? If you consume 3-6 pieces are you getting too much?
If you find yourself suddenly experiencing symptoms such as rapid pulse, confusion, a burning sensation, facial pressure or chest pains, not to worry, this is a temporary condition and is not harmful, according to the AMA and FDA. MSG has a degenerative effect on the brain and nervous system and over stimulates cells to the point of exhaustion and death. It tricks the brain into thinking it’s getting something tasty and triggers insulin production which results in a craving response, triggering one to eat more often which leads to excess stored fat. here.)
I am curious as to why KFC chicken requires rendered beef fat and chicken fat. Essentially, another word for rendered fat is lard. Rendering is the process of converting animal fatty tissue waste and bi-product and turn it into a stable product such as lard or tallow The question raised is just how much saturated fat is involved in making a healthier version of chicken?
Here is a brief breakdown of some of the more questionable ingredients.
Partially hydrogenated Soybean oil: A transmogrified industrial process laden with lethal trans fat. Most soybean oils are from genetically modified soybeans, unless otherwise marked on the product (and it is not listed above, and I am sure that KFC would promote the use of non-GMO’ if they were using). Top nutritionists at Harvard have concluded that trans fat could be responsible for as many as 30,000 premature coronary deaths per year.
Hydrogenated Cotton Seed Oil: The oil is extracted from the seeds of the highly genetically modified cotton plant after harvesting. Cotton oil in its unrefined state contains a serious toxin, gossypol, and is used as an effective pesticide. Natural occurring gossypol protects the plant from insect damage and is one of the most heavily used pesticides on crops in North America.
Hydrogenated cotton seed oil was originally intended for candle production and soon became a cheap way of producing oil suitable for food consumption. Do you have a Peanut allergy? BEWARE: Cotton seed oils are extremely similar in its protein structure to peanuts and may cause a serious allergic reaction. As mentioned above cottonseed oil is also a transmogrified industrial process laden with lethal trans fat. click here.
Palm Oil: Palm Oil is derived from the pulp of palm tree fruit. It is high in saturated fat and can promote heart disease and is contributing to the destruction of the rainforest and wildlife of Southeast Asia.
So far there are 5 types of fat in this product and none of them are heart healthy omega 3 anti inflammatory oils. The question still begs for an answer; how can the new grilled chicken possibly be healthier than their original chicken? Natural Flavoring is another ingredient that seems to be on every label. What is it? According to the US Code of Federal Regulations (CFR): …the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.
What this says is that natural flavoring can be almost anything and it does not have to be precisely disclosed. Again, if you have certain food allergies eating a piece of grilled chicken should not be a crap shoot!
Think about it, when you are grilling chicken at home do you plaster it with 3 types of salt, 5 different types of saturated fats and questionable other ingredients?
On March 13, 2009, President Obama stated, in part, that the nation’s decades-old food safety system is a “hazard to public health”. While nominating Margaret Hamburg, M.D., the former New York Health Commissioner, for the position of FDA commissioner, he also indicated that he would be creating a Food Safety Working Group to coordinate food safety laws throughout government and to advise him on how to update them.
The Obama initiative provides a unique opportunity to have a voice and get involved with what proper labeling should be. Think about it, KFC claims they serve nearly eight million customers around the world daily. If eight million people were to take their health seriously and get involved in legislation of organic, and natural (and even that word is loaded) ingredients and abolish hidden and useless harmful ingredients we would reduce our waistlines and stabilize healthcare in the United States.
According to Food Processing Magazine, A Look Into The Future, by Diane Toops, The food trends for 2010 is about getting back to the basics. Consumers are getting back into natural whole foods with a focus on health and well being. Consumers want fresh, healthy foods with minimal ingredients and minimally processed.
KFC is hoping that their grilled chicken along with their patented new oven that grills a batch of chicken in just over 20 minutes will lure health conscious consumers back to their establishments because there are significantly fewer calories, sodium and fat than their signature fried chicken.
KFC wants you to unthink what you think about KFC. Personally analyzing the ingredients, and seeing consumer trends for minimally processed foods, I know one thing for sure, KFC’s grilled chicken has let this health-savvy consumer down and, as a nutritionist, unimpressed!
