Jared is a perfect example of how severely cutting calories can affect someone who has previously had little to no physcial activity and a horrible diet. He lost all that weight due to increased exercise and decreased intake. It has little to do with it being Subway. In fact, if you've noticed his weight tends to fluctuate greatly from commercial to commercial. Some ads they've had to have him wear baggier clothing or frame him a certain way to make him look thinner. I firmly believe that this is because Subway sandwiches, despite some of them being low in fat, are filled with all the things that don't belong in your diet. Would you like me to post the ingredient list for their "Chicken breast patty" alone? Here goes.
CHICKEN BREAST PATTY Chicken breast with rib meat, water, seasoning (corn syrup solids, vinegar powder [maltodextrin, modified corn starch & tapioca starch, dried vinegar], brown sugar, salt, dextrose, garlic powder, onion powder, chicken type flavor [hydrolyzed corn gluten, autolyzed yeast extract, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil, thiamine hydrochloride, disodium inosinate & disodium guanylate]), sodium phosphate. May contain: soy sauce powder [fermented soybeans, wheat, salt], lemon juice solids, dextrin, natural flavors [including smoke flavor], flavor [from partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oil], partially hydrogenated soybean oil, hydrolyzed soy protein, citric acid, caramel color, vinegar solids), modified food starch, dextrose, caramel color. Contains soy and wheat.
Ok, what the heck is that? Where is the frickin' chicken? Shall I dissect the 36 or so ingredients in that "chicken patty"?
maltodextrin - white powder filler used as a low glycemic sweetener, extracted from corn, contains low amounts of free glutamate by process
"chicken type flavor" - ok, you tell me how the following remind you of chicken:
* hydrolyzed corn gluten - extract of corn, superheated to improve digestibility, contains varying amounts of free glutamate by process
* autolyzed yeast extract - modified yeast, contains varying amounts of free glutamate by process
* disodium inosinate/disodium guanylate - flavor enhancers which work synergistically with MSG/free glutamic acid, not cost effective except where MSG-like substances are present
So a bunch of corn and yeast with synthetic flavor enhancers tastes like chicken?
soy sauce - extracted from fermented soy and wheat, contains varying amounts of free glutamate by process
hydrolyzed soy protein - extract of soy, superheated to improve digestibility, contains varying amounts of free glutamate by process
modified food starch - food starch (usually corn starch) chemically restructured for various specific industrial food preparation purposes, a thickener and flavor enhancer, typically contains medium amounts of free glutamate by process
smoke flavor - artifical flavoring, typically created through process that releases some free glutamate
Now you understand why a Subway chicken patty (and any typical fast food "chicken product") does not resemble the properties of actual chicken. It's all filler. Worse, the fillers and artificial "flavor enhancers" used all have in common one thing: They all are known to contain varying amounts of free glutamate, the "G" in MSG, which has been linked to numerous disorders and is currently the subject of research as a causative factor in such neurological conditions as Alzheimer's. MSG fools your taste buds into thinking something tastes better than it actually does. Hypothesis: The human body is not made to digest complex artificial chemical structures such as those in modified foods such as these. Therefore, the best theory is that most of the ingredients are indigestible, and are thus excreted through the intestines, or absorbed, turned into fat and who knows what other damaging substances in the body.
Even if you disagree with my above hypothesis, I think it becomes obvious by the length of the ingredient list that it's better to get some fresh chicken breast (not the brands "enhanced by up to a 15% solution" either) and fire up the Foreman grill. I bet even Jared could go for some real food by now.
