The Truth About Arby’s Nutrition

For 56 years, Arby’s nutrition has carved its niche in the world of fast food. Breaking away from traditional hamburgers, they follow a different path with sandwiches. Arby’s has climbed to popularity as the second-largest sandwich chain available with 3,300 restaurants.

The Protein Choices

Starting with a basic roast beef sandwich and potato chips, Arby’s has since expanded its menu items to suit a variety of customers. With breakfast choices added to their lunch and dinner menu, there is a wide array of options. By including a dessert and salad menu, it helps round out the Arby’s restaurant selections.

The protein choices you will find on their menu (depending on the location) include:

• Roast beef
• Corned beef
• Smoked brisket
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Ham
• Gyro meat
• Prime rib steak
• Pepperoni
• Genoa salami
• Bacon
• Egg
• Sausage

Allergy Information

Arby’s evolved to give their customers with dietary restrictions tasty, available choices. For people with milk, egg, soy, and gluten sensitivities, there are some menu items offered to avoid these ingredients. Arby’s does not claim their products are 100% allergen-free though, since it may have been in the same oil as other allergen items.

Arby’s Choice for Cooking Oil

Arby’s uses a vegetable oil that combines corn, soybean, canola oils. They add Dimethylpolysiloxane, which reduces foaming during the cooking process. While this additive is not ideal for consumption, there is no substantial evidence that it creates health problems in small amounts.

The Nitty Gritty

When looking at the average adult male, these are the recommended dietary guidelines:

• 2,500 calories a day
• 44 to 77 grams of total fat
• 56 grams of protein
• Less than 2,300 grams of sodium
• 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber
• 225 to 325 grams of total carbohydrates

If fast food is part of your regular diet, you must make good choices for your ongoing health. You can be facing obesity, high cholesterol, and a multitude of other health problems if you are not careful with your food choices.

Arby’s Nutrition Basics

Individuals often will not consider how the restaurant makes the food when they are picking from a fast-food menu. Many contributing factors can alter how healthy menu choices can be. These elements can include the oil used for cooking, added salt, additives or preservatives, and the portion sizes.

Portion control can also be a huge factor in how many calories you take in. By not increasing the size of your fries or drink, you can save hundreds of calories in one sitting. If you had your heart set on fries instead of a salad, choose the small or snack size rather than medium or large. This way, you can still enjoy those tasty fries at a fraction of the sodium and calories.

The Roast Beef Choices

Roast beef has been the foundation of the Arby’s menu since opening day. With 14 different options, depending on the restaurant location, roast beef dominates its menu. This popular menu item comes in a vast spectrum from moderately satisfactory for a meal choice to unhealthy proportions.

Examining the two more acceptable roast beef items to the two worst menu choices can give you an idea of the significant difference. If you want to partake in a roast beef item, your best option would be the Classic Roast Beef as compared to the rest of the selections.

Arby’s Chicken and Turkey Selections

For those looking at healthier selections at Arby’s, some feel that going with chicken and turkey selections is the better route. With 21 different options, Arby’s has incorporated chicken and turkey into more menu items through the years. But don’t think that because you are eating chicken or turkey, you are getting a healthier alternative.

From sandwiches to wraps and salads, your best bet is sticking to the chicken. When it comes to the Arby’s menu, they pair turkey with cheese and sauces that boosts your calorie and sodium intake significantly. Exercise caution when you are choosing what you think is a healthy menu option.

The Sides Can Hurt You

With any fast-food restaurant, the side menu options can do just as much harm to your diet as a large sandwich covered in cheese and sauce. It is essential to consider your side choices as well as the main item when grabbing a meal on the go.

Arby’s sides are relatively parallel to other fast-food restaurant options. The larger the portion is, the higher the fat content will be. Making wise decisions for all aspects will help you stay on track with making healthy choices.

Arby’s Nutrition in its Breakfast Selections

Breaking into the early morning scene, Arby’s has joined the ranks of the fast-food breakfast club. Similar to the other menu choices, Arby’s breakfast selections range from moderately adequate for a healthy alternative to outright disastrous for someone watching their calorie intake.

The breakfast menu choices are comparable to what you would find at other fast-food restaurants. These include:

• Ham
• Bacon
• Sausage
• Egg
• Chicken
• French toast sticks

If you are in a hurry in the morning and need to grab a quick bite to eat, you should consider your choices carefully. While some options can be an acceptable breakfast on the go, you should avoid others due to their high calorie and sodium concentration.

The Takeaway – Arby’s Gets a 3-Star Rating

As a whole, Arby’s nutrition is a moderately allowable meal if you make the right food choices. Considering that, the sodium content in many of Arby’s menu items is significantly higher than an acceptable amount for an average person.

After examining all the choices Arby’s has to offer, I give them a 3-star rating out of 5 for a couple of different reasons. They do include some healthier options for individuals who wish to limit calorie or sodium intake, but those choices are minimal. If you are in a bind and need something healthy and fast to eat, it is possible at Arby’s. If Arby’s was a favored place to eat, you could become dissatisfied with the lack of healthy selections very quickly.

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