Vani Hari (a.k.a. The Food Babe) is a regular contributor on 100 Days of Real Food. To learn more about Vani check her out on “Our Team” page.
Subway is the single largest chain restaurant in the world. That means you’ve probably eaten there at some point in your lifetime and if you are like me could possibly have 10 of these restaurants within a 1 mile radius of your house.
But is eating at America’s favorite fast food chain really eating real food?
Subway would certainly like you to think so. With their slogan “Eat Fresh,” marketing with avocados and a guy who lost hundreds of pounds eating their famous sub sandwiches, it’s easy to get duped.
You may also feel tricked when you see a little heart logo, indicating a menu item at Subway is “heart healthy.” Just last week it was announced that the American Heart Association (AHA) has endorsed several menu items at Subway and added the heart logo to indicate which ones.
At every Subway on the “sneeze guard” glass they display one version of their nutritional information – the infamous “6 grams of fat or less” menu. This menu includes calories, fat grams, and that new little heart logo, but doesn’t display anything about the ingredients. Doubting that Subway or the AHA would actually ever create a real food information guide for you, I decided it was time to do this myself. Below are the “6 grams or less” menu items and critical real food information you should know about each choice.
Let’s take a closer look.
- Subway definitely keeps it fresh and I figured out how. Every single one of their items on the “6 grams or less” menu has preservatives to keep it …well…fresh! Sure Subway makes your meal right in front of you, but what is really happening behind the scenes? Boxes of already cut up and prepackaged processed foods and chemical additives are being shipped from Big Food industry factories to each location.
- - The 9 grain wheat bread might look and smell freshly baked but it contains close to 50 ingredients including refined flours, dough conditioners, hidden MSG, refined sugars, etc. Could bread this processed ever be real food? Certainly not, when it includes a chemical ingredient called azodicarbonamide, which is banned as a food additive in the U.K., Europe, and Australia, and if you get caught using it in Singapore you can get up to 15 years in prison and be fined $450,000. Azodicarbonamide is more commonly used in the production of foamed plastics, however, it is allowed in the United States as a food additive, a flour bleaching agent, and a dough conditioner that improves elasticity of bread. The U.K. has recognized this ingredient as a potential cause of asthma if inhaled, and advises against its use in people who have sensitivity to food dye allergies and other common allergies in food, because azodicarbonamide can exacerbate the symptoms. Let’s not forget it only takes 4 or 5 simple ingredients to make REAL whole-wheat bread including flour, yeast, salt, water, and maybe honey.
- Three sandwiches on this menu, along with several other menu items not listed, are comprised of processed meats and filled with nitrates and forms of MSG. The consumption of nitrates need to be taken very seriously. Nitrates are frequently converted into nitrosamines, which have been proven to increase the risk of disease dramatically. The latest research from World Cancer Research Fund declared that “processed meat is too dangerous for human consumption.” Studies have shown it may only take 1.8 ounces of processed meat (about half of what is in a typical 6 inch sub) daily to increase the likelihood of cancer by 50%, heart disease by 42% and diabetes by 19%. I still know people who eat Subway for lunch everyday, but I’m glad I don’t know anyone on the actual Subway Diet. Sheesh. I can’t imagine what their percentage would be, could you?
- - Can you believe the American Heart Association is now putting their seal of approval behind these processed meat based Subway menu items? WOW. After all these studies that show an increase in heart disease? Is this a joke? Even the processed turkey meat that seems harmless because it doesn’t contain nitrates is full of preservatives, chemical flavorings, and carrageenan. I wrote about carrageenan last month after the Cornucopia Institute revealed a study that once the food grade version of carrageenan is ingested it turns into a carcinogen in your digestive system.
- Preservatives and even artificial colors are added to many of their “fresh” vegetable offerings – like the banana peppers and pickles. The ingredients for the black olives unveiled a new additive I learned about, “ferrous gluconate,” which is an iron based preservative that helps keep olives black.
- - While the “6 grams or less” menu says the totals don’t include cheese or salad dressings, it is important to know that some of the cheeses offered at subway also have artificial colors, preservatives, and even cellulose that’s made from wood pulp.
- - Two of the healthiest sounding salad dressings were actually the worst based on my analysis. Fat free honey mustard and the red vinaigrette both have corn syrup, artificial colors, preservatives, and other chemical additives.
To top it off, the majority of foods at Subway have been conventionally sourced and probably include pesticides, antibiotics, and/or growth hormones. In my research, I didn’t find one single organic ingredient or menu item available at over 36,000 stores. Even the lemon juice comes in a pre-packaged squirt pack filled with preservatives. Because of this I haven’t consciously ever considered going to a Subway in the last 7 years.
Last weekend, I broke this streak and went into a Subway in search of real food. I have to admit the thought of going into a Subway and ordering off the menu was a little bit daunting, but I decided this was the best way to get the answers to my questions, like whether or not their avocado was really fresh or not. Could it be possible for me to order something and actually take a bite without squirming? Going against my Eat With Your Dollars philosophy and purchasing something from the “bad guys” went against every bone in my body. But I did it.
Watch it all unfold in the video below. Everything at Subway may not be “fresh” but if you are ever stuck on a deserted island and this was the only place you could eat… now you know what to order.
Special thanks to Nicole Galuski for filming
P.S. You can check out my favorite “fast food” sandwich I am eating now and how to get it here.
Vani Hari a.k.a. Food Babe is an organic living expert, food activist and writer on FoodBabe.com. She teaches people how to make the right purchasing decisions at the grocery store, how to live an organic lifestyle, and how to travel healthfully around the world. The success in her writing and investigative work can be seen in the way food companies react to her uncanny ability to find and expose the truth. To follow Vani, check her out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
I’m not sure what to make of this article, though as a sport student at university I understand explicitly the effects of nutrition. I’m a vegan so I will discuss it from my perspective. There is a lot of claim to the harmful ingredients in the bread, yet compare it to 99% (educated guess) of fast other food restaurants and i’m sure you’ll find Subway to be significantly better. Also you haven’t took into consideration the salad, which as a subway employee I know is farm fresh. Another point is that your argument is based on people having the money to buy organic etc.
I’m not disagreeing with your claim that Subway isn’t the healthiest place to eat considering its slogan ‘Eat fresh’, but I think you could place yourself on both sides of the fence and explore the benefits rather than exposing the negatives. Also I think I was “in search of real food” I wouldn’t be analysing fast food chains, since logic would explain that it is a fast food chain! Not some fancy restaurant.
So what are the best (i.e. least bad) options at Subway?
On Pine Ridge reservation, a subway has come into town. It’s just about the only chain on the rez. It’s managed locally. It’s aided people in losing weight – because it’s the only source of veggies quick fresh food that lots of folks are getting at the moment.
Long of the short of it: I laud you on the effort to push back against the idea that subway is inherently good and healthy. However, context matters. That subway is a great thing on that rez…for now.
Just happened onto this site searching for something else – thought I’d take a look around.
I’ve eaten a Subway sandwich here and there so I wanted to see what this article is about.
Well, it seems it’s about a lot of ‘scary’ buzz-words that the author likes to throw around to get readers riled up.
MSG – there is NO, let me repeat, NO legitimate study that has ever produced any, let me again repeat, ANY confirmation that MSG causes headaches or any other health issues. And definitely not in the quantities that people normally ingest, even those where it is used extensively. What’s more, MSG is a simple sodium compound that is found NATURALLY in almost every food there is. Is it in most root plants (sugar beets are the prime source for extracting MSG for commercial sale), many leafy vegetables, even red meat, no matter how ‘organic’ or free grazed contains MSG.
There is simply no legitimate evidence it is the evil chemical its name has come to mean.
ANY color that is not naturally occurring in the food is considered “artificial”. That doesn’t mean it’s automatically bad. And even the ones that are color sources not produced by some living plant, doesn’t mean they are automatically harmful.
You can combine (carefully) sodium and chlorine in a laboratory and yes, it was artificially produced. But it’s still just plain old ordinary salt.
Using words like “chemicals”, “artificial”, “organic”, etc… as scare-tactic buzz words is as dangerous as the food you claim is bad for you.
For many things, it’s about quantity. Arsenic is found in many ‘natural’, organic, foods. But it’s only deadly in lethal doses. People can eat those foods daily and live long, healthy lives. But in large enough quantities, even water consumption will prove fatal.
I had to look up “World Cancer Research Fund” because unlike the “American Heart Association”, I’d never heard of them before. I didn’t see anywhere the kind of credentials the AHA has garnered over the years. I didn’t find any discussion of how they do their testing, who does their testing, how objective and un-biased (or not) their aims are in their research. So when comparing the information supplied by expert sources, it’s a good idea to know how trustworthy they are.
As for “cellulose”; that one made me laugh pretty hard, the way it was mentioned as if it was some kind of bizarre, vile petroleum derivative. Cellulose is the material in ALL plant life that is used to form the cell walls (again) of ALL living plants. Any plant material you eat is going to have cellulose. It actually is the fiber that so many real nutritionists insist we must have in our daily diets. So when it is left as a by-product of juice extraction, and instead of throwing it away as waste product, it is processed and sold as a fiber additive for people to get added, needed fiber in their (probably not great otherwise) diets, how can this be a bad thing. But this author throws it into the list of ingestable horrors, most of which are just the usual buzz-word scary stuff.
I’m not sticking up for Subway. It’s a fast food joint. Nothing more.
But I am apposed to flame writing, especially when it seems to rely on jargonistic terminology rather than sound, supportable, reliable research.
I fully appreciate self-study and do-it-yourself, hands-on kind of research. It’s fun and can be rather informative. But please, let’s not confuse that with the term “expert”. Clearly the author is a “food activist”. And I didn’t expect to see anything but slamming the subject to be written here because of that. But I’m not seeing a great deal of “expert” at work here all.
Tara, I think her point is…if you were to make your own cheese or lunch meats at home you, more than likely, you would not add cellulose, MSG…etc to your own food. It’s not that she or any of the rest of us are so ignorant as to think none of these additives are in the public food supply. Her “beef” and mine also, is that Subway’s whole selling point is “fresh”…”healthy” ingredients. Those words instead of being, in your own words…”scary buzz-words, they are “tricky buzz-words”, giving you the image of minimally processed, pure, chemical free foods, such as you might have in your own home.
Have you actually looked through professional journals to see there is no research to support something, or are you just guessing? Because there is a lot of research to support negative effects of food additives like artificial food coloring, MSG, etc.
MSG gives me migraines. It makes me vomit. The top of my head begins to tingle and it spreads. There are many forms f cellulose but wood pulp isn’t digestible and it shouldn’t be in my food or my laundry detergent. Have enough allergies already. My bread now has yoga mats in it. My daughter was in a coma and when she came out, they started her on red popsicles. She went ballistic. She is allergic to red dyes. Be a non believer. I’m 47. Fesh food used to be great. Processed food is a killer. All my bees died from pesticides.
It is “nitrites”, not “nitrates” by the way.
They are both used as preservatives but nitrite occurs naturally in veg & fruits and increases in charred meats. Both Na nitrite and nitrate lead to formation of nitrosamines endogenously and become reactive with DNA. If you are going to eat there do yourself a favour and have your sandwich with a glass of orange juice. It will help.
This is the food wacko, not babe.. Maybe some curry is better.
I Always knew fast food was very unhealthy but had no idea how devastating this food can be. What is more alarming is the impression of healthy food with bread and vegetables both of which are treated with so many chemicals their positive effect is cancelled and even reversed. What about Panera Bread? This is the only chain type restaurant I visit. Would be very interested in your investigation of this eatery.
I never eat at Subway. I don’t care if I’m starving! I’ve always said that you cannot distinguish the different flavors of the meats, no matter which sandwich you order. They all taste the same and have that compressed texture, chemical- salty taste. The “ham” taste exactly like the “turkey”. In a taste test, I would bet money that people could not guess if the cheese was Cheddar, American or Swiss. They all taste the same too. If you can’t even guess what you’re eating buy the “flavor”, it’s probably not good to eat…
I would love to see your “assessment” of The Great Outdoors. I like their sandwiches much better, but would love to see if I’m fooling myself on the ingredients.
I liked your article “Food Babe Investigates: Is Subway Real Food?” and I am curious if you have written any about grill food.
If you want to do something and if I can help, please let me know!
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Feel free to contact me if you want to know more and if you’re interested on the subject!
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Why pick on Subway?? They’re a fast food restaurant! And compared to the OTHER fast food restaurants available they’re DAMNED healthy! You need to put these things in some kind of context rather than bang away at a company that seems to me to be at least TRYING to provide a healthier alternative. I LOVE their chopped salads! I suppose you could find something negative to say about them TOO, but they’re still better than a Big Mac. Sheesh!!! A bit of perspective please!!
I don’t see what all the negative comments are about. The overall premise of the article is that Subway say that their products are ‘healthy’ and ‘fresh’ when in fact they are not . Food babe has scientifically debuunked their advertising gimmicks and for that we owe her thanks.
Now if you want to continue to eat it that is absolutely fair enough. But you do it knowingly, not blindly. End of.
It is quite easy to pick one single fast food chain i.e. Subway and diss them about how unhealthy their food it. However, for any study to be meaningful ALL comparable fast food chains should be analyzed as well. Arbys, McDonalds, Burger King, Carls Junior, Panara Bread, Wendys, Weinersnitzle, In N Out Burger, and Taco Bell just to name a few should be included and compared. Food Babe apparently has an agenda and she has singled out Subway to make a point. While she may be correct in her conclusion that all the Subway ingredients she lists are not as healthy as they could be, in the fast food universe, what fast food chain does NOT serve processed food. For each of the brand name chains in a study, on an ounce per dollar basis, which lunch meal is relatively safe with respect to fat, sugars, sodium, and msg as compared to all the others in the study. Until Food Babe does that, I do not respect her study. Subway may have its issues but I prefer a sandwich healthwise from them over one from McDonalds although I do frequent both establishments. .
John – I think the reason Food Babe decided to focus on Subway is that most deem it as one of the “healthier” fast food options. Most people will not argue with the fact that all of those other places you mentioned (Arby’s, McDonald’s, etc.) are worse in comparison. I think she chose to do this research on Subway because, as you said, it is one of the “better” fast food options so many people therefore automatically think it is healthy. She is simply enlightening us in the nutritional information. I think we can all agree that many of those other fast food establishments are worse, therefore eliminating the need for Food Babe to do such an extensive study on them as well. I’m glad she chose to do more research on this “healthy” fast food to confirm the fact that it is not, in fact, healthy. Sure, a sandwich from Subway may be the lesser of two evils compared to a big mac from McDonalds, but this information is demonstrating that the sandwiches we are eating from Subway are still doing more harm to our bodies as well!
I’m one semester away from my dietetics degree and I fully agree with everything she published. I haven’t eaten at Subway in years, and like her I would say to stick to a veggie salad if you have to go there. And although it’s not necessarily worse than other fast food places, people tend to eat there specifically because they think it is healthy or fresh.
I hate how the AHA endorses this food but every organization has it’s price. Personally I hate how the American Dietetic Association takes money from Coke and Pepsi, seems completely hypocritical. But then again they aren’t advocating that Coke and Pepsi are healthy…
Also for anyone stating there is “no research to support….”, have you actually looked through professional journals to see there is no research to support something, or are you just guessing? Because there is a lot of research to support negative effects of food additives like artificial food coloring, MSG, etc. I just spent months writing a research paper on how bad artificial food coloring is, and it’s scary. And yes even artificial food coloring from natural sources (like caramel coloring) also have evidence against their use.
Just remember to do your own research on stuff like this. If you don’t agree with the author then fine, but don’t just use another internet article to determine if it’s true or not. Use professional journal articles or something to that effect.
Js I always assumed Subway was exactly like this therefore I chose to
Eat only veggie delight when eating there. Common sense is
A virtue as is a profitable squirmy blog.
What a coincidence I was in a pinch today and needed something to eat fast, I was staved. I opted for a subway veggie sandwich on wheat bread no mayo and was wondering how healthy “or not” my meal actually was and walla! Here I go. Great info, thanks for the post.
Wow… Very informative. I definitely thought Subway wasn’t the worst place to eat…certainly not optimal as it is still considered a fast food place, but I’m definitely not going to settle for them if I can get away with it. I’m also a vegan so I feel like sometimes options are limited especially whilst one is travelling and so forth. To be honest, anything I make at home tastes a hundred times better anyway!
Thanks for this article!
First of all I love your articles and I love you too
Are there any “fast food” places that do not poison us .. Let’s say I am on the go and have little time and my seven year old is screaming bloody murder he’s hungry before Karate practice. What are the best options?
Subway tastes pretty good, that’s all that matters to me. All food is processed now, one way or another. She seems to just be nitpicking.
why is subway artificial? !We eat there!
I would have to say that if most people would look at the food labels and read what is in their foods most people would pay more attention like i do know. I was not aware of all the chemicals that are placed in foods to preserve the freshness. I was in a class with a local doctor that works with the olympic teams and he explained what the chemicals are and how harmful they can be. Take a sec to look at a food that you eat. Look at the contents and look up the checmical names and see for your self what they are. I will make sure i read every food label that i consume.
In Regards to azodicarbonamide…
“…includes a chemical ingredient called azodicarbonamide, which is banned as a food additive in the U.K., Europe, and Australia, and if you get caught using it in Singapore you can get up to 15 years in prison and be fined $450,000.”
So how does Subway do it in those countries where azodicarbonamide is banned? I have visited US and lived in Europe, Singapore and now live in Australia and had subway in all these countries and the subway taste pretty much the same. Why do they have to use azodicarbonamide in the U.S?