Do you feel that hamburgers are unfairly considered an "unhealthy" food?

[Prof_Don]

Vote and answer in as much detail as you wish.

yes, a hamburger is always an "unhealthy" food that should be avoided in a healthy diet

no, a hamburger always has a place in a healthy diet

it totally depends on what ingredients the hamburger is made with and garnished with

[ksoma]

Beef is actually chock full of vitamins and minerals. It is shockingly good for you.
80% ground beef only has 20% fat in it. If cooking on the stove, drain grease. If cooking on a grill, watch that melt off and drip away. Either way, it has MUCH less fat on it when served then when raw.

Cheese, high in calcium. Lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, all vegetables. Mustard has almost no calories per serving. The biggest culprit here is mayo, and a lot of people would skip it, for ketchup instead.

The other big culprit? The buns. Because somehow bread, buns, and anything with carbs, is seen as the greatest for of Satan.

No, you know what? Burgers have a lot going for them. If worried about fat, use 90% beef and skip the mayo. Otherwise, they are delicious, filling, and full of things that are very good for you. Like all things, moderation matters. A burger for lunch and dinner, 3 days and nights a week, and it gets to be too much. One or two a week? They are a delicious treat and not going to kill you.

[BertMacklinFBI]

is served a certain way yes, if served a certain way, no.

ground beef won't kill you if you don't overeat.

i go to in-n-out this is what I get

double meat no cheese, protein style, extra lettuce, no spread, no sauce at all, grilled onions. BAM! taste so fucking wonderful and it's literally just vegetables and 2 beef patties.

when it gets unhealthy is when people get a huge fucking burger with big ass pretzel buns and ketchup, mustard, mayo, spread, EXTRA CHEESE! and bacon. and maybe a hotdog too, like fuck, Carls Jr. put a damn hotdog in 1 of their burgers, like are you fucking me?

[Kiwedin]

Taking into account that hamburger meat is a processed food and is considered a class 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization, I don't think it can be considered healthy in any sense of the word. Even if you make it low fat and use a whole meal bun and add tons of vegetables to it, the meat itself cannot be considered healthy. It's filled with saturated fat and cholesterol, both of which lead to artery clogging, red meat is considered a carcinogen, and processed meat as well. Hamburger meat is both red meat and processed, so it's basically just a double whammy of cancer with a side of some veggies and bread.

[justlilly]

You should have finished the article... it specifically states that steak and ground beef are not processed and therefore not class one carcinogens. Things like hot dogs, salami, and bacon are in the class one category.

[Prof_Don]

@justlilly you're right, but keep in mind the opinion owner is a vegan so she isn't as invested in meat products as you and I are

[justlilly]

It's whatever on the vegan thing, I was just saying this opinion owner made up facts. I don't eat hot dogs, salami, etc because I have seen how it is made and it makes me want to vomit.

[Prof_Don]

@justlilly I don't each much processed meat either, just the occasional hot dog, pepperoni or sausage.

If u don't dig processed meats, then what meat do u order on pizza? Do u just go with chicken? :-P

[justlilly]

I get pepperoni on pizza. Mostly I am just not into hot dogs. It isn't the carcigonic factor, it's the low quality meat factor.

[GOOSEBOY78]

how it it unheathy if you MAKE the ingredients YOURSELF? get off your high chair, most meat is not full of carcinogens or saturated fat if you by fresh from the farmers. this is the difference between you and me: i speak from facts, you get yours from the internet...
2/3 of new zealands economy comes from dairy farming. and where do you think the old cows actually go? nope. because otherwise there would be over population of cows and sheep. none of our beef and cattle are injected with hormones or that other crap your SJW friends tell you the do to it.

[Kiwedin]

@justlilly I read the whole article, but whether or not it's considered a processed meat is dependent on where you get your hamburger meat from. A lot of the time, ground beef is just a mixture of meat and leftover parts from the slaughterhouse. Certain brands are better than other, but in general, ground beef is not a health food.
@GOOSEBOY78 No, the difference between you and me is that I've done research, I've learned about how disgusting meat is, and instead of letting my emotions and personal bias get in the way, I adjusted my behaviour to suit what is best for my health, the environment, and the welfare of animals. Get off your high horse and get it through your head that your tastebuds are not more important than the lives of others and the health of our planet. Animals will not overrun our planet if we stopped eating them, the only reason there are so many right now is because we breed them in those numbers. Don't be silly.

[GOOSEBOY78]

to little miss opens her mouth without the facts: i have several friends who actually work in a meat processing plant... the meat is not processed with hormones or any crap like that and sent on its way. nor have you eaten wild pork/venison (deer/elk) as i actually have. and the foods you mention do not cause cancer if you make it yourself the commercial made patties (probally) not if you make the food yourself like i reiterated. lets put things in more perspective rachael ray makes lots of burgers and she hasn't died of cancer casing carsenogens has she? stop relying on packed foods and reguritated studies from the internet.

[justlilly]

The animals would not exist at all in the quantity that they do if they were not being used as a food source. And no one said ground beef is a health food, I just said it isn't considered processed food (which it isn't) and it isn't a carcoginan (which it isn't).

[Kiwedin]

@GOOSEBOY78 I'm Algonquin and Cree First Nation in Northern Canada. I grew up in the forest, I've hunted, gutted, and prepared animals for as long as I could remember. I've lost countless family members to cancer, heart disease, and diabetes and they all thought the same thing you did. They thought that wild meat was the healthiest food in the world, it's certainly healthier than factory farmed or processed meat, but cannot be considered a health food. Believe me, no one had more of a meat eating bias than I did, but when I'm faced with science and sound logic, not even my pride was enough to deny the facts. Rachael Ray is one person, an anecdote, of such a widespread issue. What about the 614,348 people who died of heart disease in 2014 alone? Or the 591,699 people who died of cancer, 133,103 who died of strokes, 76,488 who died of diabetes? 1,415,638 lives taken by diseases largely due to diet and lifestyle and you name one person, a relatively young person, who's beat the odds?

[Kiwedin]

@justlilly Lilly. Beef is red meat. Red meat is a Class 2A carcinogen as admitted by the World Health Organization. Like I said, it's considered a processed food depending on where you get it from. A burger patty from McDonald's is not the same as a burger patty that you made at home. Regardless of whether you consider it a processed meat products or not, it's still carcinogenic because it's still red meat.

[Darkfairie17]

I feel like hamburgers get a bad rap. A McDonald's hamburger? Sure, that's unhealthy usually. However, one made at home, with lean ground beef, cooked on a grill, with fresh ingredients can actually be fairly healthy. I love to top mine with fresh ingredients, like tomato, onions, and pickles. Sometimes even lettuce. Then have it with a salad.

I think that's a fairly balanced meal. However, if a person is downing a Big Mac with a large pop and XL fries, well yes that would be unhealthy.

[Kuraj]

Depends on the ingredients, but as a rule of thumb if something is so cheap it isn't going to have quality ingredients in it no matter what they tell you.

I personally don't trust any grain products whatsoever so as long as it has buns it is by default unhealthy.
If you really want a healthy burger pick your veggies and meat yourself and replace the buns with two large caps of portobello.

[Prof_Don]

You trust a fungus more than a grain? Interesting. :-P

[pr3ttybr0wn]

Hamburgers aren't always bad. greasy hamburgers from a lot of fast food chains usually are.. but if you make your own at home from like 98% lean ground beef and top it with lots of veggies and no mayo why is it bad?

[GOOSEBOY78]

mayo is bad becase its 80% oil.

[Prof_Don]

@GOOSEBOY78 I think u misread, he said she eats her burger without mayo. :-P

[Oxi112094]

It depends what the burger is made of. Salmon, turkey and veggie burgers are healthier than the regular beef burger, and instead of using ketchup and all other condiments, you can use avocado😋

[Prof_Don]

I live in California so I have plenty of access to avocado! :-D

[MikkyLachae]

I make hamburgers at home sometimes with beef, bacon, cheese, and lettuce. My buns are never as greasy as some fast food restaurants and the burgers are never over 500 calories. I don't use preservatives so it's pretty healthy, just not something to eat everyday.

[Sara413]

There is a world of difference between a homemade beef patty on a whole grain bun topped with tomato, onion, avocado and greens and a greasy "beef product" patty on a white bun with ketchup, overly processed relish and a tiny bit of shredded lettuce.

[ThisDudeHere]

I don't give a fuck, I'm still just gonna eat them if I feel like it. While I'm still young, my metabolism is working too well for my own good. I used to eat at kebab and burger joints for the entirety of last year and nothing changed.

[SarahsSummer]

I rarely eat red meat, maybe 2-3 time a month. but do enjoy a good hamburger. I get 93%lean, usually wrap it in lettuce instead of a bun or put over a big salad. In fact I may just have one tonight! as for the fast food burgers, I have no idea whats in them but do admit a couple times a year I'll get a jr bacon cheese at Wendy's :)

[LaVilaine]

I think you're always going to be better off making these things for yourself. You're also going to be better off grilling instead of pan-frying because then some of the grease drips off. I don't usually use a lot of condiments that have fats (unless I'm putting some guacamole on my burger) so it can be half-decently healthy.

[SilentShadow]

Fast food hamburgers are unhealthy, but you can make healthy homemade ones. If you make it at home, you know exactly how it was cooked and what ingredients were used. You can buy a specific type of meat, and you can put fresh vegetables on it.

Not all hamburgers are unhealthy. Just beware of the fast food junk.

[bryon]

I am a huge fan of a good hamburger. It's dietary benefits or lack of to me is all in its preparation. A pan fried being tasty is loaded with grease for obvious reasons , it was fried in it and only soaked it up more.
Now the grilled burger is my favorite , almost all excess grease has been removed and burned away in the heat/ flames of the grill. But the garnishing a can in fact play a part in its calarie and fat content as well

[ConsultantIsBack]

Burgers are good generally. High protein, and the sat. Fat well. Despite the government media campaigns in the 1980s, we've come to discover fat actually isn't the primary culprit is making you fat!
That's right folks, it's not the butter on that pasta making you fat. It's the massive portion of high glycemic white enriched pasta. You're pancreas will pump insulin until you have love handles lmao

[ConsultantIsBack]

Which by the way, you can extend this to that bun around the burger. Yup, do without the bun, you can also limit calories from the mayo, sauces in the burger too

[Anpu23]

I am a vegetarian, and honestly don't think any kind of meat is healthy, but certainly red meat is one of the worst, add to that the sugar in most ketchup, the fact that lettuce has almost no dietary value. And you can begin to see why people don't think that hamburgers are healthy.

[PizzaSlut4u]

I don't care if they're healthy or unhealthy, I'm going to eat a lot of them anyways. On a side note, is this still considered a hamburger? I want it all.
www.foodfacts.info/.../tall-hamburger.jpg

[Prof_Don]

I have no idea! :-P

[samhradh_leannan]

It depends on a lot of things. A fairly plain burger topped with fresh veggies is a relatively healthy choice. A turkey burger might be even healthier. A cheeseburger topped with bacon and tons of creamy sauce would obviously not be a healthy choice.

[madhatters4]

red meat in moderation is perfectly fine and not bad for one's health. the most important thing is not eating it too much, getting good quality and ideally getting meat from organic farmers

[anonymous83]

It can be healthy as long as it's not made by a restaurant or corporate restaurant. I make them all the time without bread because I'm allergic to bread. As long as you're exercising, it should be fine.

[MikeGaultier]

Homemade burgers: Not really - they are consist of vegetables, meat (protein), and bread (carbs).

Take-out burgers: Yes - the bread is often oiled, the meat tends to be fatty, and they're drenched in fattening condiments.

[GOOSEBOY78]

a hamburger ain't nothing but a meat sammitch. a burger is only unhealthy if you cook it in a unheathy way. drowning in oil so all you are tasting is the oil. but there are new dry frypans that use minimal or no oil at all.

[justlilly]

Hamburgers sometimes have grease... I buy very lean ground beef and grill hamburgers and they are less fatty. I feel like they are probably still unhealthy, but have their place in a balanced diet.

[EllieLexis513]

Hamburgers are only unhealthy if you put the condiments and the bread on. If you eat it with just lettuce, tomato, and onion, then there's nothing wrong with it.

[aliceinwonderland69]

You can make a healthy burger. You can use a lean steak mince and grill it instead of frying it. They can be dry however so I suggest adding an egg to bind the mince together.

[aliceinwonderland69]

Alternatively you can use a meat naturally lower in fat like venison.

[Mustachekitteh]

Depends on how the meat was made and all the stuff you add to it.

[vishna]

Hamburger meat is, in my opinion, not the optimal protein source. There are much healthier options that are also less taxing on the environment.

[19magic]

Fat is needed in every diet and add in some protein and veg you can make yourself a healthy meal, especially if you prepare it yourself.

[dogbert444]

If you could see what goes into an ordinary burger you would become veggie straight away! The use all the crap that can't otherwise be got rid of.

[stonerboner]

Funny question. Regardless of healthy or unhealthy... I like them and I plan to continue eating at least one every weekend. Pizza too.

[poppunk]

Pretty much every food is neutral when eaten in moderation, but generally hamburgers are nutritionally a lesser choice to their alternatives.

[CHARismatic110]

Depends on what's in it and how it's prepared. For example, a turkey burger is healthier than beef burger.

[himmypop]

Plus a turkey burger tastes better.

[ConsultantIsBack]

I have turkey burgers waiting to be grilled in my fridge mmm

[CHARismatic110]

@ConsultantIsBack yummy

[Miezko]

Well, if you look at the nutritional facts you'll see they are unhealthy. That doesn't mean you can't shouldn't ever eat them, but it doesn't make them healthy either.

[sunlite]

depends on the ingredients because the patty itself can be made healthily or unhealthily.

[ImClara]

For example a mcdonalds hamburger wouldn't be considered healthy. A hamburger your momma makes from scratch is.

[Robbey]

Fast food hamburgers are bad for you. Home-cooked ones can be reasonably good for you.

[Mesonfielde]

It's C) because buns made of sugar are bad for you, while real meat and stuff is nutritious

[Accipiter]

I think the stigma of burgers being an unhealthy food is due to how many of them are found at unhealthy fast food chains.

[TheAngryBanana]

nah its mainly due to the processed meat if you had fresh meat hamburgers then they are healthy

[jacquesvol]

If you buy lean beef and grind it yourself, it's not unhealthy. If you buy the stuff they sejj you at a hamburger joint, it will be fat.

[realname]

hamburgers are not healthy BUT they dont hurt too much if they are not consumed all the week and depending on the ingredients

[douride2]

I would say it all depends on the quality of the meat, how it's cooked & what go's on it.

[Melcart23]

Depends how the meat is cooked. Is it drenched in oil? The bread is loaded with carbs, and most condiments are fattening

[AnayaWilliams]

It would depend on the ingredients

[06CuriousMind]

it depends on what kind of diet your on.

[Belliebella]

Homemade hamburgeres can be very healthy

[worldscolide]

I vote c, and remember always in moderation

[JohnMike999]

hamburgers are like dessert they go to heart