4800 Calorie Burger: More than Just a Heart Attack Waiting to Happen

A recent trend seems to be developing in the restaurant world. Whether this practice has always been in place, or is just coming more to the forefront due to America’s increasing problem of obesity, one thing is clear: it’s a dangerous following. What I’m talking about is “larger-than-life” foods.

A couple of examples: In Michigan, the West Michigan Whitecaps minor league baseball team has created a promotional 4,800-calorie burger with 300 grams of fat. If you are able to consume the whole thing, you get a T-shirt.

CBS recently covered a story on a restaurant called, "Heart Attack Grill" in Tempe, Arizona. They offer the “Quadruple Bypass Hamburger," which boasts a whopping 8,000 calories. You won’t get a T-shirt for finishing it, but they will offer you a ride to your car in a wheelchair if you’re just too full and bloated to walk.

Keep in mind that the average number of calories that an active, healthy man should get on a daily basis is 2,500; for a woman it’s no more than 2,000. For the whole day.We’ve all heard that foods like these – larger-than-life steaks and burgers – are just “a heart attack waiting to happen.” But recent research indicates that a diet rich in red meat may do much more than that.

A study performed by the United States National Cancer Institute has recently linked Alzheimer’s and stomach ulcers to have a red meat diet. The study also showed staggering numbers when an individual reduced their meat consumption altogether to that taken in by the bottom twenty percent. It showed that it would save 11 percent of men’s lives and 16 percent of women’s lives.

This study justifies the findings of the World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research, and the American Cancer Society. Those organizations highly recommend reducing the consumption of red meat. It is believed that this is something new in the sense of mortality. As with previous studies these too have found that red meat is often associated with cancer incidence. This was confirmed by a study conducted by vegetarian groups.

A study conducted last year by the United States Cancer Institute showed that eating a quarter pound hamburger or a small pork chop each day could easily put you are an increased risk of getting a variety of cancers. The American Meat Institute negatively reacted to the results claiming that they were notoriously unreliable. They also went on to state that meat was an excellent source of B12, zinc, iron, and other essential vitamins and minerals.

Another study showed that individuals eating the highest amount of red meat were thirty one to thirty six percent more likely to die from any cause than those individuals eating the least amount of red meat. That study stated that the causes of death could be any of the following: diabetes, ulcers, pneumonia, liver disease, HIV, influenza, Alzheimer’s, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and tuberculosis. The research also determined that the chances of dying from cancer were twenty two percent higher for men who ate the highest amount of red meat and twenty percent for women who ate the most amount of red meat.

The lesson? By eating such a diet rich in red meat, and indulging in mammoth burgers and steaks, you’re certain to get much more than a T-shirt. In fact, you may just be solidifying your death sentence.