AFAIK, the ‘controversy’ was that there was no identifiable tuna dna in the sandwich. Considering Subway doesn’t use raw tuna, this is not at all surprising. If there WAS identifiable DNA in the tuna, then I would be worried.
^ This. I don’t know anyone who considers Subway particularly healthy. I find you get what you pay for, and Subway is about as low a cost as you can find. I’m also not suggesting Subway is less healthy than Taco Bell or McDonalds, just that the bar is set pretty low for fast food of any kind.
I never considered Subway especially healthy, and I don’t particularly like their sandwiches. I remember way back when they would advertise that they baked their own bread, and the first time I thought it was the most cottony fakey bread I’d tasted.
Oh, and their deli meat is borderline mediocre for me.
I don’t mean to be a pendantic nerd here, but how are we defining healthy? Calorie wise, most of the six inch sandwiches seem fine to me. But everything there has a ton of sodium.
Even though I do enjoy a good sub from time to time, processed deli meats are consider one of the worst foods for you health wise. Add to that highly processed white flour bread and it’s not looking so good.
The Jared Diet isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for the overall healthiness of Subway.
I recall some folks managing similar things with McDonald’s after “Super Size Me” came out. They managed to lose weight by sticking to the salads (no dressing) and occasionally a sandwich but never the fries or desserts or 90% of the rest of the menu. It did not mean McDonald’s was suddenly healthy.
I haven’t. I heard about some kooks repeatedly claiming things about the tuna, but they never showed any evidence of it. A few kooks does not a controversy make.
But to the OP question, what are we comparing it to? It’s probably healthier than most mass-market short-order or fast food. And probably less healthy than a lot of things you could make yourself at home from good ingredients.
Like anything else, healthy is what you make it. For a deli sammich it sure as hell beats Jimmy John’s mayo delivery system disguised as a sammich and by the time I get done putting all the veggies on it (Spicy Italian, light lettuce, heavy onion, spinach, cucumber, bell pepper, pepperoncini and vinegar and oil) it’s basically a chef’s salad with bread underneath. Could be a LOT worse.
My take entirely. It’s gonna be tough to get a sandwich at Subway that is worse than a Big Mac, unless you get a footlong with every kind of nitrite-infused meat they carry. Get double meat on that to be sure of it. And a good healthy (hah) squooze of mayo just to be absolutely certain.
They also don’t have as much other junky sides - you can get a bag of chips, and they always have cookies, but no McFlurry, or fries, or similar treats.
If there’s a McDonald’s and a Subway both nearby, I’ll go for Subway. There’s a strip mall near me that actually has that exact choice, and while we don’t frequent either, I’ve been to the Subway a LOT more recently than McDs.
I do think it’s slightly healthier than typical fast-food burger fair, mainly due to lack of fried items. When in a pinch, and without other options, I would probably choose Subway over burgers, and order a simple 6-in sandwich with their whole wheat roll, and only turkey, cheese, oil/vinegar, and all the veggies. I know it’s not the greatest, but that is sometimes the best I can do, and would prefer food from a real deli if I had the choice. Bottom line: it’s not as healthy as their ads would imply, but you could do worse.
The one thing I hate about Subway is the over-cold veggies - sometimes they put a tomato-cicle on there and that’s just nasty.
That’s a good point! When I get food from Subway, it’s usually just the sandwich itself. (And I don’t do so often enough that I really worry about how healthy it is.)
I consider Subway to be healthy in that I can go there, eat a sandwich, and not worry about blowing my diet. But then I consider most foods to be perfectly healthy when consumed in moderation. I’ve lost more than 60 pounds since May 2020, and while I changed my diet and exercise habits, on occasion I’ll still eat a Popeye’s spicy chicken sandwich and don’t consider it a bad thing. I just don’t eat that kind of thing as often as I used to.