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On any given day, one in four Canadians eats at a fast food restaurant, according to the latest Statistics Canada survey. Fortunately, most fast food chains offer a few lighter dishes on their menu boards.

Instead of a burger combo, you can order an entrée salad and a bottle of water. Sounds healthier, right?

Not always. Just because it has lettuce, a fast food salad isn't necessarily good for your waistline or your arteries. In many cases, that virtuous-sounding entrée delivers more calories, fat and sodium than a fully loaded burger.

For instance, Wendy's Garden Sensations Southwest Taco Salad with toppings and dressing provides 720 calories, 42 grams of fat (18.5 of them saturated) and 1,675 milligrams of sodium. Wendy's Classic Single Sandwich with everything on it delivers less of everything - 430 calories, 19 grams of fat (seven of them saturated) and 860 milligrams of sodium.

To put these numbers in perspective, people eating 2,000 calories a day should limit their total fat intake to 65 grams - including saturated and trans fat of up to 20 grams -and limit sodium to 2,300 milligrams. People with high blood pressure should keep their daily sodium intake to 1,500 milligrams.

Fast food entrée salads have become increasingly popular. In May, 2004, when McDonald's Canada launched its Saladsplus menu, I rated the nutritional content of entrée salads offered at national chains McDonald's, Wendy's, Arby's, Taco Bell and Subway.

Today, Harvey's, KFC, Burger King, Mr. Sub and Quiznos are also selling meal-sized salads to health-conscious patrons. Even Pizza Pizza offers seven entrée salads. I decided it was time to take a second look: Which salads are worth ordering and which ones aren't?

I analyzed 31 entrée salads from Arby's, Burger King, Harvey's, KFC, McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell and Pizza Pizza. All the nutritional information was provided by the restaurants. I didn't include garden and side salads, and I excluded submarine sandwich shops since they don't all provide nutritional information.

I included the dressing each salad was served with. If a reduced-fat version was available, I analyzed the salads with the light and regular dressings.

The average fast food entrée salad weighed in at 506 calories, 30 grams of fat (including seven grams of saturated fat) and 1,450 milligrams of sodium. That's half a day's worth of fat and almost two-thirds of a day's worth of sodium - from just one meal.

Of course, some salads strayed from the mean. Tipping the scale was Arby's Chicken Club Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (including almonds and croutons) at - get ready - 969 calories, 72 grams of fat (15 of them saturated) and 1,993 milligrams of sodium. Ouch. You're better off ordering Arby's Crispy Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich for 650 calories, 31 grams of fat (six of them saturated) and 1,548 milligrams of sodium.

Rounding out the top three salads with the highest amounts of calories, fat and sodium were Arby's Santa Fe Salad with Santa Fe Ranch Dressing and Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad with the shell.

Nutritionally speaking, there were no perfect fast food entrée salads. Ideally, a salad should supply at least four grams of fibre, no more than 10 per cent of calories from saturated fat and no more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium.

The top three were Harvey's Entrée Chicken Salad, Arby's Martha's Vineyard Salad and Wendy's Chicken Caesar Salad. These scored well on fibre and sodium, and were only slightly higher in saturated fat, which is offset by the heart-healthy oils in the dressing. A close runner-up was Wendy's Mandarin Chicken Salad.

These numbers don't mean you're better off skipping the greens and ordering a burger or deli sandwich instead. For starters, almost all salads are considerably lower in cholesterol-raising saturated fat than sandwiches with meat and cheese. Salads get most of their fat from trans-fat free, unsaturated oils in the dressing.

Opting for an entrée salad is also a great way to boost your vegetable intake. Thanks to their size, most fast food salads deliver at least three vegetable servings (one cup of salad greens is equivalent to one serving). That's reasonable since Canada's Food Guide now recommends a daily minimum of seven servings of vegetables and fruit rather than five.

One nutritional problem remains: sodium. Just about any fast food salad with dressing supplies more than half a day's worth. And it's not just the dressing that's to blame - cheese, bacon, croutons and breaded and seasoned chicken also contribute.

The best way to avoid eating a junk food salad is to read before you order. All fast food chains post detailed nutrient breakdowns of menu items on their websites, and some have brochures in the restaurant.

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based dietitian at the Medcan Clinic, is on CTV's Canada AM every Wednesday.

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Smarter salads

A salad can be healthier than other fast food options, depending on what you order. Here's how to trim sodium, fat and calories - and get more nutrition.

Drizzle, don't drown. Don't use the full package of dressing - half is usually plenty. For instance, a 64-gram package of Arby's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing adds 325 calories and 34 grams of fat.

Order lower-fat dressings if available. Opt for Arby's Light Buttermilk Ranch Dressing and you'll save 213 calories and 28 grams of fat - not to mention almost 200 milligrams of sodium.

Avoid shell shock. If you order Taco Bell's Fiesta Taco Salad without the shell, you'll save almost 400 calories and 20 grams of fat. Put it this way: It takes a good 30 minutes of jogging to burn off those 400 calories. You'll also save about 100 calories if you skip the package of tortilla chips that comes with most taco salads.

Limit fatty ingredients. Extras such as bacon, cheese, sour cream, croutons and crispy noodles quickly increase the calorie, fat and sodium counts. If you're going to add them, limit toppings high in saturated fat and choose options such as toasted almonds and avocado, which contain unsaturated fat.

Choose salads with grilled chicken instead of crispy, breaded or fried chicken.

Go for colour. To increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, choose salads made with spinach and dark green lettuces such as romaine and leaf. Order salads with plenty of colourful vegetables such as tomato, bell pepper, shredded carrot and purple cabbage.

Leslie Beck

http://www.lesliebeck.com