David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Dr. Perlmutter Visits the Drive Thru

2 Jul 2013 · 1 min

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1:18

In this brief monologue, Dr. David Perlmutter discusses how to make healthier decisions when using a fast‑food drive‑through. He advises avoiding the typical burger bun and the standard fast‑food beef, noting that grass‑fed beef is rarely available but is beginning to appear in a few California locations. He recommends opting for a salad if one is offered, even though salads are not common at most fast‑food chains. Dr. Perlmutter observes that fast‑food restaurants are increasingly aware of consumers’ heightened attention to nutrition and suggests that future menus will likely cater more to health‑conscious customers.

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If I were at a drive-through, what would I get? Well, I guess it really depends on what kind of drive-through it is. It's really very challenging to think that you're going to be able to get any kind of, with all due respect, decent food at a fast food restaurant. You probably don't want to eat the burger because it comes on a bun. You want to avoid the bun, and the burger is suspect. It's very unlikely you're going to find grass-fed beef in a fast food restaurant. Although there are a couple of restaurants that are now appearing out in California, I'm told, who actually serve grass-fed beef, ground beef that's made from grass-fed cattle. If there are salads available, go for it. That's not typical, but you can generally see if you can cultivate— interesting word— a salad option from a fast food restaurant. It can be very challenging. But I think what we're seeing to be positive about this is that fast food restaurants are becoming very sensitive to the fact that people are now paying very strict attention to the foods that they eat. Some people are. And I think as we move forward, we're going to see fast food restaurants catering to that idea.