We have all scene the marketing indicating that Subway is the healthiest fast food option available, we all know the story of Jared and how he lost weight eating nothing but Subway sandwiches, but can subway really be as healthy as they claim or is it little more than marketing hype designed to draw in customers? Well, there are a few little surprises to be found in the nutrition information of Subway sandwiches that might very well make you reconsider their health benefits.

Sodium
Subway is a national chain restaurant and sources ingredients from all over the country. This means that the food needs to be able to sit on a truck for an extended period of time without spoiling, and what is mankind's oldest tool in the battle against food spoilage? That's right: salt. Subway meats, bread, and condiments contain so much sodium that it is almost guaranteed that you will exceed 1000 mg of sodium, no matter what $5 foot long sandwich you order. You can cut down on the sodium content somewhat by skipping cured meats and pickled vegetables, but that leaves you with woefully few options when it is time to construct your sandwich.

Secret Ingredients
When it comes to processed food or packaged food, you always need to be on the lookout for "secret ingredients," or ingredients that the manufacturers use that they do not want you, the consumer, to know about. In this regard, Subway is no different from other food companies, and their wheat bread has a few of these secret ingredients that you need to be aware of.

The first, as it tends to be when dealing with processed or fast food, is high fructose corn syrup. "Why do they use it? Subway is supposed to be healthy," I can hear you thinking. Well, the answer is the same as it is for any other food company that uses it. High fructose corn syrup is sweet, cheap, and extends the shelf life of food. You may be surprised to find out that there is more HFCS in their nine grain bread than there is whole grain!

The second ingredient, another popular food additive and fertilizer base, is ammonium sulfate. It is used in order to stimulate yeast growth in the bread to improve the rise, and also contributes to the brown color of the bread, since there is so little in the way of whole grain in the bread that it would appear white without it.

So, is Subway healthy or not? I would go so far as to say that while Subway is less offensive than most national chain restaurants, it is in no way the healthy restaurant that its marketing would indicate.

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