{"id":1386,"date":"2025-04-28T17:28:55","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/uncategorized\/the-truth-about-why-you-should-skip-arbys-roast-beef.html"},"modified":"2025-04-28T17:28:55","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T17:28:55","slug":"the-truth-about-why-you-should-skip-arbys-roast-beef","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/nutrition\/the-truth-about-why-you-should-skip-arbys-roast-beef.html","title":{"rendered":"The Truth About Why You Should Skip Arby&#8217;s Roast Beef"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/img\/gallery\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/intro-1652456678.jpg\" data-slide-url=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/374579\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/\" data-post-id=\"374579\" data-slide-num=\"0\" data-slide-title=\"The real reason you should avoid the roast beef at Arby&#039;s:\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"An Arby&#039;s restaurant sign\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When you&#8217;re craving a juicy, meaty sandwich, Arby&#8217;s is probably one of the first places that comes to mind. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelist.com\/64125\/order-fast-food-restaurant\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fast food restaurant<\/a> boasts a large menu and is best known for its signature roast beef sandwich.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">However, upon biting into one of Arby&#8217;s signature sandwiches, you might notice it doesn&#8217;t taste like the roast beef you purchase at the grocery store. The reason is that the meat between those buns is not traditionally-made roast beef. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delish.com\/cooking\/recipe-ideas\/a23584914\/perfect-roast-beef-recipe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delish<\/a>, authentic roast beef is prepared by seasoning a large cut of beef, roasting it until tender, and then slicing it into thin, tender pieces.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Arby&#8217;s follows a slightly different process. As shared by an Arby&#8217;s employee on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/AskReddit\/comments\/l3vp74\/fast_food_employees_whats_one_item_on_your\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2021 Reddit thread<\/a> about fast food items to avoid, the chain&#8217;s sandwiches are made with &#8220;a compressed block of beef scraps.&#8221; This block of scraps is placed in a bag of beef broth and warmed until ready to serve.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Jim Lowder, a Quality Assurance representative for Arby&#8217;s, stated to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/fact-check\/arbys-liquid-meat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Snopes<\/a> in 2005 that the roast beef &#8220;consists entirely of Beef and a Self-Basting solution, which contains just enough water to keep the product juicy throughout our restaurants&#8217; 3-hour roasting process and during slicing.&#8221; Whether that bothers you or not, it&#8217;s essential to know where your food comes from.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\">Arby&#8217;s roast beef is ultra-processed<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/img\/gallery\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/arbys-roast-beef-is-ultra-processed-1652456678.jpg\" data-slide-url=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/374579\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/\" data-post-id=\"374579\" data-slide-num=\"1\" data-slide-title=\"The real reason you should avoid the roast beef at Arby&#039;s: Arby&#039;s roast beef is ultra-processed\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"An Arby&#039;s sandwich piled high with meat\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Some people might choose Arby&#8217;s thinking it&#8217;s a healthier alternative to hamburger joints. However, the roast beef is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC6389637\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ultra-processed<\/a>, which is linked to a higher risk of early mortality from various health concerns (via <a href=\"https:\/\/nutritionj.biomedcentral.com\/articles\/10.1186\/s12937-020-00604-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nutrition Journal<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Although Arby&#8217;s does offer some healthier options like salads, these choices are limited. Willow Jarosh, MS, R.D., mentioned to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellfit.com\/fast-food-quick-guide-arbys-3496035\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Very Well Fit<\/a> that most offerings &#8220;don&#8217;t fulfill a full veggie portion and are very high in sodium &#8211; some with more than a day&#8217;s recommended sodium.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The classic roast beef sandwich contains 970 milligrams of sodium, which is over half of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heart.org\/en\/healthy-living\/healthy-eating\/eat-smart\/sodium\/how-much-sodium-should-i-eat-per-day\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recommended daily intake<\/a> for adults. The half-pound roast beef sandwich contains a staggering 2,040 milligrams of sodium, with other menu items even higher. While it&#8217;s fine to enjoy Arby&#8217;s occasionally, ensure you limit your visits and balance your diet with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"\">Arby&#8217;s roast beef isn&#8217;t antibiotic-free<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gallery-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/img\/gallery\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/arbys-roast-beef-isnt-antibiotic-free-1652456678.jpg\" data-slide-url=\"https:\/\/www.healthdigest.com\/374579\/the-real-reason-you-should-avoid-the-roast-beef-at-arbys\/\" data-post-id=\"374579\" data-slide-num=\"2\" data-slide-title=\"The real reason you should avoid the roast beef at Arby&#039;s: Arby&#039;s roast beef isn&#039;t antibiotic-free\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" alt=\"Roast beef sandwich and sauce\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In addition to being ultra-processed, Arby&#8217;s roast beef may be loaded with antibiotics. Of the 25 largest fast-food chains in the U.S., only 14 have implemented policies to limit or eliminate the use of antibiotics in meat products and received a passing grade on a scorecard created by groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Center for Food Safety (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerreports.org\/overuse-of-antibiotics\/more-fast-food-chains-have-no-antibiotic-meat-on-the-menu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Consumer Reports<\/a>). Meanwhile, 11 fast-food chains, including Arby&#8217;s, received a failing grade.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">While antibiotics have long been administered to livestock to prevent disease spread, this can lead to antibiotic resistance, which occurs when disease-causing germs and bacteria evolve and fail to respond to drugs. This can contribute to illnesses that antibiotics can&#8217;t treat or cure.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Lena Brook, a food policy advocate at NRDC, stated that over 70% of antibiotics intended for human use are sold and given to animals, many of which are not sick. &#8220;When you use antibiotics in this routine way, resistance happens,&#8221; Brook told Consumer Reports, &#8220;and that resistant bacteria can then escape from farms and find their way into communities.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you&#8217;re craving a juicy, meaty sandwich, Arby&#8217;s is probably one of the first places that comes to mind. This fast food restaurant boasts a large menu and is best known for its signature roast beef sandwich. However, upon biting into one of Arby&#8217;s signature sandwiches, you might notice it doesn&#8217;t taste like the roast [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nutrition"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncpic.org.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}