While a vegetable dish such as Szechuan spicy eggplant may seem like a healthy choice at a Chinese restaurant, you're still likely giving your body a lot of sodium and calories. If you're watching your weight or trying to stick to a healthy diet, you might just find that home-cooked meals offer more nutrition than takeout treats.
General Information
According to a 2007 report by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Chinese restaurants often fare better than restaurants serving other types of food, such as Mexican and Italian food, thanks in part to their use of vegetable oil, which cuts down on saturated and trans fats. That doesn't mean eating at a Chinese restaurant is guilt-free in terms of nutrition, however. The report, based on nutrition information from nationwide chains as well as independent lab analyses, found that most Chinese restaurant food contains high amounts of sodium. Additionally, Chinese food can come packed with calories and fat because of ingredients such as deep-fried breading and oil.
Eggplant Nutrition
Eggplants contain no cholesterol, fat or sodium, and contain only about 20 calories per 84 grams. While the lack of unhealthy elements makes eggplants a healthier choice, these vegetables aren't particularly high in nutrients. Approximately one-fifth of an average-size eggplant contains about 2 percent of your daily recommended carbohydrates, 2 percent of iron and 4 percent of vitamin C. The same serving of eggplant will give you about 12 percent of your daily recommended dose of dietary fiber.
Sodium
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends no more than 2,300 mg of sodium a day for most healthy adults, though some people may need to reduce their intake to less than 1,500 mg a day. While eggplant in its pure form contains no sodium, eggplant dishes in Chinese restaurants often contain quite a bit of salt. According to the report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, no vegetable dish analyzed contained less than 2,000 mg of sodium, including seemingly lighter fare such as Szechuan string beans and eggplant in garlic sauce.
Additional Information
While a Szechuan spicy eggplant dish is a healthier choice than dishes containing breaded and fried meat, eggplants soak up a substantial amount of oil when cooked, which can increase the number of calories and amount of fat. If possible, order an eggplant dish that's not breaded and fried to cut fat and calories. Use chopsticks instead of a spoon to transfer the food to your plate to reduce the amount of salty sauce you consume, and forgo rice if you're counting calories; one cup of rice adds about 200 calories to your Chinese restaurant meal.
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