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CNN Live At Daybreak

Interview with Lisa Drayer

Aired July 30, 2002 - 06:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you know Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey or Chubby Hubby, you've probably tasted Ben & Jerry's ice cream. The ice cream company says it's all natural. The Center for Science in the Public Interest isn't buying it. It says Ben & Jerry's is fudging the all natural claims and plans to file a complaint today with the FDA.

At issue, artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils and other manmade ingredients in the ice cream. So far we haven't been able to get a response from the folks at Ben & Jerry's.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Ice cream, natural ingredients, what better way to introduce our new Breakfast with DAYBREAK segment here on DAYBREAK.

COOPER: Lisa Michelle Drayer is a registered dietitian and the director of nutrition services for Dietwatch.com, Incorporated. She joins us this morning from New York to talk about a recently filed lawsuit over fast foods and fast food alternatives for people on the go.

Good morning.

Thanks for being with us.

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Yes, I can't wait to hear what you say is nutritious at those fast food restaurants.

DRAYER: Right. Well, actually, there are options that are healthier than others and it's very important to become familiar with what's available at the different fast food restaurants. There are no excuses. The information is out there. It's on the World Wide Web. You can find the nutritional information of just about any food you're looking for. So no excuses.

COSTELLO: So if we walk into Wendy's, what will we find that's healthy and wonderful for us?

DRAYER: You know, Wendy's actually has great salads. They have a mandarin chicken salad and it's only 150 calories. So this is definitely a low calorie option. And all fast food restaurants do offer salads. COOPER: Even McDonald's has something that's healthy?

DRAYER: Yes. Actually, McDonald's has this great new thing, it's the salad shaker. I don't know if you've seen it. But you can, it's in a cup and you can actually put it in a cup holder and take it with you wherever you're going. So it's very convenient. And you can just pour the dressing and mix it up, fat-free dressing, of course.

COSTELLO: I only have one thing to say, though. I mean you get the big huge juicy burger and then the salad. I mean even if it's healthier, don't you think most people would choose the burger anyway?

DRAYER: You know, that may be. And if you do choose the burger...

COOPER: Should we cut this short?

DRAYER: ... make sure that you budget your food. So if you're going to have that burger or Big Mac for lunch, for example, don't plan on having pizza for dinner. So be smart about your food choices. And especially if you have a history of heart disease. This man had two heart attacks. So at some point, you know, we as consumers need to understand what we're at risk for and take our behaviors into our own hands. So it's very important to become educated.

COSTELLO: All right, this is very important. The man you're talking about is suing fast food chains for his ill health. He had two heart attacks and high blood pressure and the like. We're going to wrap you up now because we do have breaking news in our world.

So, Michelle, sorry. Of course you'll be back with us next week. And we appreciate you joining us on DAYBREAK this morning.

DRAYER: Thank you.

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