Eight-Pound “Strasburger” No Match For Local Dietitians

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Monday, the Washington Nationals unveiled the "StrasBurger" (not to be confused with an earlier creation of the same name). There is a reason to not confuse the newest version of the StrasBurger with the older one. Eight pounds worth of reasons, to be exact.

As described by Nationals PR by way of D.C. Sports Bog's Dan Steinberg, the StrasBurger is not so much a burger as it is a monstrosity. Or in this case, a mon-STRAS-ity:

Weighing eight pounds total (including toppings), the StrasBurger is a monstrous all beef burger (combination of ground brisket, chuck and short ribs). The burger is served on a large burger bun with our secret sauce, American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickle chips and served with a cone basket of fresh cut fries and a pitcher of your choice of soft drink. This signature dish is the perfect entrée to share at this affordably-priced family restaurant.

Do not get me wrong: this burger sounds amazing. Yet, you (and a few of your friends or family members) will likely not feel amazing after eating it. To really see how this burger stacks up (burger humor), I enlisted the help of two local dietitians to examine how much of an impact the StrasBurger can have on your diet.

Colleen Gerg, a registered dietitian from Chevy Chase, Md., did a general breakdown of the "nutritional value" -- or more appropriately, the lack thereof -- of the StrasBurger. According to Gerg, the StrasBurger is somewhere between 8,000-10,000 calories, packs 600-700 grams of fat, 200-300 grams of saturated fat and 2,500-3,000 milligrams of sodium. It seems that the Nationals are advertising the burger as something to be shared, but even then, it still packs a wallop.

"If the burger is split four ways, each person's portion would therefore be at least 2,000 calories, 150 grams of fat, 50 grams saturated fat and 625 mg of sodium," Gerg said in an email Monday. "All of these are higher than what many, if not most, people need in an entire DAY, except for sodium."

"What's worse, is that even if you split the burger between eight people, then added the cheese, condiments, french fries and soda, each person would still be consuming very close to a full days worth of calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium and (with regular soda) sugar," Gerg continued. "And who is really going to split this between eight people? How appetizing could a burger cut into eight portions possibly look anyway?"

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Rima Kleiner MS, RD, a registered dietitian in the D.C. area, agrees with Gerg.
 
"There's a lot wrong with the visual of sweating your way through an eight-pound burger while watching athletes in action," Kleiner said in an email Monday. "It's no surprise that a burger meant to be shared by a family will contain a shocking number of calories and fat, but this burger will also likely deliver many days' worth of artery-clogging saturated fat and sodium. Even shared four ways, this meal contains way more calories, fat and sodium than you need in an entire day."
 
Both Gerg and Kleiner insist that you should stay away from the temptation that is the eight-pound StrasBurger, sharing suggestions and an interesting admission that might intrigue.
 
"Here's an idea -- make a great burger (as in delicious) named after a great player (Strasburg)," Gerg said. "Make it awesome -- like him. I guarantee Strasburg didn't get to where he is by eating enormous amounts of unhealthy food laden with excess calories, fat (mostly saturated) and sodium. The guy's own mother is a dietitian after all!"
 
Which begs the question: what would Mrs. Strasburg think about all of this?
 

Adam Vingan is co-founder and editor of Kings Of Leonsis, a Caps-centric blog, and is the Capitals Editor for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_KOL and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.

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