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A U.S. watchdog group has found that typical Chinese restaurant food is a nutritional disaster.

"Chinese food is loaded with salt and calories and that's bad for your waistline and your blood pressure," said researcher Bonnie Liebman of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

That study found eating an order of lemon chicken, which is battered and then deep-fried, is like eating three fried McDonald's McChicken sandwiches then washing them down with a 32-oz. Coke. Some other nutritionally disturbing findings:

• A plate of General Tso's chicken, a battered fried-chicken dish, is loaded with about 40 per cent more sodium and more than half the calories an average adult requires for one day.
• The dish with vegetables also contains approximately 1,300 calories, 3,200 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of saturated fat.
• An order of chicken with black bean sauce has about 700 calories, but more sodium -- at 3,800 mg -- than any other dish CSPI analyzed.
• Orange beef contains about 1,500 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat and 3,100 mg of sodium, the CSPI said.
• And that's all without a side of rice -- which is about 200 calories a cup -- or the egg rolls to start -- which is about 200 calories and 400 milligrams of sodium.
• An order of four BBQ spare ribs were the unhealthiest Chinese appetizer analyzed, with 600 calories, 14 grams of saturated fat, and 900 mg of sodium.

Even some steamed appetizers had shocking results, with an order of six steamed pork dumplings amounting to 500 calories.

Pan-fried dumplings were not that much different, at another 10 calories each.

As for noodles and fried rice, the CSPI described them as "a load of greasy, refined carbs."

"I don't want to put all the blame on Chinese food," said Liebman.

"Across the board, American restaurants need to cut back on calories and salt, and in the meantime, people should think of each meal as not one, but two, and bring home half for tomorrow," Liebman said.

Data used in the "Wok Carefully" analysis came from independent laboratory analysis and also from two nationwide chains that make nutrition information available online.

According to guidelines, average adults need about 2,000 calories a day, as well 2,300 milligrams of salt, which amounts to about one teaspoon.

"Sodium is relatively high in some Chinese food, which increases the risk of hypertension and stroke," said Dr. Jiang He, chair of the department of epidemiology at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

"I urge Chinese restaurants to cook with less salt and to offer reduced-sodium soy sauce."

While China has traditionally had lower obesity rates than North America, stroke rates are four times higher -- something researchers blame on the salty diet.

The good news, the CSPI added, was that Chinese food is often rich in vegetables. The fat comes mostly from heart-safe, trans fat-free vegetable oils.

Still, even vegetables served at Chinese restaurants are not off the hook.

The organization found that a plate of stir-fried greens has 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of sodium; while eggplant in garlic sauce has 1,000 calories and 2,000 milligrams of sodium.

"We were shocked. We assumed the vegetables were all low in calories," Liebman said.

Shrimp dishes were among the healthiest choices on Chinese restaurant menus, the CSPI reported.

Szechuan shrimp and shrimp with garlic sauce each have about 700 calories while shrimp with lobster sauce has only 400. Still, these dishes contained too much sodium, the CSPI said, with as much as 2,300 mg to 3,000 mg.

"Many people recall the surprising things we reported in 1993 about Chinese dishes like Kung Pao Chicken and House Lo Mein, and those dishes certainly haven't gotten any better," CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson said in a written statement.

"But let's also give credit where credit is due. Many Chinese entr�es are loaded with healthy vegetables and lean shrimp or chicken. However, when it comes to sodium, there's no real safe harbour on the Chinese restaurant menu."

Dr. Frank Hu of the Harvard School of Public Health said that he would like to see more Chinese restaurants offering brown rice as an alternative to its white counterpart.

"Brown rice is a better source of fibre, vitamins, and minerals," Hu said in a statement.

The group offered tips to make a meal healthier:

• Order dishes that feature vegetables instead of meat or noodles;
• Request extra broccoli, snow peas, or other veggies;
• Stay away from deep-fried meat, seafood, or tofu. Instead, order it stir-fried or braised;
• Hold the sauce and eat with a fork or chopsticks; and
• Avoid eating salt, which means staying away from duck sauce, hot mustard, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce

"You can ask them to cut back on the oil, you can ask them to cut back on the salt," Mary Lee, a community nutritionist with Vancouver Coastal Health, told CTV.ca. "You can ask for the sauce to be put on the side.

"The finished product might not be what you're used to, but it's a matter of getting used to it," she said.
 
She felt that if more consumers insisted on healthier Chinese restaurant fare, the restaurant industry would respond.

With a report from CTV's Tom Walters and files from The Associated Press