ABC told ‘Batman’ actor Burt Ward to take pills to shrink penis

ABC told ‘Batman’ actor Burt Ward to take pills to shrink penis

By Nicki Gostin

This article is a repost which originally appeared on Page Six

Burt Ward revealed how he fit into that Robin costume.

For baby boomers and classic TV fans, the name Burt Ward is instantly recognizable as the loyal and extremely excitable Robin on the campy “Batman” series which ran on ABC from 1966-1968. Just this week he happily unveiled a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame which he called an “amazing experience.”

The Caped Crusaders costumes were bright and tight-fitting to say the least, so snug that Ward incurred the wrath of the Catholic League of Decency.

“They thought that Robin had a very large bulge for television,” Ward told Page Six, although he promises that it was all him, unlike Adam West who played Batman.

“With Adam they put Turkish towels in his undershorts,” he explained.

The problem grew so tumescent that the studio had Ward see a doctor who prescribed medication “to shrink me up.”

Thankfully Ward quit taking the pills almost immediately.

“I took them for three days and then I decided that they can probably keep me from having children,” he said. “I stopped doing that and I just used my cape to cover it.”

Despite starring in the number one rated show at the tender age of 20, Ward swears he didn’t spend his evenings getting hit on by ardent admirers.

“You must understand I never smoked, drank or did drugs so I never went to a bar in my entire life,” the Dynamic Duo member explained. “It’s not to say I didn’t go out and have a good time but I never went out and did what you think Hollywood (celebrities) do.

“I was a straight-A student at UCLA. In fact, the Dean at UCLA was upset with me when I left in my third year to do Robin because she said I should have been a nuclear physicist. I was in the top 3% in the United States in science and math.”

Despite not receiving any money from the TV show in decades, Ward is not bitter explaining that he was never in it for the money. Instead, he and third wife Tracy devote themselves to charity.

“My wife and I run the largest giant dog rescue charity in the world,” Ward says proudly. “15,500 dogs would be dead if it weren’t for my wife Tracy and I. At all times we have a minimum of fifty dogs at our house with us.

“We make our dog food,” he continued. “We’ve discovered a way to double and triple the lifespan of dogs. Our food is in all the stores across America. It’s called Gentle Giants and we don’t take a penny from it.”

Meatless Meat: How Healthy Are Plant-based Meat Alternatives?

Plant-based diets have grown in popularity over recent years as rising awareness of the associated health benefits, climate change, environmental pollution, and ethical concerns have driven consumers to adopt vegetarian or vegan diets. Although it is difficult to measure the exact number of vegetarians or vegans in the United States, current estimates suggest that between 2% and 6% of Americans identify themselves as vegetarians, and about 1% of those consider themselves vegan. Responding to high demand and providing consumers with appealing product options, plant-based food companies are creating a variety of meatless foods.

While plant-based meat alternatives are not a new concept, the market has witnessed an influx of a novel product – meatless burgers designed to taste like traditional beef burgers. Spearheading the meatless meat movement, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have experienced instantaneous success, with sales of Beyond Meat increasing five-fold since 2016 and the latest round of funding valuing Impossible Foods at $2 billion. This positive attention is due in part to the environmental benefits and assumed positive health impact of eating a plant-based diet, however, the nutritional content of these products has been largely overlooked. Are meatless burgers as healthy as they have been positioned to be or are they just less harmful than their animal-based counterparts?

Good Sources of Protein, Vitamins, and Minerals

Created without GMOs, both Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats products have a high protein content, which competes with beef and poultry proteins gram for gram. Per 4 ounce serving, each meatless burger delivers between 19-20 grams of protein; Impossible Burger protein is derived from soy and potato, while Beyond Burger meat protein comes from peas, rice, and mung beans.

The Impossible Burger also adds vitamins and minerals similar to those found in animal proteins, such as iron, vitamin B12, zinc, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, and folate, making it a good source of nutrients for vegetarians who are at risk of vitamin deficiencies. Alongside these fortified micronutrients, the burger is also a good source of calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. Similarly, the Beyond Burger provides an excellent source of iron – 25% of the daily recommended amount in one serving – although it does not fortify their products with many additional vitamins and minerals.

High Saturated Fat and Sodium Content 

Perhaps the most significant issue with meatless burgers is their high saturated fat content, comparable to that of traditional animal-based products. While 4 ounces of 85% lean ground beef contains 17 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 80 mg of sodium, and 240 calories, their meatless alternatives contain either equal or greater amounts of these macronutrients. Sodium content is particularly high, with both meatless burgers containing between 370 and 390 mg of sodium, which could be a concern for individuals on salt-restricted diets. Not only are high-sodium diets rich in saturated fats associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death, but they also play a role in the obesity epidemic.

The nutritional breakdown of meatless burgers and animal-based burgers implicates that while the plant-derived alternatives may be good sources of nutrients, nutritionally they are in actuality not much different from a traditional beef burger. Moreover, Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat products are significantly higher in sodium content, making them a potentially harmful dietary addition for individuals attempting to reduce  their salt intake.

If health benefits are the driving concern of people searching for meat alternatives, vegetable and legume-based burgers may be the most efficacious at lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other health conditions. While the popularity of these new meatless meat products speaks to an increasing demand for higher quality, better tasting plant-based alternatives, the products available today may not be as healthy as they have been marketed to be.

BY: ZUZANNA WALTER

* This article is a repost which originally appeared on A4M.com.