Why am I generally against eating food from McDonalds or Burger King? Because their average meals contain more fat, more sugar, more salt and less dietary fibre than what I would prefer in a
healthy varied diet. Why? Because saturated fats and high levels of cholesterol impacts the fatty acid balance in your blood, which again gives you an increased risk of thrombosis (blood clotting). And what about the sugar? Consuming a lot of sugar rises your insulin levels, telling your body to store energy, which again on a daily basis
increases your risk of growing overweight and developing diabetes.
I am not implying that eating once in a while at McD will make you immediately fat and diabetic, but I advise against making any kind of habit of eating these types of foods. If you
do go to McD, you might want to have a look at
the dietary information of a BigMac, which can also be found on their
wrappers (at least in the US). And if you feel guilty because you eat at McD anyway, you can at least make the
best choice of their menu: always opt for the low calorie, low saturated fat.
McDonalds is not unaware of their image of fast-food-is-bad-for-you. For some time now they have tried to
improve their image, especially since the Supersize me film came out. A very positive step was when they
removed the transfat cooking oils from their restaurants. However, remember that making the best health choice for
you is always up to
you.
Photo courtesy:
OTC medical groupLabels: burger, choice, diabetes, diet, health, McDonalds
