You Are What You Eat - My Trip to McDonald's

While being away and not being able to conveniently run, i went pool hunting. It is a good way to meet new people and see the local area finding sporting complexes! But my reason for telling you about this is after a good swim work out i also discovered the local health food shop in Geraldton and made my way to explore what goodies this health shop could bring :)

Geraldton Health Food Shop on Chapman Road

I loved looking at the many shelves of the usual Superfoods, dried fruits, skin and body products and was amazed at a room full of various protein supplements and powders! Usually you see this at a gym or specific fitness shop but it was a good idea to intertwine the health foods with protein supplements. On the back wall i was marveling at many large jars of organic teas and chose one i have wanted to try for a while - organic Green, Chai and Maca tea! You could make the combination yourself and add a few more spices such as ginger and star anise but i thought i would buy the combination to work out the ratio they used first. The lady at the counter was really nice telling me how she makes the tea combination herself and uses maca powder in smoothies and on yoghurt and cereals too. I will let you know how it goes when i taste it! After buying my tea and some more Chia seeds, i had a stop at Woolworths for spinach leaves and avocado, THEN.... to McDonald's.


I have fond memories of being younger and having the treat of McDonald's or Hungry Jacks happy mean after we had a family walk around Bunbury. These treats would only be around once a month, far less frequent than the consumption of fast food burgers by the average person today! And this was only around 10 years ago. I have grown up to discover the treat i once thought was brilliant and tasty was no where near as tasty as a home made burger with fresh ingredients and lovely crisp and fresh bread! Hence my last fast food burger must have been.... gosh at least 5 years ago! Anyway, this trip was to collect a burger, chips and coke for one of my best friends for lunch. I have to admit i felt a little self conscious that someone would have seen me in the health food shop and now in McDonald's, it is not a bad thing but when i feel so passionate about health and good nutrition i want to set a good example! However i soon discovered waiting in line that this trip was in fact PERFECT. Being passionate about health and nutrition how can i make a difference to those who consume foods lacking nutrition and health benefits without exposing myself to them in the first place?? That does not mean i have to eat them myself if i don't want to, i have been down that road, but seeing what people buy, how much they buy and how they react to buying it. Most routinely gobble up their meals forgetting what they ate after 10 minutes then only answer their nutrient deprived bodies call for more food after half an hour to consume similar meals or snacks which of course are also nutrient deprived... but calorie rich!

I was happy to see that fast food chains such as McDonald's are showing more and more nutrition information on their products. Therefore we cannot necessarily blame fast food corporations for our growing obesity and diabetes rates if people consuming the foods can easily be made aware of the contents of their meal choices. No it is up to us to educate each other about what the best choices are and what our individual bodies need.

Needless to say i was still surprised at the amount of calories in even the most innocent burger. I ordered a McChicken burger value meal, $5.95 was not a bad price. And i couldn't help but read just what my friend would be consuming...

Please note % Daily Intake (%DI) relates to your total daily food intake. Percentage daily intakes are based on an average adult diet of 8700KJ but your daily intakes may be higher or lower depending on your energy needs. The following information can be found on the McDonald's website under nutrition. 

I don't know about you but i made out the 'chicken' of unknown percentage and the 'lettuce' at least! The burger alone had 1710kJ which is 20% of the %DI, but we must also add the regular chips and coke.

To be safe we will say she had a small chips adding another 1070kJ... over half the amount of the burger alone in a side even with a small! Then the coke.

There's another 428kJ in the small once again.

Overall that is 1710kJ + 1070kJ + 428kJ = 3208kJ for lunch which equates to 20% + 12% + 5% = 37% of the %DI. This is around 1/3 which is on par with our typical 3 meals a day, but comparing the ratio of calories to nutrition, your body will be 'full' but not satisfied. Take a look at this and notice the amount of '0.00mg' of vitamins and minerals ingested sourced from 'Thirdage.com'...

Minerals

---

Calcium

100.00 mg

---

Magnesium

0.00 mg

---

Potassium

0.00 mg

---

Zinc

0.00 mg

---

Iron

0.00 mg

---

Phosphorus

0.00 mg

---

Manganese

0.00 mg

---

Selenium

0.00 mg

---

Copper

0.00 mg

---

Sodium

830.00 mg

---

Vitamins

---

Vitamin A

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B3 (Niacin)

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B6

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin B12

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin C

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin D

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin E

0.00 mg

---

Vitamin K

0.00 mg

---

Folate

0.00 mg

---

Folic Acid

0.00 mg

---

Alpha Carotene

0.00 mg

---

Beta Carotene

0.00 mg

---

Choline

0.00 mg

---

Retinol

0.00 mg

---

Fatty Acids

---

Saturated Fats

3,000.00 mg

---

Monounsaturated Fats

0.00 mg

---

Polyunsaturated Fats

0.00 mg

---

Cholesterol

35 mg

---

All i can say for people on McDonald's meals is :(
It gives 100.00mg of calcium (good for bones, muscle function, nerves and hormone secretions!) at least which is 10% of the recommended 1,000mg for adults. In comparison a 300ml glass of milk or 30g of cheese contains over 300.00mg of calcium each.
The recommended salt/sodium intake for an adult a day is less than a teaspoon or 2,300mg although 1,000mg or less is recommended therefore 830.00mg in the burger is quite high and not good for people with high blood pressure which equates to nearly 30% of the population.

But the most obvious downfall is the amount of saturated fats and cholesterol, both which accumulate in the blood and stick to the walls of blood vessels to form plaques which can eventually grow over time to obstruct blood flow to limbs, organs and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks and strokes. This value meal accounts for nearly 50% of the recommended daily intake.

I'm not doing this to scare you, i'm doing this to make you aware of what you put into your body. In the end you really are what you eat. My friend who i cannot imagine life without has a diet almost totally opposite to mine, does not like green vegetables, loves off chocolate and eats quite a few more burgers than me. It makes me sad though that she is always tired, always needs to nap and has never felt the benefits of a nutritious, fresh and energizing diet. I hope that very slowly and surely her diet will include more vegetables and nutrition and her energy levels will pick up, not to mention she in the health profession and knows the benefits of a balanced and nutritious diet and the illnesses and diseases which may await an unbalanced diet in the future. The problem is cost, convenience, addiction and routine. But i must add while i stood in line for a good 15 minutes to buy this burger and value meal, it took less time and less money to whip up a smoked salmon, spinach, avocado, carrot, beans and celery salad and it was fresh, nutritious and delicious!

Oh dear friends i hope i can help make a positive difference in your life no matter how long it takes.