Info on McDonalds website...

[reefpicker]

I rarely make new threads, but I thought I had share this with you guys/gals...


I was browsing the McDonalds website to look at the sodium and fat contents of the scrambled eggs and their egg mcmuffin...

I thought its funny how the truth can be twisted.

Frequently Asked Questions About McDonald's USA Food & Nutrition

Q: Can McDonald's food be part of a healthy, balanced diet?

A: Yes. Many nutrition professionals agree that McDonald's food can be part of a healthy eating style based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation. One key to a healthy diet is to moderate, not eliminate, favorite foods because eliminating foods is rarely successful long term. In fact, the American Dietetic Association says all foods can fit into a healthy diet and what's most important is eating a balanced diet over time, rather than focusing on any one food or meal.

McDonald's varied menu and range of serving sizes make it easy to fit our food into a balanced diet and to create a range of meal combinations that fall within recommended guidelines for calories, fat and other nutrients.

For instance, in addition to hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks, we offer grilled chicken sandwiches, an array of salads, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfaits, Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip, juice, 1% low fat milk, and, at many restaurants, soups. With our Made For You cooking system, customers can special order various menu items to help meet their nutritional needs.

See some popular McDonald's meals and their corresponding levels of total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium.

The reality is that about 90% of the food is high in fat, sodium or carbohydrates (for the diabetics this might be a concern).

Also, I couldn't believe the sodium content of the McMuffin: 890mg !! And most of it is the muffin itself (bread).

True the parfaits are not that bad, and I will admit to having had cravings for their hot cakes now and then

Moderation is the key, but I would never call McDonalds healthy, thats for sure.

[fyre500]

I find it amusing that the majority of what they listed as healthy are side items. 1% milk? Applie dippers with caramel sauce? Soup? Wow... how filling and thrifty!

As unhealthy as McDonalds can be, there is nothing wrong with it if the food fits into your daily caloric limit and the macros don't skew your results either. $1 double cheeseburgers are an excellent bargain. Take off the bun and it's even better.

[wave_length]

Funny enough, that Q&A contains more truth than most diet books.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by wave_length

Funny enough, that Q&A contains more truth than most diet books.

As I said, it is twisted truth

I think moderation is the key.

Once in a while, if you are hungry and need to stop there and eat, its cool... But I just see that post in the website and I picture a Jared-style type of ad, saying you can get skinny eating 10 Parfaits every day.

And as the poster above mentioned, you would need to eat mostly side order items LOL

I ate there today ! I like eating breakfast at McDonalds now and then... Actually, what I call my "2nd" breakfast... I have breakfast at home and then eat again around 10:30am. But I dont touch the hashbrowns, sausages, etc. Only the eggs... And what's with that cheese they use in the mcmuffins? Once it gets cold, its nasty.

[Dr. Horse]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

I think moderation is the key.

Um, isn't that exactly what THEY say?

They never claim that ANY of the foods are healthy, just that they can fit into a healthy diet.

The only one twisting things is you...

[wave_length]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

As I said, it is twisted truth

Nopes, I think the truth twisters are found somewhere else in this case.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Mr. Horse

Um, isn't that exactly what THEY say?

They never claim that ANY of the foods are healthy, just that they can fit into a healthy diet.

The only one twisting things is you...

LOL no

I said "it is the key", as in the keyword.

In other words, that's the grain of truth from which they based their argument.

[Dr. Horse]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

LOL no

I said "it is the key", as in the keyword.

In other words, that's the grain of truth from which they based their argument.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[wave_length]

I think it's a shame that so many delicious foods are labeled "junk" just because overweight people eat to much of them. It's a perversion made up by masochistic diet gurus in my opinion.

[Red9]

Originally Posted by wave_length

I think it's a shame that so many delicious foods are labeled "junk" just because overweight people eat to much of them. It's a perversion made up by masochistic diet gurus in my opinion.

Yea exactly. Mcdonalds is not meant to be part of your everyday diet. Fast food is just a nice little treat to have sometimes. But ya know, lardos gotta have somebody to blame, god forbid they take responsibility for their own actions.

[pumpedmuscles1]

Golden Arches, lol trying to turn facts into biased opinions.

[wave_length]

Originally Posted by Red9

Yea exactly. Mcdonalds is not meant to be part of your everyday diet. Fast food is just a nice little treat to have sometimes. But ya know, lardos gotta have somebody to blame, god forbid they take responsibility for their own actions.

I eat a huge meal of what would be considered "junk" food almost every day on a cut. The term is just completely useless.

[R3VOLUTION]

Originally Posted by fyre500

I find it amusing that the majority of what they listed as healthy are side items. 1% milk? Applie dippers with caramel sauce? Soup? Wow... how filling and thrifty!

As unhealthy as McDonalds can be, there is nothing wrong with it if the food fits into your daily caloric limit and the macros don't skew your results either. $1 double cheeseburgers are an excellent bargain. Take off the bun and it's even better.

my mcds doesnt have double or mcdouble cheeseburgers on the dolla menu anymore. i used to go in there and get 5 eceryday. my wendys raised their ''3conomics'' to 1.29, and my bk has a limited dollar menu. my kfc, has changed from crispy chicken to original ****ty tyson chickens, and only 2 items on their value menus are 99 cents/

i go to subway now, if im gonna wind up spending more than 4 bucks might as well get an italian bmt footlong, or bnetter yet ic an get a double meat italina bmt footlong for 7.47.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Mr. Horse

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Perhaps you should think a bit harder then.

Here:

The question is:
Can McDonald's food be part of a healthy, balanced diet?

Lets first note that this appears under the heading of: Food, Nutrition and Fitness.

Also, anything can be part of a balanced diet... The amount is the question.

I digress. Lets now look a the answer:

A: Yes. Many nutrition professionals agree that McDonald's food can be part of a healthy eating style based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation.

By starting with "nutrition professionals", they lend credence to their own arguments, without doing two things: they do not cite which professionals (making the statement vague on purpose), they use the word many (which can mean most, some or just a few big wigs) and they do not link it directly to McDonalds.



One key to a healthy diet is to moderate, not eliminate, favorite foods because eliminating foods is rarely successful long term.


Here they give a generic fact, which is true and almost un-refutable. Notice the use of the word key. geez, I wonder where ReefPicker got the idea. Hmmm... What did he meant by key? Oh, that's right he was saying that the truth is twisted and that the key was moderation... So what he was saying was a reiteration of what the statement said.. SO WHAT? How is he twisting the truth?

Anyway, I digress once more.



In fact, the American Dietetic Association says all foods can fit into a healthy diet and what's most important is eating a balanced diet over time, rather than focusing on any one food or meal.

Again, using a credible source with a true argument to back up the idea that McDonalds is healthy after all. But once more, no direct link between them.


McDonald's varied menu and range of serving sizes make it easy to fit our food into a balanced diet and to create a range of meal combinations that fall within recommended guidelines for calories, fat and other nutrients.

Of course.... I can do that at Burger King too.... Maybe Pizza Hut is the exception... Wait, they also have salads, so I guess its not true for them either.


For instance, in addition to hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks, we offer grilled chicken sandwiches, an array of salads, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfaits, Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip, juice, 1% low fat milk, and, at many restaurants, soups. With our Made For You cooking system, customers can special order various menu items to help meet their nutritional needs.


I love how grilled sandwiches are always sold as healthy. But that's another discussion.

Soups healthy? The amount of salt in them is enough to make you want to drink that big jug of coke they usually offer.... Add the fries and you will be looking at about 3 days worth of the RDA for sodium.













So overall, what they say here is in discordance with what they offer. Portion-control is not what McDonalds is about. What with their super-size me offer, and the fact that the size of the small fries has increased, I wouldnt call it a place for moderation.

Of course, it lies on us as consumers, to be moderate.

In a way that statement says a universal truth: it all boils down to our choices. And it is clear that what they want you to take from that statement is that they are not to blame for you getting fat from their menu (or dying from a heart attack).

Thus, they are twisting the truth to favor themselves. I think that fast foods should be more responsible for the things they put in their food (excess salt, used oil, heavy fats, preservatives and food coloring that are not needed), etc.

[Dr. Horse]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

Perhaps you should think a bit harder then.

Here:

The question is:
Can McDonald's food be part of a healthy, balanced diet?

Lets first note that this appears under the heading of: Food, Nutrition and Fitness.

Also, anything can be part of a balanced diet... The amount is the question.

I digress. Lets now look a the answer:

A: Yes. Many nutrition professionals agree that McDonald's food can be part of a healthy eating style based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation.

By starting with "nutrition professionals", they lend credence to their own arguments, without doing two things: they do not cite which professionals (making the statement vague on purpose), they use the word many (which can mean most, some or just a few big wigs) and they do not link it directly to McDonalds.



One key to a healthy diet is to moderate, not eliminate, favorite foods because eliminating foods is rarely successful long term.


Here they give a generic fact, which is true and almost un-refutable. Notice the use of the word key. geez, I wonder where ReefPicker got the idea. Hmmm... What did he meant by key? Oh, that's right he was saying that the truth is twisted and that the key was moderation... So what he was saying was a reiteration of what the statement said.. SO WHAT? How is he twisting the truth?

Anyway, I digress once more.



In fact, the American Dietetic Association says all foods can fit into a healthy diet and what's most important is eating a balanced diet over time, rather than focusing on any one food or meal.

Again, using a credible source with a true argument to back up the idea that McDonalds is healthy after all. But once more, no direct link between them.


McDonald's varied menu and range of serving sizes make it easy to fit our food into a balanced diet and to create a range of meal combinations that fall within recommended guidelines for calories, fat and other nutrients.

Of course.... I can do that at Burger King too.... Maybe Pizza Hut is the exception... Wait, they also have salads, so I guess its not true for them either.


For instance, in addition to hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks, we offer grilled chicken sandwiches, an array of salads, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfaits, Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip, juice, 1% low fat milk, and, at many restaurants, soups. With our Made For You cooking system, customers can special order various menu items to help meet their nutritional needs.


I love how grilled sandwiches are always sold as healthy. But that's another discussion.

Soups healthy? The amount of salt in them is enough to make you want to drink that big jug of coke they usually offer.... Add the fries and you will be looking at about 3 days worth of the RDA for sodium.













So overall, what they say here is in discordance with what they offer. Portion-control is not what McDonalds is about. What with their super-size me offer, and the fact that the size of the small fries has increased, I wouldnt call it a place for moderation.

Of course, it lies on us as consumers, to be moderate.

In a way that statement says a universal truth: it all boils down to our choices. And it is clear that what they want you to take from that statement is that they are not to blame for you getting fat from their menu (or dying from a heart attack).

Thus, they are twisting the truth to favor themselves. I think that fast foods should be more responsible for the things they put in their food (excess salt, used oil, heavy fats, preservatives and food coloring that are not needed), etc.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Mr. Horse

I have no idea what you are talking about.

You get a star for brilliance. Do you also want a cookie with it?

[Dr. Horse]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

You get a star for brilliance. Do you also want a cookie with it?

Only if it is part of a healthy diet.

[StandStrong]

their pancakes are AWESOME!

[Adjusting]

I'm cutting body fat right and hit McDonalds up for lunch. It was so delicious!

Sirloin burger (no cheese, no bacon) and spicy crispy chicken snack wrap netted me under 1000 cals. Perfect meal for me when cutting. It can easily be incorporated into a healthy diet. I think that's 15 grams of fiber too....not bad. Not bad at all.

[rainieravesouth]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

Perhaps you should think a bit harder then.

Here:

The question is:
Can McDonald's food be part of a healthy, balanced diet?

Lets first note that this appears under the heading of: Food, Nutrition and Fitness.

Also, anything can be part of a balanced diet... The amount is the question.

I digress. Lets now look a the answer:

A: Yes. Many nutrition professionals agree that McDonald's food can be part of a healthy eating style based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety and moderation.

By starting with "nutrition professionals", they lend credence to their own arguments, without doing two things: they do not cite which professionals (making the statement vague on purpose), they use the word many (which can mean most, some or just a few big wigs) and they do not link it directly to McDonalds.



One key to a healthy diet is to moderate, not eliminate, favorite foods because eliminating foods is rarely successful long term.


Here they give a generic fact, which is true and almost un-refutable. Notice the use of the word key. geez, I wonder where ReefPicker got the idea. Hmmm... What did he meant by key? Oh, that's right he was saying that the truth is twisted and that the key was moderation... So what he was saying was a reiteration of what the statement said.. SO WHAT? How is he twisting the truth?

Anyway, I digress once more.



In fact, the American Dietetic Association says all foods can fit into a healthy diet and what's most important is eating a balanced diet over time, rather than focusing on any one food or meal.

Again, using a credible source with a true argument to back up the idea that McDonalds is healthy after all. But once more, no direct link between them.


McDonald's varied menu and range of serving sizes make it easy to fit our food into a balanced diet and to create a range of meal combinations that fall within recommended guidelines for calories, fat and other nutrients.

Of course.... I can do that at Burger King too.... Maybe Pizza Hut is the exception... Wait, they also have salads, so I guess its not true for them either.


For instance, in addition to hamburgers, fries, and soft drinks, we offer grilled chicken sandwiches, an array of salads, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfaits, Apple Dippers with Low Fat Caramel Dip, juice, 1% low fat milk, and, at many restaurants, soups. With our Made For You cooking system, customers can special order various menu items to help meet their nutritional needs.


I love how grilled sandwiches are always sold as healthy. But that's another discussion.

Soups healthy? The amount of salt in them is enough to make you want to drink that big jug of coke they usually offer.... Add the fries and you will be looking at about 3 days worth of the RDA for sodium.













So overall, what they say here is in discordance with what they offer. Portion-control is not what McDonalds is about. What with their super-size me offer, and the fact that the size of the small fries has increased, I wouldnt call it a place for moderation.

Of course, it lies on us as consumers, to be moderate.

In a way that statement says a universal truth: it all boils down to our choices. And it is clear that what they want you to take from that statement is that they are not to blame for you getting fat from their menu (or dying from a heart attack).

Thus, they are twisting the truth to favor themselves. I think that fast foods should be more responsible for the things they put in their food (excess salt, used oil, heavy fats, preservatives and food coloring that are not needed), etc.

goodness. cliffs man! CLIFFS!




oh yeah, McDonald's is fine to eat.

[Oddball8945]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

Moderation is the key, but I would never call McDonalds healthy, thats for sure.

keys words bolded

Can McDonald's food be part of a healthy, balanced diet?

yes

[Funereality]

Is there anything inaccurate or wrong about their statements? Not really. Are some people likely to misinterpret them as an excuse to eat fast food more than they should? Absolutely. But it's not McDonald's fault that some people have poor reading comprehension skills.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Oddball8945

keys words bolded



yes

Balanced? Yes.

Healthy? Questionable.

It really boils down to your definition of healthy and to the frequency of eating at McDonalds.

For me healthy means one thing that it might not mean for you.

(For example, I eat eggs and fish but no meat... Anything that's heavy with frying oil is not healthy to me because I can't stomach it, mayo makes me sick, and I am sodium-sensitive so most of the McDonald's menu is out of the question, and I avoid food colorants and food preservatives as much as I can. Instead, when I want something "healthy", I get a Taco Bell Bean Burrito "fresco style" or I go to subway. I only eat breakfast things at McD).

As usual, I am no extremist. I do not think McD should be avoided at all costs. If you can't eat anything home-made for lunch at work, and need to get McD, yeah.... Its not going to kill you! But to brag about consuming McD's food, IDK... Seems like silly to me...

And I agree with the poster that their (buttery) pancakes are good. Healthy? Not so much. Can I "fit" them in my "macros"? yep. I do eat them now and then! They are full of carbs, which I sometimes need in my AM :O

[Black_Spit]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

Balanced? Yes.

Healthy? Questionable.

God. Why are you insisting on being so obtuse?

PART of a

PART of a

PART of a healthy, balanced diet.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Black_Spit

God. Why are you insisting on being so obtuse?

PART of a

PART of a

PART of a healthy, balanced diet.

I am not obtuse.

I honestly do not understand how on Earth, people that are supposedly devoted to health and nutrition, can even surreptitiously defend McDonalds just because....

I look at the list of nay'sayers in this thread and I see a bunch of old and unsettled angst.

Someone here once said, that if something has a very long list of ingredients, then it is highly processed and does not fit the category of healthy. If you abide to that, McDonalds is a far cry from healthy.

As I said, I eat there on occasion and I have been known to get all excited about getting up early in the AM to go to McDonald's.

So maybe the obtuse here is not me. I would be a close-minded person if I didn't even set foot on the place

But I do dislike meat, so maybe that also plays a role... And I dislike mayonaise.... And things that are so greasy that if you take a napkin and press on them, they get soaked in oil....

[blacksmith77]

Originally Posted by reefpicker

I am not obtuse.

I honestly do not understand how on Earth, people that are supposedly devoted to health and nutrition, can even surreptitiously defend McDonalds just because....

I look at the list of nay'sayers in this thread and I see a bunch of old and unsettled angst.

Someone here once said, that if something has a very long list of ingredients, then it is highly processed and does not fit the category of healthy. If you abide to that, McDonalds is a far cry from healthy.

As I said, I eat there on occasion and I have been known to get all excited about getting up early in the AM to go to McDonald's.

So maybe the obtuse here is not me. I would be a close-minded person if I didn't even set foot on the place

But I do dislike meat, so maybe that also plays a role... And I dislike mayonaise.... And things that are so greasy that if you take a napkin and press on them, they get soaked in oil....

Just say you dont like Mcdonalds, and accept other people do . jesus send me some pancakes for crying out loud in a church

[determined4000]

Originally Posted by blacksmith77

Just say you dont like Mcdonalds, and accept other people do . jesus send me some pancakes for crying out loud in a church

would you please keep it down?
its late and I am trying to get some shut-eye

[Blindead]

i still don't get why people get a boner over sodium when it's been shown that potassium/sodium ratio is more important than sodium intake, and that sodium intake has little effect on you if you aren't pre-dispositioned to hpb or have a pre-existing condition.

[reefpicker]

Originally Posted by Seamless

i still don't get why people get a boner over sodium when it's been shown that potassium/sodium ratio is more important than sodium intake, and that sodium intake has little effect on you if you aren't pre-dispositioned to hpb or have a pre-existing condition.

Well, in my case, I am predisposed.

I forget the statistics but HBP is prevalent enough that it does matter.

Sodium is not the culprit per se, as you have pointed out. However, as it turns out, in nature most of the sodium comes with a higher amount of potassium... Thus, fruits, vegetables and most unseasoned meats do have more potassium than sodium.

If you go by what you just said, that it is the Na:K ratio that matters, the bottom line is still the same: if you eat a high-sodium diet, it usually means you do not eat enough potassium. In the american diet, the sodium: potassium ratio is 2:1, while it seems that before the introduction of seasoning, our ancestors took a 1:5 ratio. That is 5x more K than Na.

Of course, you won't find such a diet in McDonalds anyway