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Let’s find out! I purchased a fresh boys Happy meal from Mcdonald’s on May 4, 2010. I was in the drive through less than 2 minutes before I had a piping hot Happy Meal. A month has now passed and the Happy Meal looks just the same as the day it was purchased. It is a bit dry looking, and the bun is not 100% hard (although it is still semi-soft).
Bookmark this article and check back each month as I refresh the picture of the Happy Meal and examine the preservatives and additives used in this meal. It could all go wrong though and the Happy Meal mold and decay. However, my sources tell me this will not happen and the meal will look perfect well over a year from now.
Click here to view the Happy Meal Experiment photo’s.
As a Oklahoma City Personal Trainer, fast food is an enemy. Clients are constantly bombarded with ads about fast food. I find it curious that smoking is not chic any longer and out of favor, but people gorge themselves on fast food and drive up healthcare costs for all without any type of public outcry. I think I know why, the media doesn’t want you to give up fast food because it’s how they pay their bills. Just watch TV or Radio and take an interest in the types of ads you are hearing for one afternoon. I think you will find a predominance of fast food ads. The media has no interest in stopping fast food in the way they crusaded against smoking. Remember, it was illegal to advertise smoking products via TV or Radio.
High Calories, Artificial Flavors and Poor Nutritional Value
Calories from calorically dense foods that are also low in nutrient density is a major problem in the United States. Consuming large amounts of these foods results in an empty stomach shortly after eating, low amounts of vitamins and nutrients, and low amounts of fiber.
Consider the following caloric intake combined with poor overall nutrition provided by the Happy Meal:
Cheeseburger
Small French Fries
1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk
Total Calories: 700, Fat (g) 27, Saturated Fat (g) 9, Trans Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 45, Sodium (mg), Carbs (g) 88
Source: McDonald’s
Wow! That’s more than a professional body builder would take in for one meal. Keep in mind, this is going in a 5 or 10 year olds body, this is way too many calories and the nutritional value is nil.
Southampton University (UK) researchers have found that children who ingest certain additives are more likely to be over-active, impulsive and unable to concentrate. This is not new news, but worth reminding everyone about. Researchers mentioned that many of these additives are on the menu at McDonald’s: sunset yellow (E110), quinoline yellow (E104), ponceau 4R (E124) and sodium benzoate (E211).
If you are a parent, you should be concerned because the Big Mac, cheeseburger and quarter pounder with cheese contain a preservative discovered to worsen hyperactivity in young kids.
McDonald’s Doesn’t Tell You All Ingredients?
It’s hard to say if McDonald’s is being completely honest on the additives and preservatives they use. Based on the following quote, I have my doubts if they are listing everything. McDonald’s publishes the following quoteon a Hong Kong version of their website.
The Question of Additives
At McDonald’s, what we leave out of our food is as important as what we put into it. The additives used in McDonald’s foods are those already included by the supplier to maintain quality, and fall entirely within guidelines set by the Department of Health. Similar additives are found in most foods sold through retail outlets and in other restaurants.
I am guessing from this quote that they don’t list all the ingredients since they did not personally add them to the foods they sell. Hmmm…. I guess the additives in the meals they sell don’t exist? If they contain no additives or preservatives, why don’t they sell them as Natural or Organic? Seems like they are passing this off to their suppliers and are taking anything the supplier gives them as acceptable – even if it’s bad for you.
One thing I’m finding difficult to understand is that the meat of the burger has not yet decayed. McDonald’s claims no additives or preservatives are added to the meat itself as listed below. However, why is the burger not decaying? It should be showing some signs of fungus or mold growing on it by now, wouldn’t you think?
I found the following ingredient list for the cheeseburger in the Happy Meal located on the McDonald’s website. I built the cheeseburger based on the ingredients they listed.
Cheeseburger:
100% beef patty, bun, American cheese slice, ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions, salt, pepper
Broken down by Ingredient(s):
Beef Patty:
(Regular hamburgers, Quarter Pounders, Big Macs) 100% pure USDA domestic beef, no additives, no fillers, no extenders
Regular & Quarter Pounder Buns:
Enriched bleached wheat flour (malted barley flour, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, iron, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil (partially hydrogenated soybean oil), yeast. Contains less than 2 percent or less salt, wheat gluten, calcium sulfate, ammonium chloride, ascorbic acid, azodicarbomide, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides, corn flour, soy flour, calcium peroxide, mono- and diglycerides, propionic acid, phosphoric acid, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, wheat flour, silicon dioxide, sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, fungal enzymes, calcium propionate (as a preservative), sesame seeds on the Quarter Pounder Bun.
Sharp Pasteurized Processed American Cheese (slice):
Cultured milk, water, cream, sodium citrate, salt, sodium aluminum phosphate, sorbic acid (preservative), sodium phosphate, cheese culture, artificial color, acetic acid, enzymes, lecithin.
Ketchup:
Tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, natural flavors (vegetable source).
Pickle Slices:
Cucumbers, water, distilled vinegar, salt, calcium chloride, sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate (preservative), natural flavor (vegetable source), alum, polysorbate 80, turmeric.
It’s not McDonald’s Fault
I’m not saying all of McDonald’s food is bad, and they are trying a bit harder to help health nuts like myself find alternatives in their stores. However, this will not dramatically change until the public demands more of them. McDonald’s is only responding to what people are buying. My hope is that McDonald’s and other fast food chains can keep innovating and drop the additives and preservatives their meals contain.
Let your voice be heard by voting with your wallet. If you do go to McDonald’s, please take advantage of their healthier alternatives and drop the Big Mac. Only when enough of us do this will they try harder.
Christian Henning, NASM-CPT
To get your free 5 Steps to Jump Starting Fat Loss report, check us out our Online Personal Training at http://www.getfitokc.com.
Tags: healthy eating, mcdonalds happy meal, personal training, preservatives
Posted in Healthy Living · June 10th, 2010 · Comments (0)
Losing weight and getting healthy can be accomplished by following a reasonable diet and getting enough exercise. A personal instructor can be useful throughout the weight loss process. Trainers can evaluate current fitness levels and help incorporate a plan that involves diet and exercise. This can lead to an boost in energy levels and an overall feeling of well-being, along with weight loss.
Coaches are people that have specific knowledge regarding fitness and exercise, through education, certification and first- hand experience. Helping people to attain a healthier lifestyle is what they have been taught to do. They can work with all different types of people with assorted body types, in order to help them with a number of different goals. A personal trainer can also help to motivate someone by providing encouragement during exercise sessions and helping people keep track of weight loss and building muscle.
Going to a gym and being faced with all of the different exercise equipment can be rather daunting for many people. But your private coach can help it seem a little less confusing. They can give detailed explanations of what each machine does and the areas that they target and help someone become acclimated to the gym by showing them how to use the different machines. Showing someone the correct way to use gym equipment can help lessen the chances of injury and increase the efficiency of the exercise that is being done. The correct techniques can help someone lose weight and gain muscle more effectively.
Often a personal trainer will devise a personalized plan for each of their clients based on a person’s fitness levels and weight loss goals. This can be very useful for most people that are trying to lose weight, because they are able to follow a step by step plan that was devised by the instructor and use it to accomplish their goals. Accountability is another reason that it can be advantageous to use a trainer. Regular exercise sessions with your trainer can help help you to be more responsible for your fitness levels. It can also provide the much needed motivation that most people need as they are trying to lose weight.
Sessions with your trainer are usually about an hour long. Health and fitness assessments, diet and nutrition tips and careful attention to exercise techniques are incorporated into the sessions with a trainer. Trainers can also test body fat percentages and assist you through the most effective strength training and cardio workouts that will help you reach your fitness goals. They will push you (in a positive and healthy way) to do just a little bit more and challenge yourself throughout each session. A private instructor can do much more than assist with weight loss; they can also help to instill healthy habits that will keep the extra weight gone for good.
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Tags: coaching for life, exercise routines, exercize regimens, individualized fitness plans, personal training, physical fitness, Staying Fit, VAncouver, Vancouver fitness coaching, WA
Posted in Staying Fit · November 16th, 2009 · Comments (0)