How Bad Is McDonald's Really?

Vocabulary Review

Epidemic (n.) – a situation where something harmful spreads rapidly and affects a large number of people.

Example: Obesity has become a global epidemic, affecting millions of people across all age groups.

Staggering (adj.) – so large or shocking that it is difficult to believe.

Example: The staggering amount of sugar in that drink shocked the nutritionist.

Ultra-processed (adj.) – food that has been heavily modified from its natural state, often containing artificial chemicals, preservatives, and additives.

Example: Most packaged snacks and fast food meals are considered ultra-processed.

By far (phrase) – by a large amount; used to emphasize that something is clearly the most or least of something.

Example: Chocolate is by far the most popular flavor in the survey.

Profile (n.) – a description of the key characteristics or qualities of something.

Example: This protein bar has an impressive nutritional profile.

Chronic (adj.) – a problem, especially a health condition, that lasts for a long time or keeps coming back.

Example: Years of poor diet can lead to chronic inflammation throughout the body.

Vascular (adj.) – relating to the veins, arteries, and blood vessels that carry blood through the body.

Example: Smoking causes serious vascular damage that can lead to heart disease and stroke.

It's beyond me (expression) – used to say that you cannot understand or explain something.

Example: It's beyond me why anyone would eat something knowing it causes cancer.

Daily value (n.) – the recommended amount of a nutrient that a person should consume in one day, usually shown as a percentage on food labels.

Example: One energy drink already contains 200% of your daily value of sugar.

Satiety (n.) – the feeling of being fully satisfied and no longer hungry after eating.

Example: Foods high in protein and fiber promote satiety, keeping you full for longer.

Hangry (adj., informal) – feeling irritable or angry as a result of being hungry, usually caused by a drop in blood sugar.

Example: I skipped lunch, and by 3pm I was completely hangry and couldn't focus.

Culprit (n.) – the person or thing responsible for causing a problem.

Example: The real culprit behind the afternoon energy crash is refined sugar.

Leave out (phrasal verb) – to place something somewhere and not put it away.

Example: I accidentally left the milk out overnight and it went bad.

Decay (v./n.) – the process of rotting or breaking down naturally over time.

Example: The fruit began to decay after just a few days in the heat.

Phenomenon (n.) – a remarkable or unusual fact, event, or situation.

Example: The rise of fast food culture is a truly global phenomenon.

Anti-inflammatory (adj.) – something that reduces inflammation in the body.

Example: Omega-3 fatty acids are well known for their anti-inflammatory properties.

You can bet (expression) – used to say that something is absolutely certain to happen.

Example: You can bet that skipping sleep will affect your performance the next day.

Cognitive (adj.) – relating to mental processes such as thinking, memory, and learning.

Example: Regular exercise has been shown to improve cognitive function.

Moderation (n.) – the quality of avoiding excess; doing something in reasonable, controlled amounts.

Example: Most nutritionists agree that even unhealthy food can be enjoyed in moderation.

How Bad Is McDonald's Really?

It’s true, we are living in a fast-food epidemic, and the statistics are staggering. The US food supply is over 73% ultra-processed foods, and millions of people eat McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And to make matters worse, the amount of potentially toxic chemicals found in fast food and ultra-processed foods is in the thousands. But many people still want to know “just how bad is McDonald’s really?"

Let’s take a look at the most beloved McDonald’s menu items and see if it’s really as bad as they say.

First Up: The Large Fry

McDonald’s really knows how to market their fries: “premium potatoes with zero grams of trans fat, these fries are crispy and golden on the outside and fluffy on the inside.” 

Well, the first problem is that zero trans fats is misleading; the FDA requires any food with less than half a gram of trans fats to be labeled as zero, so you are likely consuming more trans fats than you think. But the real problem with these mouthwatering French fries is their starch profile. Compared to normal potatoes, these have 20 times the amount of AGEs, which is a toxin that appears when you heat starch. It causes a list of problems, including diabetes, chronic inflammation, organ damage, vascular damage, DNA damage, cellular death, and accelerated aging. I don’t know about you, but any desire I had for a McDonald's French fry just disappeared.

Now there’s one more issue here, and it’s about the oil. Refined seed oils are commonly used in restaurants, and they aren’t so bad… until you heat them. Refined seed oils become extremely toxic when heated; they form something called aldehydes, which damage our cells, proteins, and DNA. They are also commonly linked to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and liver and heart disease. Why McDonald's still chooses to feed this stuff to humans is beyond me. 

Next Up, The Big Mac

Here’s an interesting fact: you can leave almost any McDonald’s food item out for 10 years, and when you come back, it won’t have any mold, bad smell, or sign of decay (I think most people would like to age as well as a McDonald's burger).

If you read the label, you’ll notice that the Big Mac gives us about half of our daily recommended value of salt and fat. But the bigger issue is the lack of satiety. McDonald's food simply will never leave you feeling satiated; you will feel hungrier after eating the Big Mac than you did before, and probably a bit hangry as well. The culprit for this phenomenon is the added sugar and ultra-processed carbohydrates. These cause our blood sugar and insulin to skyrocket, and then about 45-90 minutes later, they (along with your mood) will plummet. Oh, and the Big Mac has almost as much added sugar as a glazed donut - do with that what you will.

The “100% beef” claim. Okay, this part is true. But let’s talk about the type of beef they use: industrial beef. Industrial beef has a totally different nutritional profile than normal beef. Normally, beef is a good source of omega-3, which is really good for us, but industrial beef lacks omega-3 and actually has omega-6 instead. Omega-6 is almost the opposite of omega-3; while omega 3 anti-inflammatory, omega-6 is pro-inflammatory. Then they cook the burger in more oil, adding those same aldehydes we discussed earlier. 

The Big Breakfast with Hotcakes

Coming in at a staggering 1,340 calories and over 40 grams of added sugar (82% of our Daily Value), this breakfast will surely ruin your day. Just like the Big Mac, you can bet that the big breakfast will absolutely not leave you satiated, and after your blood sugar spikes and your mood drops, you will probably regret not skipping breakfast. 

The McNuggets: 100% White Chicken

The McNugget sounds like a safe option, right? Well, the chicken nuggets with “100% white chicken” actually have only 40% chicken in them. 

A French university did a study on the effect of aluminum on the body. They found that 0.1 mg of aluminum caused a cognitive decline, and when consumed daily, about a 95% chance of brain disease such as Alzheimer’s or dementia. You might think, “Well, that’s okay, because people don’t eat aluminum.” Well, if you eat a 20-piece chicken McNugget meal, you are consuming 2.8 mg of aluminum. That’s 28 times what the French study mentioned. Not to mention, they are fried in the same refined oils as the burgers and fries. 

The Refreshing Caramel Frappe 

The caramel frappe has one of the most absurd nutrition labels yet; besides the calories and everything else, it has 70 grams of added sugar. That’s 140 percent of our recommended daily sugar intake. 

Another Swedish study on the effect of sugar consistently found that every 5% increase in added sugar is correlated with a 23% increase in all-cause mortality. I’m not a mathematician, but I think that means you should be dead before you finish your frappe.

Conclusion

Well, now that you know how bad McDonald's is, the next time someone tells you that McDonalds is fine in moderation, you can send them this article and see if they still think any of these ingredients are good in moderation. Aluminum? The fact that, according to a Swedish study, I should be dead before I finish my frappe? The chronic inflammation? The organ, DNA, vascular, and brain damage? I don’t think I want any of that in moderation. 

Discussion Questions

• The article says that McDonald's fries contain twenty times more AGEs than a normal potato. Does this surprise you? Why or why not?

• A Big Mac left out for ten years showed no signs of decay. What does this tell you about the ingredients used?

• The article mentions that the Big Mac leaves you hungrier than before you ate it. Have you ever noticed this after eating fast food?

• McDonald's McNuggets contain twenty-eight times the amount of aluminum linked to cognitive decline in a French study. Do you think this information should be on the packaging?

• A Swedish study found that more added sugar is directly correlated with higher mortality rates. Does this change how you think about sugary drinks?

• Do you think governments have a responsibility to ban harmful food chemicals, even if companies argue they are safe in small quantities?

• In your country, is fast food becoming more or less popular? What do you think is driving that trend?

• Do you think people are generally aware of what is in their food? Should nutrition education be taught more seriously in schools?

• Some people argue that unhealthy food is cheaper and more accessible for low-income communities. Do you think this is a social justice issue?

• If McDonald's removed all the harmful chemicals from their food, do you think it would change how popular it is? Why or why not?

• Would you still eat McDonald's after reading this article? Be honest!