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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Is McDonalds really that bad?

The perception of what is healthy is often very different to what the science would suggest. In fact you may be surprised to hear that the fried foods from McDonalds are actually much better nutritionally than fried foods found at the other major fast food chains. Can you believe it?

Fast food; whether it is pizza, burgers, chips or wraps contains a significant amount of fat, and the majority of the fast food chains use palm oil or other hydrogenated vegetable oils to cook their food in. Not only are these oils a nightmare nutritionally, but the growing of the crops used to make these oils can be linked to the destruction of vast areas of forests in countries including Malaysia, which has put significant pressure on a number of endangered species including tigers and orangutans.

A few years back, McDonalds committed to using vegetable oils that have much more favourable nutritional profiles, which means that even though your burgers and fries are still high in fat, the fat is not as saturated, making it better for the heart. Now, this does not mean you have permission to indulge in high fat foods more than once a week, but it does mean that choosing Macca’s will be better than the other popular pizza, chicken and burger options.