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"McDonald’s Salads are worse than their Burgers"

Some of the salads from the McDonald’s menu pack more fat, sodium and calories than a Big Mac.

(Mirror Daily, United States) – People have started to eat healthier, the new CDC emitted guideline for the American people urges the population to watch what they’re eating because high cholesterol is one of the biggest enemies of health. And so the hamburger is replaced with the salad. But according to People the McDonald’s salads are worse than their burgers.

McDonald’s tried to incorporate healthier items in their menu for the people that are in a hurry but don’t want to deal with the cholesterol and trans fats. So they added an assortment of salads, apple slices for the children and fish sandwiches, also for the people that want to eat healthier.

And the salad is good, especially kale. Kale is packed with vitamins and nutrients that keep the body healthy and the immune system ready to battle any intruder. But the thing is, no matter how healthy the salad is, McDonald’s manages to transform it into a health bomb by adding lots of fat, sodium and calories-filled other ingredients.

A McDonald’s “Crispy Chicken Premium Bacon Ranch Salad” contains kale, lettuce, baby spinach (so far, so healthy), pieces of fried chicken and fried bacon. The total amount of calories in the salad? More than the Big Mac. The above-mentioned salad packs 690 calories while the Big Mac contains only 540.

The salad isn’t much of a health option if you also measure the amounts of added sodium and fat. The “Crispy Chicken Premium Bacon Ranch Salad” contains approximately 45 grams of fat and 1,530 milligrams of salt. Their famous burger, the Big Mac, contains, by contrast, 28 grams of fat and 970 milligrams of sodium.

The other salad choice in the menu, the “Crispy Chicken Southwest Salad” has “only” 630 calories. The calorie count is still higher than that of a burger. The fat content was measured at 34 grams, and the sodium levels were of 1,090 milligrams. Both the fat and the sodium levels were higher than in the sandwich that is avoided by people who are trying to eat “healthy”.

Another salad, which is only available in Canada for the moment, the “Keep Calm, Caesar On” is the biggest caloric bomb in the history of salads. The menu item measures no more than 739 calories, 53 grams of fat and 1,400 milligrams of sodium. According to the measurements made by CBC.ca the “Keep Calm, Caesar On” has more fat, sodium and calories than the “Double Big Mac”.

It seems that the McDonald’s salads are worse than their burgers, so next time you have no choice but eat at the famous fast-food restaurant, it’s actually healthier to have a burger and fries, hold the Coke.

Image source: www.flickr.com

A government research found that it is very hard for Americans to find healthful food in U.S. grocery stores.

The findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that fewer than half of packaged products that are for sale in almost every grocery-store in the country met Food and Drug Administration requirements for being considered as a “healthy” food.

The results of the study were published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. The new data may offer an explanation on why more than 90 percent of Americans consume more salt than recommended.

According to the FDA, more than 70 percent of pizzas, meat mixed dishes and pasta mixed dishes and 50 percent to 70 percent of sandwiches, soups or cold cuts exceed the standards for sodium. Meanwhile, only 10 percent of breads, cheeses and snacks have been found to contain more salt than required.

“More than 70 percent of pizzas, pasta mixed dishes, and meat mixed dishes and 50 percent to 70 percent of cold cuts, soups, and sandwiches exceeded FDA ‘healthy’ labeling standards for sodium, whereas less than 10 percent of breads, savory snacks, and cheeses did,”

Linda Schieb, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and her team researched regional differences across the U.S. in sodium level of foods. Sodium content is a good marker for finding which foods are unhealthy, but is not the only one, sugar content or fat levels are also very important.

“Generally, if you look at the sodium content, it does give you a good indication of how healthy the food would be,” Schieb explained.

The group found out that wherever you live, grocery stores are filled with unhealthy foods, while Americans are buying most of the unhealthful options. The researchers compared all sales in 2009 from grocery stores in three U.S. regions: the South Atlantic, the Pacific and East North Central. In all three division, more than half of products sold exceeded the sodium conditions for healthy foods.

The FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture want to get Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and less fat, sugar and sodium.

The American Heart Association added that people should eat 2,300 milligrams of salt or less every day, but this target is almost impossible to reach in the United States. The main reason is because almost all foods have high levels of sodium.

Image Source: Slate

McDonald’s Salads are worse than their Burgers

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