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Is McDonalds Really That Bad?

Ok, so if you came here expecting me to tell you that McDonalds is a nutritious choice, you have come to the wrong place.

If you haven’t seen this debacle in the news, you have been living in a box.  Even I have seen it.

A woman in the US has taken a happy meal and put it on her shelf for six months, and it looks materially the same after six months as it did when she first put it on the plate.  See the photo below.

McDonalds Burger after six months

Do you find that shocking?  If so, why?

I like to ask critical questions, and I would urge you to go to your pantry, pull out a few of the things that you would consider food (start with what you were eating this morning for breakfast) and think about putting that on a plate.

What might that look like after six months?

Well… let me start with my absolute favorite “health food” – “whole grain” breakfast cereals.  Take those Cheerios, Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes, Wheaties, or whatever and put them on a plate for six months… six years, a few decades.  What do you figure they will look like?

I have not done this, but I would imagine that those flakes of yummy goodness, regardless of their “healthy eats” claims, will still look like they do.

Why is that?

It’s processed food folks.  If it comes in a box, a tetra pack, a plastic container of some sort… odds are it could outlast you, without a lot of difficulty.

So why does it only shock people when it’s a McDonalds burger?

I don’t really know.

The bottom line here is that processed foods are not foods at all.  I just thought of another funny (and appropriate) example.

Fancy pants whole wheat bread will look like dried fancy pants whole wheat bread if you put it out on a plate.

The crappier the food, the longer that it will last on a plate, in your kitchen, as part of your science experiment.

Real foods (fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs, and so on) will all rot if left for a couple of days or weeks on the counter.  I have always said that food is best when it comes in its own packaging (shells or peels are good examples) and not a plastic wrapper.

And I think you know this instinctively.

Are you ready to step up and take complete control of your own health and wellness?

I think that the above, while certainly not foolproof, is a good acid test.  If you don’t think it will decompose, should you be putting it in your mouth?

Probably not.

So – go to your cupboard, and find anything that doesn’t come in its own wrapper, and toss it.  Stick to fresh and whole foods.

Thoughts?  Comments?  Leave them below, let’s discuss this one.

One Comment

  1. Denny Denny

    When people see the words “processed foods” I do wonder if they truly understand what it means. They are so common place, and so unremarkable as to not attract any attention. It’s just something that’s there, and it’s been there, forever.
    Let’s take frozen fish sticks as an example. The miniscule bits of actual fish is all bits and pieces of fish they might as well have scraped off the floor(because nothing goes to waste). Let’s also remember that freezing something destroys much of it’s flavor. What’s a food manufacturer do? Oh that’s easy – carefully design and concoct “natural flavors” which are all based on chemicals carefully chosen and designed to mimic the taste of fish. These are the same companies that do fragrances for Estee Lauder, Lancome, Maybelline, Gilette, etc etc.
    All it takes is less than 10 cents of flavoring to make an entire swimming pool smell/taste goooooood. I might not be a fan of the crap that goes into making fast food, but I am fascinated by the wizardry that goes into making artificial flavors.

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