Taking A Closer Look at the Fast Food Industry and its Unhealthy Salad
Posted: Thursday, April 30, 2009
by Briana Southward
The Naked Label
I have never been a huge fan of eating at fast food restaurants. This is mainly because I have had bad experience after bad experience. I used to blame it on my parents. I thought that because they never took me to those places they had raised me to have a weak stomach. Now I was unable to enjoy the delicious taste of a fast food burger and fries without having to run to the bathroom soon afterwards. As I got older I started to become interested in nutrition and I became curious to better understand why I suffered so much from eating these foods. Its not as though I was eating candy bars, desserts, and ice cream. I was eating protein (meat), carbohydrates (bread/bun), vegetables (toppings, potatoes, and ketchup), right? Why was I in so much pain?
Until recently there was no reason to change. Consumers were consuming massive amounts of these products, many not even realizing the affect it would have on their health. Since companies were making so much money, it was unnecessary for them to fix something that wasnt broken. Then something happened... Studies started to prove the health risks associated with eating these foods, various people/organizations started to stand up in protest, and governments started to enforce regulations requiring these companies to tell all of their consumers just how unhealthy their products really were (e.g. having to list the amount of trans-fat found in their products). Also, with the rise in obesity, heart disease, type two diabetes, etc., many consumers were starting to seek healthier fast food options where available. McDonalds and many other fast food chains went back to the drawing board to cook up a solution.
Introducing the healthy choice menus including items such as the healthy salad. I have always questioned what McDonalds intentions were when they developed their salads. Was it to create a nutritious salad that would improve the health of their consumers? Somehow I doubt it. Most likely it was to create a salad that tasted great so consumers would want to eat more of them (mass consumption), minimize costs to maximize revenue (use inexpensive ingredients where possible), and could be packaged in a way that sounded healthy so consumers would think they were doing something good for their body. They fact is that they are not all that healthy.
Many of us now know that eating fast food burgers, fries, soda, fried chicken, etc., is bad for us, and that they should be avoided. The salads however are the new culprit to the fast food phenomenon and unfortunately the truth about how unhealthy they really are is not as well known. The best tip I can provide is to educate yourself about whats in these salads. By better understanding what we are eating, we can make more informed, healthier choices. Dont be fooled by the fancy messages on the outside, its whats inside that counts.
I recently wrote an article that talks more specifically about McDonalds salads. It puts two McDonalds salads up beside a BigMac to compare their nutrition specs. I think many would be shocked at the facts. Click here to visit that article.
Briana Southward is the author of The Naked Label, a blog that undresses the food we eat to better understand what we are consuming. It strips off all the fancy marketing and misleading messages to get at the truth. If you are interested to see whats naked this week, learn about great substitute products, and get recipe ideas, check outwww.TheNakedLabel.com
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