

It seems most people are powerless before a Big Mac and fries. Or in fact, most things from McDonald's. I decided to get go through the nutritional breakdown of some of the most popular items on the McDonald's menu and was surprised by some of the things I found out.
McDonald's, where do I begin? I personally can't stand the place, the smell makes me queasy. I'm partial to a burger and chips, just not from a multinational fast food joint where everything is processed within an inch of its life. I've seen too many gruesome documentaries to ever be able to eat in any of the big chains again. However, despite the standard of food constantly improving in Dublin, you'd need a crow bar to prize a Big Mac from most people's hands. I decided to look into the nutritional information behind the McDonald's food, and to be fair to them they do have a website detailing all the information you could want. At first glance I didn't think that the calorie intake of their burgers was as astonishingly high as I had expected (a hamburger has only 250 calories), but then when I bought the bloody things and saw how skimpy they are in real life compared to the ads I realised that a single hamburger realistically wouldn't fill an adult up. When you add fries and a drink to a burger, the calories really do jack up significantly. And while the calories in each individual item may not be outrageous, the fat content is.
To break it down, the GDA of fats and calories are 2500 calories and 95g fat for men, 2000 calories and 70g fat for women and 1800 calories and 70g fat for children (aged 5 to 10). The nutritional information on the McDonald's website are based on an average adult's diet which they measure at 2000 calories and 67g fat a day, I have used their nutritional guidelines for measurement below. I have weighed each item's fat content with frytex (pure fat) in front of each them.
Some fun facts about McDonalds that I found interesting...
Double Cheeseburger
Calories 440 (22%)
Fat 23g (34%)
Salt 2.1g (42%)
Sugar 8g (8%)
Big Mac
Calories 490 (25%)
Fat 24g (36%)
Salt 2.1g (42%)
Sugar 8g (8%)
Hamburger
Calories 250 (13%)
Fat 8g (12%)
Salt 1.2g (24%)
Sugar 8g (8%)
Filet o Fish
Calories 335 (17%)
Fat 13g (19%)
Salt 1.3g (26%)
Sugar 6g (6%)
Mc Chicken Sandwich
Calories 385 (19%)
Fat 16g (24%)
Salt 1.6g (32%)
Sugar 7g (7%)
Chicken McNuggets (9)
Calories 375 (19%)
Fat 21g (31%)
Salt 0.9g (18%)
Sugar 1g (1%)
Crispy Chicken Salad
Calories 325 (16%)
Fat 17g (25%)
Salt 1.4g (28g)
Sugar 2g (2%)
Large Fries
Calories 460g (23%)
Fat 23g (34%)
Salt 0.9g (18%)
Sugar 1g (1%)
Medium Coke
Calories 170 (9%)
Fat 0g (0%)
Salt 0.1g (2%)
Sugar 42g (44%)
Everything is fine in moderation, but if your fast food habit is a frequent treat them maybe it's worth dialling it back a little.