The online McDonalds nutrition guide makes it easier for people to see how many calories, how much total fat, cholesterol, sodium, protein and other things they are getting from a burger, chicken sandwich or filet-o-fish. But, as is the case with other food manufacturers, the information is incomplete and somewhat misleading, particularly when it comes to trans-fatty acids.
In years past, scientists, the media, the medical community and the general public believed that dietary cholesterol and saturated fats were at the root of our age related health problems, in particular heart disease and some types of cancer.
High levels of fats or triglycerides in the bloodstream increase a person's risk of atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Imbalanced cholesterol levels (high LDL and low HDL) play a role in heart disease, age-related eye diseases and stroke, among other things.
Being overweight or obese is a threat to a person's continued health and longevity. The extra weight puts too much stress on the heart. Central obesity or visceral fat puts too much stress on the vital organs and increases a person's risk of heart disease and type II diabetes.
Many people are interested in the new McDonalds nutrition guide, because they need to lose weight, but they eat out regularly. But, it is not simply the calorie content that is important.
Calories are the basic energy requirements that allow the cells of the body to function. The typical advice for someone that wants to lose weight is to consume fewer calories and exercise more. In other words, burn more calories than you consume. But, that's only part of the story, when it comes to good health and feeling satisfied after a meal.
The calories in the foods that we eat come from fats, carbohydrates, protein and sugars. According to the online McDonalds nutrition guide, a regular hamburger, which isn't very much food when you think about it, provides 250 calories. 80 of those calories come from fat.
One of the popular diet schemes, for a great many years, and one that is still recommended by some sources today, is to limit your fat intake to no more than 30% of your total caloric intake. Using that formula, a regular hamburger is a not an acceptable food item, because more than 30% of the calories in it come from fat and this is one of the lowest fat sandwiches on the menu.
Another concern is that the sandwich contains a half gram of trans-fat. This is where the McDonalds nutrition guide and the labels used by other manufacturers in the US are misleading. Manufacturers are allowed to advertise that their products contain zero grams of trans-fat, as long as there is a half gram or less in the product. A half gram might not sound like much, but it can easily add up.
Trans-fats raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lower HDL (good) cholesterol levels. People that eat a lot of foods containing trans-fats have higher levels of C-reactive protein, another factor indicating an increased risk of heart disease.
If it were to be totally accurate, a McDonalds nutrition guide should say that eating their hamburgers on a regular basis could increase your risk of heart disease. And, that's just one of the items on the menu. Think before you eat.
Patsy Hamilton was a health care professional for over twenty years before becoming a health writer. Currently she is writing a series of articles about heart health. Read more at [http://total-health-and-fitness.net].
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patsy_Hamilton
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