McDonald's has weathered its fair share of criticism, from Morgan Spurlock's critical documentary "Supersize Me" to "Fast Food Nation," author Eric Schlosser's indictment of the fast food industry. Though in recent years, McDonald's has cut back on trans fats and attempted to offer healthier options, you'll still find plenty of high-fat and high-calorie items on McDonald's menus.
Trans Fats
According to Barbara Booth, McDonald's director of sensory science and leader of the quality center for McDonald's in North America, all McDonald's restaurants in America switched to a canola cooking oil blend in 2006. This change in cooking oil has reduced the overall amount of trans fats in McDonald's products. Virtually all McDonald's menu items contain little to no trans fats, including french fries, hash browns, the McChicken and the McRib sandwich, which contain no trans fats. The only McDonald's menu item with over 2g of trans fats is the double quarter pounder with cheese, which contains 2.5g of trans fats.
High Calories and High Fat
Though McDonald's has drastically reduced the amount of trans fats in its menu offerings, many items still remain high-calorie and loaded with fat. A Big Mac, for example, has 540 calories, 10g of saturated fat and 29g of total fat. The Angus mushroom and Swiss burger contains 360 calories, 17g of saturated fat and 40g of total fat. One of the worst offenders remains the double quarter pounder with cheese, which has 380 calories, 19g of saturated fat and 42g of total fat.
Sodium Content
Though the American Heart Association recommends a daily intake of less than 1,500mg of sodium per day, many of McDonald's menu items contain large amounts of sodium. One double cheeseburger contains 1,150mg of sodium. Add a medium order of fries and you'll get an extra 270mg sodium. Other options fare even worse, such as the premium crispy chicken ranch BLT sandwich with 1,400mg of sodium, and the big breakfast with hotcakes, which has 2,260mg of sodium.
Healthy Options
In 2004, in response to criticism of its unhealthy offerings, McDonald's began offering a new line of healthier and more nutritious menu items, including fruit slices, lettuce-wrapped burgers and premium salads. The company also did away with "supersized" items due to negative attention from Spurlock's film. Among McDonald's healthier choices include Southwest, bacon ranch and Caesar salads. Adding fried chicken to a salad more than doubles the total fat content to around 17 to 20g. To keep the salad light, stick with grilled chicken or leave the meat off.
Continued Criticism
In 2010, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit health organization, produced a provocative and critical commercial targeting McDonald's unhealthy fare as well as the link between fast food and heart disease deaths. The commercial, set in a morgue, featured a dead man holding a McDonald's hamburger.
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