Although McDonald's offers a number of healthy products, the menu also contains many unhealthy selections. Some menu items contain almost an entire day's worth of calories, fat grams or sodium. Learning the nutrition information for some of the menu items can help you feel confident at selecting healthy choices when eating at McDonald's restaurants.
Breakfast
McDonald's offers both healthy and unhealthy breakfast options. The popular Egg McMuffin contains 300 calories, 12 g of fat, 260 mg of cholesterol, 820 g of sodium, 30 g of total carbohydrate and 18 g of protein. It also provides 10 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin A, 30 percent of the daily value of calcium and 20 percent of the daily value of iron, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. On the other end of the spectrum, the large-sized Big Breakfast with Hotcakes contains a whopping 1150 calories, 60 g of fat, 575 mg of cholesterol, 2260 g of sodium, 116 g of total carbohydrate and 36 g of protein. It also contains 15 percent of the daily value of vitamin A, 2 percent of the daily value of vitamin C, 30 percent of the daily value of calcium and 40 percent of the daily value of iron.
Burgers
McDonald's hamburger, one of the healthiest burgers McDonald's has to offer, contains 250 calories, 9 g of fat, 520 mg of sodium, 31 g of total carbohydrate, 12 g of protein. It also contains 2 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin C, 10 percent of calcium and 15 percent of iron, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. The popular Big Mac contains 540 calories, 29 g of fat, 75 mg of cholesterol, 1040 mg of sodium, 45 g of total carbohydrate and 25 g of protein. It also contains 6 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin A, 6 percent of vitamin C and 25 percent the daily value of calcium and iron. The highest-calorie burger, the Angus Bacon & Cheese, contains 790 calories, 39 g of fat, 145 mg of cholesterol, 2070 mg of sodium, 63 g of total carbohydrate and 45 g of protein. It also contains 10 percent of the daily value of vitamin A, 4 percent of vitamin C, 25 percent of calcium and 35 percent of iron.
Sandwiches
The Snack Wraps are the lowest-calorie sandwiches on the menu. The Honey Mustard and Chipotle BBQ Snack Wraps with grilled chicken both contain 260 calories while the Ranch Snack Wrap with grilled chicken contains 270 calories. All of the grilled chicken snack wraps contain 9 g of fat, 45 mg of cholesterol, 18 g of protein and offer 10 percent of the recommended daily value of calcium and iron. The Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich is the McDonald's sandwich containing the highest number of calories. It contains 630 calories, 28 g of fat, 75 mg of cholesterol, 1360 mg of sodium, 60 g of total carbohydrate and 35 g of protein. It also contains 8 percent of the daily value of vitamin A and vitamin C, and 20 percent of the daily value of iron and calcium.
Salads
The side salad, which contains only 20 calories, contains significantly less calories than the entrée salads. All of the entrée salads contain the most calories and fat grams when chicken is added, especially crispy chicken. For example, the Bacon Ranch Salad contains 140 calories without chicken, but the calorie count is bumped up to 260 calories with grilled chicken and up to 370 calories when crispy chicken is added. The salad only contains 7 g of fat and 9 g of protein without chicken, but contains 20 g of fat and 29 g of protein when crispy chicken is added and 9 g of fat and 33 g of protein with grilled chicken added.
Fries
As you may expect, the larger the size of French fries you order, the more calories and fat grams your order will contain. A small order of McDonald's French fries contains 230 calories, 11 g of fat, 160 g of sodium, 29 g of carbohydrates and 3 g of protein. A small order also contains 8 percent of the daily value of vitamin C, 2 percent of the daily value calcium and 4 percent of your daily value of iron. A large order of McDonald's French Fries, on the other hand, contains 500 calories, 25 g of fat, 350 mg of sodium, 63 g of total carbohydrate and 6 g of protein. A large order contains 20 percent of your daily value of vitamin C, 2 percent of the daily value calcium and 8 percent of the daily value of iron.
Beverages
McDonalds recently expanded its beverage selection to include McCafe products, so there is no shortage of beverage options at this fast-food restaurant. Healthy beverage choices include a carton of 1 percent low-fat white milk, which contains 100 calories, 2.5 g of fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 125 mg of sodium, 12 g of sugars, 8 g of protein. It also provides 10 percent the recommended daily value of vitamin A, 4 percent the daily value of vitamin C and 30 percent the daily value of calcium. The large nonfat lattes contain 260 calories, but are fat-free and do provide vitamin A, iron and calcium. The highest-calorie beverage is the large Hot Chocolate, which contains 390 calories, 6 g of fat, 10 mg of cholesterol, 250 mg of sodium, 59 g of sugar and 16 g of protein. It does offer 20 percent of the daily value of vitamin A, 4 percent of the daily value of iron and 60 percent of the daily value of calcium, however.
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