Burger King, a fast food restaurant, offers their signature sandwich, the Whopper, and the nutrition in this sandwich lives up to its name -- it serves up supersized levels of calories, fat, carbs and sodium. The Whopper consists of a 1/4 lb. of beef, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, pickles, catsup, onions and cheese layered onto a sesame seed bun.
Calories
One Whopper -- weighing in at 316 g -- contains 790 calories. While people's calorie needs vary widely according to gender, genetics, nutritional goals and activity level, 790 calories in a single meal is likely too much for most to eat at a single sitting. For the typical 2,000-calorie diet, the calories in a single sandwich accounts for 39.5 percent of your daily allowable calories.
Macronutrients
A Whopper is high in fat -- it contains 48.4 g, 28 g of which are saturated. You also take in 2 g of trans fat. One Whopper has nearly double the suggested saturated fat limit of 15 g per day and trans fat should not be consumed at all. The sandwich contains 52.7 g of carbohydrates and 35.3 g of protein. An average eating plan calls less than 325 g of carbohydrates and up to 56 g of protein daily.
Cholesterol
Eat a Whopper, and you take in 114 mg of cholesterol. This amount is just over 1/3 of the quantity of cholesterol you should limit yourself to daily. Along with the saturated fat content, cholesterol may increase your risk of cancer. A study published in the October 2001 issue of "Lung Cancer" suggests eating a diet high dietary cholesterol and certain fats ups your chances of developing lung cancer.
Vitamin K
Despite the Whopper's unhealthy fat and cholesterol content, it serves as an excellent source of vitamin K, containing 75 percent of the daily recommended intake. You may know that vitamin K is critical for blood clotting, but it also promotes good bone health, affecting the balance of calcium in your body.
Selenium
A Whopper sandwich provides you with 83 percent of the selenium you require each day. Your body uses selenium for the function of your thyroid; you also need it for adequate immune function. If you consume a selenium-rich diet, though, do not consume a Whopper often -- too much selenium in your diet may increase your risk of developing diabetes.
Other Vitamins and Minerals
Including a Whopper in your diet gives you 45 percent of the daily suggested consumption of thiamin, as well as 40 percent of the niacin and folate you need. This sandwich serves as a good source of riboflavin, phosphorus, iron and zinc, with over 30 percent of the quantity you should include in your meal plan.
Sodium
Reconsider eating a Whopper if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, as one sandwich contains 1,432 mg of sodium. If you eat no other sodium in your diet all day -- an unlikely scenario -- you will not go over the American Heart Association's recommended maximum intake of 1,500 mg. Routinely consuming more than that can aggravate blood pressure problems and promote heart disease.
References
- USDA National Nutrient Database: Burger King, Whopper, With Cheese
- Mayo Clinic; Healthy Diet: End the Guesswork With These Nutrition Guidelines; February 2011
- "Lung Cancer"; Lung Cancer Risk and Red Meat Consumption Among Iowa Women; M.C. Alavanja, et al.; October 2001
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Vitamin K; June 2009
- "Nutrition"; Vitamin K and Bone Health; P. Weber; October 2001
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Selenium; May 2009
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