Nutrition Facts of Healthy and Unhealthy Meals at McDonald's

The Restaurant I have picked for my Healthy meal is McDonalds. I have picked the Cesar salad with grilled chicken topped with Cesar dressing and a large unsweetened Ice tea. In my meal it contains calories, calories fat, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, protein, vitamin a, vitamin c, calcium and iron. Over all the meal is healthy and will meet my daily amount needed. However The Vitamin A may be too low. A total needed to consume per day is 5,000. In this meal there is only 160 grams of vitamin a consumed. Vitamin A helps your eyesight, bones, ability to produce offspring, immunity and how your cells divide and differentiate. Vitamin an also affects the condition of your skin, hair and teeth. Although the sodium level is less than the daily maximum this is high in sodium. A daily maximum of intake of sodium is 2200 mg. Excessive consumption can stop proper absorption of nutrients and disrupt body functions. The body needs some sodium to help regulate the amount of water in the body and for muscles to work correctly. It also is needed to help the nervous system to send signals between the brain and muscles. Excess intake of sodium in the daily diet may lead to Hypertension (High blood pressure) and obesity which, in turn, may lead to a host of dietary diseases. It is well known that excess sodium leads to hypertension. The link between high blood pressure, also known as the silent killer, and heart disease is well established. Heart disease is one of the most likely causes of death in the USA. After my research just because something appears to be healthy it does no necessarily mean that it is. I will continue to eat this meal item again but I will rethink about using dressing with it. (Yarlott, 2008) (Covelli, 2010) (FDA, 2011)

Nutrition Facts McDonalds Healthy Meal Calories Calories fat Total Fat Saturated fat Trans fat Cholesterol Sodium Carbs Diet Fiber Sugar Protein Vitamin A Vitamin C Calcium Iron
Grilled Chicken
CESAR Salad 190 50 5 3 0 70 580 10 4 5 27 160 35 20 10
Cesar Dressing 190 170 18 3.5 0 20 500 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0

Ice Tea Large Unsweet 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 380
220
23
6.5
0
90
1100
15
4
7
29
160
35
20
10

Max day value 2000 600 65 20 1 300 2400 300 25 20 50 5000 60 1000 18
(Resturants, 2012) (FDA, 2011)

The restaurant I have picked for my unhealthy meal choice is McDonalds. The meal I have picked is the big mac, Large French fries and a large coke. My meal contains calories, calories fat, total fat, saturated fat, Trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber, sugar, protein, vitamin a, vitamin c, calcium and iron. This meal all around is extremely unhealthy. Calories, calories fat, total fat, saturated fat, Tran’s fat, cholesterol, sodium; carbohydrates, proteins and fiber are all very high. Then the vitamin a, vitamin c, calcium and iron are very low. If you ate the a few times a day you would be well over the maximum daily values of amounts consumed a day. You would also be at risk for many health issues. This meal is based on mainly calories and sodium.
Eating too many calories can have serious health consequences and many of which are associated with obesity. Being overweight and obese can increase your risk of early death. If you are obese, you are more likely to develop heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. Arthritis, adult asthma, cataracts, gallstones and infertility also correlate with obesity. While one over-indulgence of calories will not cause obesity, continuously eating too many calories may. Eating too many calories can interfere with normal brain functions. After my research I think I will stay clear of this meal. I will instead choose a healthy type of meal to consume. (Cespedes, 2011)
Nutrition Facts McDonalds Unhealthy Meal Calories Calories fat Total Fat Saturated fat Trans fat Cholesterol Sodium Carbs Diet Fiber Sugar Protein Vitamin A Vitamin C Calcium Iron
Big Mac 550 260 29 10 1.5 75 1000 46 3 9 25 6 2 25 25
Large Fries 500 220 25 3.5 0 0 350 63 6 0 6 0 20 2 8
Coke Large 310 0 0 0 0 0 20 86 0 86 0 0 0 0 0
Total 1360
480
54
13.5
1.5
75
1370
195
9
95
31
6
22
27
33

Max day value 2000 600 65 20 1 300 2400 300 25 20 50 5000 60 1000 18
(Resturants, 2012) (FDA, 2011)
Works Cited
Cespedes, A. (2011, September 9). Results of Eating Too Many Calories. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Live strong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/535253-results-of-eating-too-many-calories/
Covelli, G. (2010, August 17). The Effects of Too Little Vitamins. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Living Strong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/208617-the-effects-of-too-little-vitamins/
FDA. (2011, 11 01). Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Netrition: http://www.netrition.com/rdi_page.html
Resturants, M. (2012, 09 01). McDonalds USA Nutritional Facts for popular menu items. Retrieved 09 22, 2012, from Mcdonalds: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf
Yarlott, J. M. (2008, December 18). Diets High in Sodium May Lead to Disease and Death. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/025110_sodium_salt_food.html

Cited: Cespedes, A. (2011, September 9). Results of Eating Too Many Calories. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Live strong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/535253-results-of-eating-too-many-calories/ Covelli, G. (2010, August 17). The Effects of Too Little Vitamins. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Living Strong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/208617-the-effects-of-too-little-vitamins/ FDA. (2011, 11 01). Reference Values for Nutrition Labeling. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Netrition: http://www.netrition.com/rdi_page.html Resturants, M. (2012, 09 01). McDonalds USA Nutritional Facts for popular menu items. Retrieved 09 22, 2012, from Mcdonalds: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf Yarlott, J. M. (2008, December 18). Diets High in Sodium May Lead to Disease and Death. Retrieved September 22, 2012, from Natural News: http://www.naturalnews.com/025110_sodium_salt_food.html