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It's Okay to Eat a Big Mac Every Day.

This is for you!

By ShashiPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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Some people are born to achieve greatness. Some people become academics. Some people negotiate world-saving peace agreements. Some people have eaten a Big Mac for lunch every day for the past 50 years. Of course, I'm referring to Donald Gorske, who holds the Guinness World Record for the most Big Mac burgers consumed in a lifetime. Gorske recently completed 50 years of eating a Big Mac every day, but instead of congratulating him on his remarkable feat, some critics are expressing flimsy concerns about his health.On the Guinness World Records website, one user comments, "It's hard to believe he's still alive!" "The coroner's report will be fascinating," writes someone else. I'm not here to defend McDonald's as a company, but when it comes to nutrient-dense lunch alternatives, you can't do much worse than a Big Mac.

Is a Big Mac from McDonald's unhealthy for you?

When you hear "Big Mac," you're probably thinking of "the Spurlockification of it all," as Takeout managing editor Marnie Shure puts it. Morgan Spurlock, the director of the 2004 documentary Super Size Me, is the person she's referring to. Spurlock sets out to highlight the negative impacts of fast food by living solely on McDonald's for a month in the documentary. Spurlock reported a number of negative effects at the conclusion of the month, including weight gain and significantly elevated cholesterol. After Spurlock admitted to years of alcohol consumption, reporters began to doubt his claims that McDonald's was to blame for his poor health in 2017.

I'm not here to argue about Morgan Spurlock's suitability as a test subject. I'm here to argue that Donald Gorske's habit of eating a Big Mac every day is probably not that bad. Let's take a look at the nutritional information for a Big Mac.

Nutritional information on the Big Mac

According to the McDonald's website, a Big Mac includes the following ingredients:

  • Calories: 550
  • Protein: 25 g
  • Fat: 30 g
  • Saturated fat: 11 g
  • Sodium: 1010mg

Let us begin with the calories. The recommended caloric intake for adult men is 2,200 to 3,200 calories per day, according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Gorske appears to be of average stature based on images alone, so I'd put him in the middle of the recommended calorie range. In that case, a 550-calorie lunch is totally acceptable. If you combine it with a 500-calorie breakfast and a 700-calorie lunch, you'll have plenty of room to spare. Gorske does eat two Big Macs every day "more often than not," according to Guinness World Records, but it still only amounts to around half of the required daily calorie intake.

I'm not concerned about other nutrients. I'd like to see a few more grams of protein in this sandwich, but 25 grams is plenty. Although the Big Mac is heavy in fat, Gorske will be OK if he sticks to lower-fat protein sources for the remainder of the day.

The major problem here is sodium, with a Big Mac containing roughly 44 percent of Gorske's recommended daily sodium intake. Even yet, you'll have a hard time finding a fast food alternative with less sodium than the Big Mac, at least one that can be made into a filling meal. If you order a Chipotle steak bowl with all the fixings, the sodium content will be roughly 1540mg, or around 64% of the complete daily value. Even a seemingly harmless Turkey Tom sub from Jimmy John's contains 1160mg, or 48% of the total daily value.

It's all about balance in the end. I know it's trite, but a daily Big Mac can easily fit into a nutrient-dense day. It has a high protein content and a low calorie count. If you add a salad or some fruit to the mix, I'm willing to bet you're eating better than a big portion of the population. Mister Gorske, here's to another 50 years of Big Macs.

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