Debunking Health Claims

The product that I chose, which producers make questionable health claims about, is the McDonalds Premium Salad. If you know anything about McDonalds then you may know that they are constantly coming up with new ways to fend themselves from being considered the most unhealthy food on the market. A few years back McDonalds introduced their line of "healthy" Premium Salads. They claim that eating their salads is healthy and nutritious while still being a fast alternative for eating.

Many people feel that they are becoming more healthy by eating the premium salad in place of the traditional burger or infamous Big Mac. It is the exact mentality that McDonalds was trying to get its consumers to fall for. Unfortunately for McDonalds, the experts think otherwise. The "healthy" premium salad is actually equally bad or worse for you than a Big Mac. An article about food myths states that the "Big Mac has 540calories and 1,040mg of salt; one premium southwest salad with crispy chicken and dressing has 530calories and 1,260mg of salt. The Mac is healthier." The nutritional value can be see all over online and even on the nutrition charts in McDonalds restaurants. Experts say that the salads are not very nutritional, so why do people still eat them with the hope to be leading a healthier diet? In the article "Undressing the McDonald's Salad" a simple answer to this question is given. The answer is that most people really don't know what are in the salads. If most people don't know what they are eating than most people won't know what is healthy and what isn't.

Overall the McDonalds premium salad is a phony. It is not, at all, more healthy for a person than the other items on the menu. In my own opinion I will never be eat the premium salad. I would rather get the same low nutritional value from a burger opposed to a "phony" salad. If you are looking for something healthy to eat then go to your local grocery store and get some real lettuce; make your own salad.