Weight Watchers Says McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets Are Healthy!
Weight Watchers has actually proclaimed that McDonalds Chicken McNuggets are a healthy food for dieting!!! What’s next?….Cokes and cigarettes??
Did you know that Weight Watchers and McDonalds have a marketing agreement? I was quite surprised to scan my e-mail this morning and see, “In a world gone mad with misinformation (and dis-information), Weight Watchers has now endorsed McDonald’s menu items as healthy food choices.” aThe author is Mike Adams, and to read the whole story, just click on: http://www.naturalnews.com/028372_Weight_Watchers_McDonalds.html
This article gives us a good example of why we should take responsibility for our own food choices and nutritional health. The article tells about an agreement in New Zealand where Weight Watchers recommend Chicken McNuggets as a healthy choice. Being curious (my husband says nosey) I looked a bit farther. It turns out that Weight Watchers has recommended other McDonalds products in Italy – so maybe this event isn’t so isolated.
I do not believe in knocking anyone’s product, so I decided to go to the McDonald’s web site which provides nutritional information on their products. For this I applaud McDonalds,-because in essence they are telling me that I am responsible for my food choices, and here is the information that I need to make a decision that is in my best health interest.
First, I am not building a case that says an occasional order of Chicken McNuggets will kill you or even make you a little bit sick. In fact, if you love the taste of that dish – enjoy it on occasion.aa(I would consider, though, how my health is already and if there is a challenge, do I want to eat anything that may not help me to rebuild my body back). But, what did I see about this menu item that has nutritional meaning to me?
I decided to do what I consider my 6 point “nutritional quality analysis.” Basically I think you will all agree that in additional to taste, a food choice for a meal should meet some basic standards:
a. Provide adequate nourishment in the form of vitamins and minerals and provide healthy sources of macro nutrients; i.e. fat, carbohydrates, fiber and protein.
b. Be consistent with my nutritional goals. For example, if I want to lose weight or heal from an illness or injury, I want to focus on foods with high nutritional density – a lot of vitamins, protein, and minerals within my target number of calories.
c. Select foods with complex – not simple – carbohydrates Focus on fruit and veggie carbs.
d. Provide a balance of healthy fats, less saturated fat than polyunsaturated fat or monounsaturated…more vegetable fats, few animal fats.
e. Have healthy ingredients free of toxins such as pesticides and herbicides? Those make our bodies work harder and use up nutrients trying to process them
from our bodies.
f. Prepared in ways that will preserve their nutrient values.
In weight management, you typically select a target number of calories for each day. Rarely does anyone figure out that a reduction of calories also means a reduction of the vitamin and mineral contents within those calories. Our nutrient requirements are not changed simply because we reduce the number of calories. If anything, since dieting is a stress on the body, the needs actually are somewhat higher. I started with a goal of 2000 calories, since most people on diets focus on that level or less. The government provides charts that show the recommended Daily Value for vitamins and minerals.
I then looked at the McDonalds web site for Chicken McNuggets. There are three serving size options, four, six, or 10 pieces. I chose the smallest size of four pieces. The nutritional information included values for 12 items of interest, two vitamins, A and C, three minerals, calcium, sodium and iron, There was information about fat, cholesterol, carbohydrates, sugars, fiber, protein and calories.. So what do you think I found? They also listed the same information for whatever sauce was selected. If you want to comment or e-mail before you read on, I’d be interested in which you would have expected.
1. It was immediately apparent the most of the necessary vitamins and minerals were either absent or in amounts of less than 1 %.
2. If you set a goal of 2000 calories, the 4 piece Chicken McNugget has only 190 calories, i.e 9.5% of your daily target. If we look at calories alone, the McNugget is not bad, but are you also buying French fries and coke? Just imagine the numbers if you got the 10 piece order! Also, what other foods will you be eating later in the day?
Relative to the broader issue of nutritional quality, what are you getting for your investment of 9.5% of you daily caloric allocation? Here is the taste versus nutrition trade off.
a. Values for 25 important vitamins and minerals are not listed. There is no legal requirement to do so. There may be trace amounts, but we can only assume that you will have to get these from other foods or supplements. (If they had significant quantities of those other nutrients, you’d think they would be proud to display them)
b. You are getting 16.6% (400 mg) of the recommended values for sodium. While you can still have more sodium during the day, this meal provides a higher ratio of sodium per calorie than you can afford with the rest of your foods for the day. Also high levels of sodium contribute to water retention, which is not what you want if you are trying to lose weight. Remember, you actually need at least 11 mg of sodium a day, but since sodium is so prevalent, it is hard to stay below even 1500 mg a day.
c. You are getting less than 1% (8mg) of your calcium requirement. This is a big one! You can make some of this up with other foods; but be aware that this menu item is not contributing your bone health and calm nerves. Plan other foods that will.
d. You are getting 2.7% of your iron requirement. The most prevalent nutrient deficiencies in America today are Iron, Calcium and Vitamin D.
e. The 1 mg of C is 1.6% of the recommended daily requirement. This nutrient is important in many ways, and getting more than the government recommended amount is recommended by many nutritionists.
e. The 4 pieces of McNugget provide 10 grams of protein, which is approximately 20 % to 25% of the requirement. While the quantity looks good, there may be concerns about the quality relative to chemicals that are found in factory farm chickens. There are a number of health concerns about eating sick animals.
f. Fiber is important for healthy elimination, and the dietary information list 0 dietary fiber content. Once again, this might be made up for with other foods, but this item in itself is not contributing to your overall requirement. It is difficult enough to get the recommended minimum of 25 grams of fiber every day.
g. The 4 piece McNugget order provides 11 grams of carbohydrates, which is 3.6% of the recommended value of 300 grams. Additionally, it appears that there are simple rather than complex carbs, such as those form whole grains.
h. Regarding fats, of the 190 calories in the 4 piece McNugget, 100 are fat calories (i.e. 52.6% of the calories are fat calories. A typical recommendation of nutritionists is the no more than 30% (any usually less) of calories in a diet should be fat calories. So, we see that McNuggets are contributing a hefty share of fat per serving.
I want to end this blog by going back to the big picture. I don’t want the government to ban food that someone in Washington thinks is not healthy. I want a requirement to show a complete and honest assessment of any food that we purchase so that we can make wise decisions if we take the responsibility to do so. Sometimes labels are misleading and we should let the manufacturer and the FDA know, when we find this, that this is unacceptable. I only went through this analysis to illustrate that with a little information all of us can make more informed decisions. Actually, my husband, Al, helped me with this analysis from information available on the web.
Now it is your turn. You get to decide! How healthy do you want to be?
Are Chicken McNuggets a good food to include in a healthy diet?aIf so, how often? Now that you have some facts, you can make a better-informed decision.
Interesting ideas. It really does boil down to us taking responsibility for what we eat & how much. there comes a point where plain old common sense should be used.
Thanks for the great info,
Val
Val Wilcox´s last blog ..Can You Hear Me Now?
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
That’s for sure Val. It is pretty sad when a company so trusted as Weight Watchers betrays that trust.
Sandy
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Powerful information Sandra. Thanks!
Jodi
Jodi Lee´s last blog ..Andy Andrews and Yannick Van Den Bos to the rescue – theme update!
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
You are welcome Jodi. Hope this can help someone.
Sandy
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Hi Sandra, Great informative post … really sheds some light on a few things. Thanks for sharing!
Kara Grabenhorst´s last blog ..What Kind of Ride Are YOU On?
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 1:12 am
You are welcome, Kara. Lots of things need some light shedding!
Sandy
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Sandy,
´s last blog ..Life Is A Journey, Not A Race? 
Thank you for posting this. I am at all not surprised that Weight Watchers and McDonald’s agree on incorrect information. Actually, I would be surprised if any of these two promote anything healthy. I am an expert in the health field and commenting on what is wrong about the health correctness in the advertising of any of the two mentioned companies will fill out a library. It is my passion to educate people so they wake up to the truth. Thank you for sharing.
Gratefully,
Venus
Venus
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 1:12 am
Hi Venus,
Knowing how knowledgeable you are makes this comment even more meaningful.
Thank you. We share the same passion!
Sandy
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Great analysis! I’m impressed that you have looked at a variety of factors, and taken a balanced approach.
I love that you took the nutritional content into consideration instead of just calories. I think that many diet regimes, including Weight Watchers, get too focused on calorie content often at the expense of nutrients.
The other thing that concerns me about chicken nuggets in particular is the chemicals that are put in the coating. Here in New Zealand, McDonald’s promote nuggets as healthy choices because they are made with real chicken breast. They don’t mention the plethora of potentially health hazardous chemicals that are in the coating.
Great article
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 1:09 am
Hello Janine,
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate them. Even if the nuggets are made with real chicken breasts, forgetting about the coatings, how were those chickens raised? Hormones, anti-biotics, beaks cut off so they can’t fight in cages that are too small for even one let alone several? The chickens that are raised that way are already sick and the they want us to eat them!
Thanks again,
Sandy
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Go Sandy!!!
I am sure so many people are not aware of this. Why I don’t really know, but I come across many people that listen to the stupidity of commercials. You are so knowledgeable and I really look up to what you are posting.
I’ve been a long time vegetarian and organic consumer for the past 30 years now. I get most my nutrients from organic U.S. food sources in my area. I moved to Ithaca just to be near a more macrobiotic lifestyle with plenty of farmers around.
Some of us are not so lucky. But The McDonald’s thing is too much!!! I always take it for granted that people just know this, but they don’t. So keep that info coming Sandy. You are reaching people one by one. That’s our duty as human beings. Best wishes, Donna
donna merrill´s last blog ..Do You Squidoo?
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I have to admit, I was surprised when I read the title of this blog. It just doesn’t seem right. I don’t fully understand how Weight Watchers determines which foods are good and which are bad because I have never followed their program, but I thought that they relied heavily on the calories and fat.
I find it really sad that the American diet is determined so heavily by cost and convenience. Why don’t they make food that is actually healthy more convenient (or cheaper for that matter)? I can’t even remember the last time that I ate anything from McDonald’s.
I really like the thorough approach that you have taken while analyzing the nuggets. Especially when you bring up the fact that there is very little actual nutritional value in them.
I think one of the biggest problems with how we view food today is that we are focusing on the wrong numbers, calories, fat, sugar, etc…. Why is it that we seem to focus on what we shouldn’t have as opposed to looking at what we should. Why isn’t there more emphasis on reaching a certain level of vitamins and minerals each day. It seems like most diets give you a long list of the foods that you can’t have, but don’t give very many options for what you should have.
Melissa Wright´s last blog ..How to Start a Blog (Part 3)
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Wow, wow & wow Sandy! This is so insightful and your attention to detail is incredible! Thank you for your curiosity to check into the facts! I love it!
Gosh, this is so valuable and I agree, the public has a right to know what they are really consuming.
Thank you so much!
Aloha,
Kellie
Kellie Hosaka´s last blog ..Linchpin – Are You Indispensable?
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This is amazing… good grief!
When they can show me organically raised chickens and prepared without any grease and artificial junk, I may lend an ear. Thanks for keeping us updated.
Debbie
debbie turner´s last blog ..Starting a Network Marketing Home Based Business: What Are You So Afraid of?
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And we wonder why our nation has a weight and heath epidemic. Have you seen what our schools consider to be healthy lunches. It is past time for dramatic change. I hope tons of people will read this post.
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Oh boy, don’t get me started Sandy!
Great post, as always.
Janine makes a very important observation, “You took the nutritional content into consideration instead of just calories.” Eating for calories will almost ALWAYS deprive you of much needed vitamins, minerals and trace elements.
In my opinion, Donna has it nailed, “I get most of my nutrients from organic U.S. food sources in my area. I moved to Ithaca just to be near a more macrobiotic lifestyle with plenty of farmers around.” Now, that is a commitment to healthy living. You know she has to be healthier, and have more energy for her family and business.
Melissa said, “I find it really sad that the American diet is determined so heavily by cost and convenience. Why don’t they make food that is actually healthy more convenient. . .” Probably because there isn’t as much money in it for the food industry. . .but, that is actually OUR FAULT!
Sandy, we’ve all got a responsibility to DEMAND better, more nutritional food. The food industry will follow the money, and if we stop eating worthless food, they’ll get the message.
You’re delivering great content — something that is desperately needed by the masses.
So glad that you have a tribe that is helping you get the word out.
Joe
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This is insane!! I am a health nut myself and am shocked people would even believe this! Thanks for getting the word out.
Julianna Brower´s last blog ..
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Insane is right. Sadly millions of people will believe it and that is truly sad.
Thanks for your kind words.
Sandy
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Hey Sandy: Glad that you are working your passion. The “Silhoutette Solution” by David Macallan, N.M.D. is very informative about how powerful the food industry’s marketing campaign. McDonald’s targets kids in a awesome way. Can you change your kids desire to have you take them to McDonalds? Foods companies motive is profit and our health is not. Look at all the marketing stuff from these companies and recognize the enemy.
Aloha,
Arlan
Arlan Murata´s last blog ..Thoughts
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FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Thanks for the book reference. I have known that Weight Watchers had become just another company to make money without concern for health for a long time, but this really goes beyond what I would have expected. At least they pretended to have healthy foods for their clients!
I appreciate your kind words. There are a lot of things in my blog that I hope will get out more.
Thanks again,
Sandy
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Hi Donna, I’m doing my best to get the word out. Lots of the other posts have information that is just as important so I hope they are helping too.
Thanks for your comments and support.
Sandy
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Sandy
Great post. Having been on WW before- I looked it up and the 4 pc has 4WW pts and the 6pc has 6.5 WW pts based on a scale of 20-34 pts daily intake. (depending on your weight) I would definitely not choose it based on other nutritional qualities, (or lack of) but I can see why someone on that diet might grab them once in a while.
That being said there are a lot better choices out there:)
Glyna Humm´s last blog ..Dude, Where’s Your Tribe?
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Hi Glyna,
One reason that this is so important is that dieting alone is a major stress on the body and to opt for a meal choice that is so lacking in nutrients puts your health at risk. If you are going to “cheat” it is way better to do it in your snacks than in a major meal that is supposed to be providing at least 1/3 of the nutrients we need.
We all know that virtually no one will look at that choice and then make sure that they get the rest of the day’s points in really quality foods.
Thanks again for the comment. I really appreciate it.
Sandy
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Right on, thank you Sandy!
This is a topic that I’m really passionate about, especially as a mother. We are in the midst of a massive health crisis, and it breaks my heart to see people choosing convenience and even ignorance over health & personal responsibility….especially for children who don’t have the power to make their own choices! At the end of the day, without our health, what do we have?
I will definitely help spread this important word!
Beth Allen´s last blog ..What Would You Do If You Were Not Afraid???
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Thank you so much Beth. Wish I could figure out how to spread the word even faster.
I appreciate your encouragement a lot.
Sandy
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Hi Sandy,
Thanks so much for the time you put into this analysis. It is important to break things down and put them into perspective for people, it is also hard for people to acccept sometimes that the “goodies” are a lot of the time really the “baddies”. As Joe said “we’ve all got a responsibility to DEMAND better, more nutritional food. The food industry will follow the money, and if we stop eating worthless food, they’ll get the message”.
I have been a healthy vegetarian my whole life (you can be a unhealthy vegetarian too!) and am so grateful to my family for raising me with the gift and knowledge of healthy eating. In my opinion it is the most precious gift we can offer our children, as Beth said “At the end of the day, without our health, what do we have?”
Keep it coming Sandy!
Blessings
Yamuna Keller
Yamuna Kellers last blog… The Most Important Tool You Will Ever Have In Your Tool Box… http://yamunakeller.com/2010/03/235/
[Reply]
FoodSuppSandy Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 3:12 am
Thanks so much Yamuna. You are so right. We MUST DEMAND better food.
It takes a lot of committment to maintain a healthy vegetarian lifestyle. Congratulations.
Take care
Sandy
[Reply]
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