What's in Fast Food? What's in the Non-Chicken Half of the McNugget

Do you put dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent made of silicone, in your chicken dishes? How about tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), a chemical preservative so deadly just five grams can kill you?

These are just two of the ingredients in a McDonald's Chicken McNugget. Only 50 percent of a McNugget is actually chicken. The other half includes corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents and completely synthetic ingredients.

There's no doubt processed food like that from McDonald's is not part of a healthful diet, and I'm grateful I've never had a chicken McNugget. But many Americans cannot say the same.

This sentiment was echoed by Federal Judge Robert Sweet in a lawsuit against the restaurant chain in 2003: "Chicken McNuggets, rather than being merely chicken fried in a pan, are a McFrankenstein creation of various elements not utilized by the home cook."

Time Magazine reported that Judge Sweet "questioned whether customers understood the risks of eating McDonald's chicken over regular chicken."

Seven years later, I still wonder whether McDonald's customers truly understand the risks of consuming fast food on a regular basis.

If you missed Morgan Spurlock's documentary "Super-Size Me," I highly recommend you watch this real-life illustration of just how dangerous an excessive fast food diet can be. And excessive is likely far less than you imagine: Eating fast food just twice a week doubles your risk of developing insulin resistance, compared to eating it only once a week. (Insulin resistance one of the primary driving factors behind most Western diseases, from diabetes to cancer to heart disease.)

The truth is, McDonald's fare contains non-food ingredients that can seriously harm your health. This shouldn't come as any great surprise. After all, how healthful can something be that shows no signs of decomposing after being left on a counter for more than a decade?

According to McDonald's, their chicken nuggets are "made with white meat, wrapped up in a crisp tempura batter." But as Organic Authority pointed out in a recent article, these nuggets are a far cry from what you might expect.

So what are dimethyl polysiloxane and tertiary butylhydroquinone?

• Dimethyl polysiloxane is a type of silicone with anti-foaming properties used in cosmetics and a variety of other goods like Silly Putty.

• Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is a petroleum-based product with antioxidant properties.

TBHQ, typically listed as an "antioxidant," is a synthetic chemical with antioxidant properties -- not a natural antioxidant.

TBHQ prevents oxidation of fats and oils, extending shelf life of processed foods. Commonly used in processed foods of all kinds, it's also found in varnishes, lacquers, pesticide products, cosmetics, and perfumes to reduce the evaporation rate and improve stability.

At its 19th and 21st meetings, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives determined that TBHQ was safe for human consumption at levels of 0-0.5 mg/kg of body weight. However, the Codex commission later reset the limits to between 100 and 400 mg/kg, depending on the food it's in. That's quite a discrepancy in supposedly "safe" limits! (Chewing gum contains the highest levels of TBHQ.) So is the safe level zero or 400 mg/kg? Who knows?

According to A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives, one gram of TBHQ can cause:

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)

• Delirium

• Sense of suffocation

• Collapse

Based on animal studies, health hazards associated with TBHQ include:

• liver effects at very low doses

• positive mutation results from in vitro tests on mammalian cells

• biochemical changes at very low doses

• reproductive effects at high doses

The good news is it's not suspected to be a persistent toxin, meaning your body is probably able to eliminate it so it doesn't bio-accumulate.

I recently commented on how McDonald's food seems to remain impervious to degradation, as if it's been embalmed to stay fresh forever! After sitting on a shelf for 14 years, the hamburger bun has yet to develop a single trace of mold or even shrivel.

If you read the list of ingredients in these buns, this mysterious mummification becomes less of a mystery:

• calcium sulfate (Plaster of Paris)

• calcium carbonate (Antacid)

• ammonium sulfate (Harmful if swallowed)

• ammonium chloride (Causes irritation to the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea)

• calcium propionate (Preservative)

• sodium propionate (Mold inhibitor)

That these foods don't decompose is a clear sign that they aren't real foods, and should not be part of your diet. (Always remember that wholesome, health-promoting food is "live" food, and the hallmark of live food is that it will decompose.)

The bottom line is, if you want to stay healthy, and keep your children healthy, it is best to avoid both fast food and other processed foods, and invest time in cooking from scratch.

Ideally, you'll want to consume as much whole, raw, organic and/or locally grown foods as possible. That's why so many people like vegetable juicing. You're consuming living raw food!

Most vegetables also have very low carbohydrate levels that minimally disturb insulin metabolism -- another important trait of a healthful diet.

I also believe optimal health is largely dependent on eating the right foods for your nutritional type. To find out your type, visit my Nutritional Typing test.

If you're hooked on fast food and other processed foods, please review my recent article "How to Wean Yourself Off Processed Foods in 7 Steps."

And if you have children, remember that home-cooked meals can have far reaching benefits, even to your future grandchildren. It's now well known that dietary changes can prompt epigenetic DNA changes that can be passed on to future generations.

So, making wise food decisions can literally "override" genetic predispositions for disease.

If you need help determining what foods are healthful, please review the shopping guidelines listed at the end of this recent article.

 

Follow Dr. Joseph Mercola on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mercola

Comments

[SuperMom101]

07:45 PM on 03/14/2011

I always keep a jar of corn sugar (formerly known as high fructose corn syrup) in the kitchen cabinet right next to the dimethylpolysiloxane.

Thought some of you readers might enjoy the video of the woman who has been touring around the U.S. with a four-year old Happy Meal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI

p.s. Do you think the plastic toy made in China with decompose before the cheeseburger?

[Prescott Auburn]

05:44 PM on 01/27/2011

I attended an Adventist school, for a while, as a kid. They served up something that was actually fairly comparable, to give them credit where it is due. It was all Soy Bean Based, and was one of the few Veggie Foods I've had that seemed as good as the Meat it imitated. They called it Mock Scallops, but it could be called Mock BrontoNuggets, for that matter. I suppose it had it's own artificial ingredients. Idk. Being only half chicken meat, McDonalds is halfway to being veggie, sort of... I'll stick to the fresh stuff I make at home, for now.

[Puffin16]

04:15 PM on 01/25/2011

My co-worker eats there 2-3x/week. He says that if the food was bad for you, they wouldn't be allowed to sell it. Makes you wonder about the lack of regulation and the over confidence some consumers have in those regulations.

[sk8queen]

10:37 AM on 01/30/2011

Most people go their whole lives living by what "they" say. They never find out for themselves. I'm sure "they" will pay all the medical bills that result in diets based on this "food."

[Kevin Rodriguez]

12:20 PM on 01/30/2011

'They' won't pay the bills, but they'll probably sell you the handful of meds that you'll need to stay alive, LOL!

[eva07]

06:46 AM on 01/24/2011

Why can't we mandate to use only natural food in restaurants even fast food places? We don't know how much long term damage we cause with all the chemicals. No wonder we are unhealthy and overweight and in the end it costs more.

[sk8queen]

10:47 AM on 01/30/2011

"Natural" costs more. Fast food is extremely cheap per serving and no one wants Big Business to suffer. We certainly can't have that? Can we? The sad part is that a lot of these fast food chains have an interest in the insurance companies..Natural, healthy, good health, insurance comapnies is sort of a vicious cycle.

[barrada nicto]

01:11 AM on 01/24/2011

What's in food:

Full length documentary, Food Inc.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=7C44C6A5E2892627&playnext=1&v=FC5vQpBRjCk

[rob 1104]

03:53 PM on 01/23/2011

It is gross to think that a chicken McNugget is not all chicken. It makes you wonder what other companies do the same thing.

[eva07]

06:37 AM on 01/24/2011

No need to wonder, they do the same thing..

[sfbbmom]

01:06 PM on 01/18/2011

This should be required reading in high school health classes.

[tnlcallen]

06:20 PM on 01/17/2011

Can't even remember the last time I ate at a McDonalds. Been eating healthy for about 5 years now. I remember when I was in my early 20's I crashed for a month on a friends couch, and his apartment was across from a McD's. I ate there for every meal for 2 weeks straight. Made myself sick for sure

[LMPE]

05:15 PM on 01/17/2011

I've never eaten McDonald's food in my life. I'm currently reading "Chew On This: Everything You Don't Want to Know about Fast Food" by Eric Schlosser, who previously wrote "Fast Food Nation".

[Camarosc35]

10:53 AM on 01/17/2011

Thanks for the information - I will definitely stay away from this junk as much as I can (I already do)! I always wondered why Americans have such high cancer rates and attributed it to our diet; this confirms my suspicions. I will be sending this article off to my family now.

[David Soll]

10:58 PM on 01/16/2011

I'm thankful that I have not eaten McDonald's in many years... not that this article needed to remind me. In a sane world this kind of food tampering would not be allowed, and if attempted, would lead to many people going to jail.

[kittyman]

04:41 PM on 01/16/2011

Though,it's great to be constantly reminded that Mcdonalds is not the way to go, it be more productive to point out how many other fast food resturants use the same practices in their versions of frankenfoods.

[fourthestatepost]

12:42 PM on 01/16/2011

I vaguely remember eating Mcdonalds chicken nuggets by the ton when I was a toddler. I wish I could go back in time and kick myself for being such an idiotic baby. And kick my mother for that matter for not caring more about my health.

[eva07]

06:40 AM on 01/24/2011

If it is any consolation they probably used more food like ingredients back then.. it is getting worse..

[TYRANNASAURUS]

12:14 PM on 01/16/2011

What's in Fast Food? What's in the Non-Chicken Half of the McNugget....

You shouldn't point all this info out.....Americans love eating garbage....I can say gratefully that I've never eaten in a fast food garbage pit.... give me the old mom and pop greasy spoon any day.

[qaan]

11:01 AM on 01/16/2011

I know a pregnant woman who was with her husband when they saw the first ultrasound. They nicknamed the baby Nugget because they said it looked like a Chicken McNugget.on the scan.