news
02-10-2016, 09:31 PM
It's no secret that fast food is a less-than-optimal fuel (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2013/11/20/fast-food-truths_n_4296243.html) for your body. But somehow, the fact that it takes so darn long to decompose (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2013/04/23/worlds-oldest-hamburger-mcdonalds_n_3139231.html) shocks us every time.
Take this Happy Meal (http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/02/09/shocking-images-show-6-year-old-mcdonald-happy-meal/), for example. Alaska resident Jennifer Lovdahl said she and her husband purchased it in 2010 -- and that it has hardly changed a bit since then.
It's been 6 years since I bought this "Happy Meal" at McDonald's. It's been sitting at our office this whole time and...
Posted by Jennifer Lovdahl (https://www.facebook.com/balancedhealthchiropracticalaska) on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 (https://www.facebook.com/balancedhealthchiropracticalaska/posts/10153433398490669)
Her husband, Dr. Shawn Lovdahl, told HuffPost he and Jennifer originally purchased the Happy Meal as a way to teach patients at their chiropractic practice about healthy nutrition. And they'd hardly peeked at the meal until now.
"I showed [the Happy Meal] to a junior high class about three years ago," he said. "But it's been over a year since I last looked."
Really, though, it's no surprise the meal didn't rot. Tons (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2013/04/23/worlds-oldest-hamburger-mcdonalds_n_3139231.html) of home experiments (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/08/fast-food-burger-doesnt-expire_n_6435104.html)have shown that fast food meals tend to keep their appearance over time. This could be due to artificial ingredients in the food (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2015/03/09/how-to-make-shamrock-shake_n_6793502.html), such as preservatives, or it could be that the shape of burgers and nuggets makes them dry out quickly and therefore avoid molding, as Serious Eats hypothesized (http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-the-myth-of-the-12-year-old-burger-testing-results.html) in 2010.
McDonald's believes the latter.
"Decomposition of food happens under certain conditions," McDonald's spokesperson Lisa McComb told HuffPost Wednesday. "Any food -- whether homemade, store bought or from a restaurant -- can dehydrate in a dry environment, [and] therefore not decompose."
You've probably heard that preservatives are bad for you, and that's sometimes true. (Take a look at this list of offenders from Greatist (http://greatist.com/health/are-preservatives-food-bad-my-health).) But generally speaking, the real danger of eating regular fast food is the high sodium, high fat and high sugar content (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=healthcom/the-9-highest-calorie-meals-at-chain-restaurants_b_7547648.html) of the food.
Whatever the specific reason for it, this relatively unchanged Happy Meal is just another visual reminder that there are much, MUCH better ways to feed your body (https://www.facebook.com/HuffingtonPost/videos/10153603593261130/).
Happy meal-ing!
Also on HuffPost:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/1/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/2/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/2/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/3/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/3/rc.htm)
http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2.img (http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2.htm)
http://adchoice.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/ach.img (http://adchoice.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/ach.htm)http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2t.imghttp://pi2.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2t2.imghttp://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/mf.gif
More... (http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A160C0A20C10A0Cmcdonalds0E happy0Emeal0In0I920A41180Bhtml/story01.htm)
Take this Happy Meal (http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/02/09/shocking-images-show-6-year-old-mcdonald-happy-meal/), for example. Alaska resident Jennifer Lovdahl said she and her husband purchased it in 2010 -- and that it has hardly changed a bit since then.
It's been 6 years since I bought this "Happy Meal" at McDonald's. It's been sitting at our office this whole time and...
Posted by Jennifer Lovdahl (https://www.facebook.com/balancedhealthchiropracticalaska) on Wednesday, February 3, 2016 (https://www.facebook.com/balancedhealthchiropracticalaska/posts/10153433398490669)
Her husband, Dr. Shawn Lovdahl, told HuffPost he and Jennifer originally purchased the Happy Meal as a way to teach patients at their chiropractic practice about healthy nutrition. And they'd hardly peeked at the meal until now.
"I showed [the Happy Meal] to a junior high class about three years ago," he said. "But it's been over a year since I last looked."
Really, though, it's no surprise the meal didn't rot. Tons (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2013/04/23/worlds-oldest-hamburger-mcdonalds_n_3139231.html) of home experiments (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01/08/fast-food-burger-doesnt-expire_n_6435104.html)have shown that fast food meals tend to keep their appearance over time. This could be due to artificial ingredients in the food (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=2015/03/09/how-to-make-shamrock-shake_n_6793502.html), such as preservatives, or it could be that the shape of burgers and nuggets makes them dry out quickly and therefore avoid molding, as Serious Eats hypothesized (http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-the-myth-of-the-12-year-old-burger-testing-results.html) in 2010.
McDonald's believes the latter.
"Decomposition of food happens under certain conditions," McDonald's spokesperson Lisa McComb told HuffPost Wednesday. "Any food -- whether homemade, store bought or from a restaurant -- can dehydrate in a dry environment, [and] therefore not decompose."
You've probably heard that preservatives are bad for you, and that's sometimes true. (Take a look at this list of offenders from Greatist (http://greatist.com/health/are-preservatives-food-bad-my-health).) But generally speaking, the real danger of eating regular fast food is the high sodium, high fat and high sugar content (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=healthcom/the-9-highest-calorie-meals-at-chain-restaurants_b_7547648.html) of the food.
Whatever the specific reason for it, this relatively unchanged Happy Meal is just another visual reminder that there are much, MUCH better ways to feed your body (https://www.facebook.com/HuffingtonPost/videos/10153603593261130/).
Happy meal-ing!
Also on HuffPost:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. (http://start.westnet.ca/newstempch.php?article=terms.html/) It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/1/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/1/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/2/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/2/rc.htm)
http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/3/rc.img (http://rc.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/rc/3/rc.htm)
http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2.img (http://da.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2.htm)
http://adchoice.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/ach.img (http://adchoice.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/ach.htm)http://pi.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2t.imghttp://pi2.feedsportal.com/r/247391119919/u/0/f/677045/c/35496/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/a2t2.imghttp://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/mf.gif
More... (http://feeds.huffingtonpost.com/c/35496/f/677045/s/4d7fe635/sc/14/l/0L0Shuffingtonpost0N0C20A160C0A20C10A0Cmcdonalds0E happy0Emeal0In0I920A41180Bhtml/story01.htm)