Which Fast Food Restaurant is Healthiest?
By: Brandon Bish
Have you ever wondered when driving by McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s which one is the healthier choice? Today, I am hear to tell you some of the nutritional facts of a few items in each of the restaurants and also help you make the right choice of food. If you are on a diet, you don’t have to complety eliminate all of these restaurants that we as Americans crave. If you don’t abuse the idea of fast food and make the right choices then you can continue to drop pounds off of your body. When figuring out what choices are best I am going to use calories.
First, I am going to start with McDonalds. Here is a list of some of the main items that people choose:
- The plain Hamburger is 250 calories
- The medium french fry is 380 calories
- A five piece chicken select is 660 calories
Next, is some of the popular choices at Burger King:
- Plain Hamburger is 290 calories
- The six piece chicken tenders are 270 calories
- A medium fry is 480 calories
Finally, Wendy’s nutritional facts are:
- Plain Jr. Hamburger is 220 calories
- 5 piece chicken nuggets is 230 calories
- A medium fry is 430 calories
I know you may look at this information and say that Wendy’s is the healthiest restaurant, but take into consideration that I don’t have any of the other ingredients except calories listed. To find out the other nutritional facts click on the resources below.
Now, its time to figure out how to incorporate fast food into your diet. Instead of picking a hamburger you could choice a grilled or a broiled chicken sandwich. Steer clear of anything that has to do with fried food. There is really nothing to choose that can replace that great taste of french fries, but they should be eliminated from all diets because of the salt intake instead make the right choice with a salad. If you do have a salad stay away from large portions of salad dressing. Also, avoid have the restaurant but the ketchup and mustard on themselves, ask for a small pack of ketchup to avoid excess ketchup.
I have given you all the resources that you need to eat healthy. Hopefully you will think about all of the choices that are available and make the right decision. Health should be one of our top goals in life so anytime you can make a good choice to help your body, you should take advantage of that.
<ref> http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutrition_facts.html <ref>
<ref> http://www.bk.com/Nutrition/PDFs/NutritionalBrochure.pdf <ref>
<ref> http://wendys.com/food/pdf/us/nutrition.pdf <ref>
<ref> http://www.helpguide.org/life/fast_food_nutrition.htm <ref>
March 25th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Brandon,
You most definitely picked a very interesting topic to talk about. I loved how you started the beginning by giving a few of the choices people would get at each fast food restaurant. Yes, when I read that, I thought Wendy’s would be the best choice because it had the lowest calories. However, you countered that by telling me you didn’t have all of the toppings and other items listed with their calories. I also had a very easy time reading this because it was well put together. I do have a few things that kind of bugged me. I do kinda wish you would have put a little more information in this. Maybe you could give the amount of fats and sugars in each item. Also, maybe a few more items with amounts of calories, fats, oils, etc. Other than that, you had great points in you essay and I really enjoyed reading this!
Shawnna Crago
March 26th, 2009 at 8:40 am
Brandon,
I agree with you on how you were saying that if you are on a diet you need to stay away from fried food because yes these companies load them up with way too much salt. I also agree with how you said that the people should ask for ketchup packets to avoid the over loading of them. But there could be some improvement by putting the salt intakes, fat grams, sugar, carbs, cholesterol, etc. But this was a very interesting thing to read!
March 27th, 2009 at 5:50 am
Brandon,
I really enjoyed reading your article! There was alot of great information in your article about how to eat healthier when eating fast food! I agree we can make healthier choices by choosing a salad but I think that portion sizes has allot to do with the problem too. You could still go to a fast food resturaunt and get the items you love and enjoy but rethink the super size choices.
March 29th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Brandon,
Your comparison of the 3 fast food restaurants was informational, but additional discussion about the food content would have been helpful in allowing your reader to make wise choices.
Mrs. Wolfgang