I watched Super Size Me (IMDB) last night. That was an eye-opener.

If you don’t know what it’s about: Morgan Spurlock decides to live on McDonalds for a whole month. He had these simple rules:

  1. No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
  2. No supersizing unless offered
  3. No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once

Spoiler warning: don’t read on if you want to be surpised by the movie

The results of this burger binge are quite astounding. Most shocking of all is the condition of his liver. I expected the weight gain, the tiredness etc., but the liver was not something I expected to protest that much. It’s a fairly robust, resilient organ. I don’t think it’s just the high fat; Inuit survive on high fat diets nearly all year around. I don’t think it was the high carbohydrates; his blood sugar was relatively unmentioned (I assume therefore normal). It makes me wonder if there is an additive/preservative that McDonalds use that affects the liver; something it can’t metabolise well.

I only eat it once or twice a year. I hate it. My kids love it, but will not be eating there as often as they do.