Nobody would mistake a McDonald’s Big Mac for healthy food, but a new infographic shows just how awful it can be.
The picture from the website Fast Food Menu Price explains what the Big Mac does to your body within an hour of eating it.
It isn’t pretty: The renowned burger, among other things, elevates your blood sugar, dehydrates you, and makes you hungry again just 40 minutes after eating it.
Here’s what you can expect:
The Big Mac (and its 540 calories) elevates your blood sugar to unhealthy levels in the first 10 minutes. Junk food, such as the Big Mac, activates the brain’s reward system by producing “feel-good” chemicals like the neurotransmitter dopamine.
The process operates similarly to the sensation you’d receive after taking a drug like cocaine, and it increases your chances of developing compulsive eating.
After 20 minutes: The bun of the Big Mac has high quantities of high-fructose corn syrup and salt, both of which are addictive and cause your body to need more.
After 30 minutes: The 970 milligrams of sodium in the burger can cause dehydration. Dehydration symptoms are similar to hunger signals, leading you to believe you need more food. Your kidneys struggle to eliminate the salt, and your heart works harder to pump blood through your veins. This can result in excessive blood pressure, which can eventually lead to heart disease and stroke.
You begin to feel hungry again after 40 minutes. When you have a high-calorie meal, your body’s insulin reaction can lower your glucose levels, making you want to consume more. The high-fructose corn syrup in the bun is quickly absorbed by your GI system, causing insulin surges and even more hunger pangs.
60 minutes later: Food usually takes your body 24 to 72 hours to digest, but burgers can take longer since they are greasier. The Big Mac might take up to three days to digest.
While the infographic is unexpected, registered dietitian nutritionist Beth Warren, author of Living a Real Life With Real Food, tells Yahoo Health that it is fairly true. “It’s not just one ingredient that’s a concern, but a variety of reasons to be cautious when eating a Big Mac,” she says.
Lisa Moskovitz, CEO of NewYork Nutrition Group and certified dietitian nutritionist, tells Yahoo Health that the instant reaction to eating a Big Mac varies from person to person, and that the infographic is accurate but “somewhat exaggerated.”
Among other exaggerations, Moskovitz claims that the assertion that your blood sugar will rise to “abnormal levels” is not entirely accurate. “Everyone’s body has a different blood sugar and insulin response,” she explains.
“Because there is also a significant amount of fat in a Big Mac, it may slow down the conversion of carbs into glucose that travels through the bloodstream.”
She also mentions that the capacity of a Big Mac to dehydrate you is dependent on the individual, as well as other factors such as daily activity habits, medical history, and your present state of hydration.
Both experts agree that the Big Mac should not be a regular component of your diet, but that it is acceptable to enjoy it on occasion. “I usually tell my patients to treat themselves once a week with one choice,” Warren explains.
“However, because of the Big Mac’s abundance of nutritional health concerns, that would amount to more than one cheat option.”
