McDonald's McDouble Nutritious? 'Cheapest, Most Nutritious Food in History' a Caller Claims
The McDonald's McDouble is the newest $1 option on the Dollar Menu, and while it may be the best burger for your buck, claims of it being nutritious as well are causing quite a stir.
A caller to popular radio podcast, Freakonomics, made a comment to host Kai Ryssdal about the dollar Mickey D's option that surprised most.
"[It's] the cheapest, most nutritious and bountiful food that has ever existed in human history," he said of the McDouble.
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In addition to this claim, a column in the New York Post also praised the sandwich for its cheap price and nutritional benefits.
"For the average poor person, it isn't a great option to take a trip to the farmers market to puzzle over esoteric lefty-foodie codes. (Is sustainable better than organic? What if I have to choose between fair trade and cruelty-free?) Produce may seem cheap to environmentally aware blond moms who spend $300 on their highlights every month, but if your object is to fill your belly, it is hugely expensive per calorie," Kyle Smith wrote in his column while taking shots at "healthier" optioned organic food.
According to the Daily Mail, the burger contains 390 calories, 23 grams of protein, 7% the daily amount of fiber, 20% of the days calcium, and 19 grams of fat. Supporters of the burger feel it is the most efficient per buck food that has every existed.
"It's a pretty extreme claim," said Jim White, a dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, to Yahoo! Shine concerning the column. "My main problem is it's got 40 percent of the saturated fat for the day," he explained. "I'm worried about heart disease. And I hate to hear a claim like this because affordable foods can still be healthy."
The podcast brought about a debate on whether it was better to feed poor people efficiently with something tasty, or cheaply with something such as rice and lentils everyday.
"Now go open a restaurant called McBoiled Lentils and see how many customers line up," Smith said sarcastically in an interview on the Freakonomics podcast.
