Just watched "Super Size Me" Never eating fast food again.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

Seriously. NEVER. THAT was just completely disgusting. And the interview on the DVD with the author of "Fast Food Nation" nailed it for me.

Did you know in one McDonald's burger, there is meat from over 1000 different cows? All mixed and mashed together into a patty?

I nearly gagged just on THAT.

[Placebo]

1. 1000 cows or 1 cow, what's the difference?

:9

[uncertainty1999]

4. 1000 makes it harder to track down diseases when they occur!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

6. Watch the DVD

if you haven't, you'll understand.

The guy starts off at 185 pounds, GREAT health and in just 19 days he is in danger of liver failure (he eats McDonald's three meals a day for a month) and his liver has turned almost completely to fat. IN 19 DAYS.

Not only that but there's his lovely vomiting the first time he eats the super size meal (one of his rules is he has to eat ALL of it). The super size fries are a half pound of fries. He stuffs it all down then feels horribly sick and pukes.

He gets lethargic, bad moods, headaches, etc.

It's really telling. His doctors and family actually get VERY concerned by 21 days of it and some tell him in no uncertain terms to STOP.

[happynewyear]

14. I believe it

Hell, my brother just died in August - cause - cancer of the liver. He did not drink, smoke, nothing ... BUT, he basically lived on junk food (McDonalds, Burger King, etc.).

He was 44 years young. :(

JUST SAY NO TO FAST FOOD (Fast food kills).

:dem: :kick:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

17. It was literally killing him

and I have to admit, I would have thought anyone who said fast food can kill you (especially that fast) I would have thought they were being a tad melodramatic.

But he had complete blood work done, everything and wow, his liver enzyme levels went out the roof, his blood cholesterol was almost 300 (it was 165 before), he developed high blood pressure. And this was all in THREE WEEKS! Oh and he was having chest pains and trouble breathing.

Whew. Scared me off the shit permanently and I only had it every now and then, but most nutritionists recommend having fast food.........guess how often? NEVER.

[Downtown Hound]

31. I'm sorry about your brother

way too young to die.

[gollygee]

2. We got that from Netflix last week

I agree. Fast food is over. Ick ick ick.

[Ms_Mary]

40. I think I'm moving it up in my que.

[physioex]

3. Ohhh yea...

And the "french fries" are from low cost potato farmers who use large amounts of pesticide. And it really doesn't even tasete like it has any potatoes.

I hope you saw the Frontline piece on PBS about Wal Mart, yet another excellent show.....

[truthbetold]

7. Even more disgusting about the fries...

There's an extra on the DVD in which Morgan puts a bunch of fast food in jars to see how it breaks down.
After 10 WEEKS, the McDonald's french fries still looked exactly like the day he had bought them. He could have kept going, but someone in his office threw out the fries.
Imagine if it's still good after months, what that stuff is doing in your stomach...

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

13. I know THAT was crazy!

Those fries didn't get a single mold spore on them in 10 weeks, and the other McSandwiches broke down and got COVERED in mold.

What the HELL is in or on those fries that they don't even break down?

THAT was scary. When my daughter saw that extra, she said "that's it, no more fast food for me."

We're even going to have her start taking her lunch to school, because he went into school lunches, etc.

[Selwynn]

42. McDonalds Fries are delicious! :)

I really don't care if they stay well preserved or not.

[uncertainty1999]

5. I agree - except for Taco Bell's bean burrito!

I am a sucker for the bean burrito!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

10. Nope

none of it, and I love Taco Bell. The comments by the "Fast Food Nation" author about how the fast food industry has a total grip on this country and only makes huge profit and doesn't have to pay any of the price society pays (ill health, problems from obesity) etc really convinced me, because he said the ONLY way things will change is if people stop going to the fast food restaurants. If only 1 or 2 or 3% of us stopped eating there, it would make a huge difference.

Count me in that 1-3% now. Plus I'll save money. I feel better when I'm not eating that crap anyway. And it's crappier than I realized.

[Clinton Crusader]

44. aw, crap, what's wrong with the Bell??

I love the Mexican pizza!

[Metatron]

8. When I read Fast Food Nation, I felt the same way.

The book really enlightened me about all of the processed foods at the grocery, too.

[AlCzervik]

18. that book turned me off of fast food forever.

:puke:

[mark414]

9. i know i shouldn't

for a multitude of reasons; my health, corporate assholes, and the complete lack of any standards when it comes to safe food

but it's so damn good! and whenever there's a national freakout over something...mad cow, flu vaccine, sars, whatever, i usually don't really care.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

11. They explain in the DVD

that it is engineered to taste so good you can't resist it. Literally! They do research in labs continuously. The whole combination of beef, cheese, bread carbs, sugar in soda, and the salty fries are designed to create that reaction to keep the dollars flowing in and damn your health!

If you watch Super Size Me, you'll have a hard time eating fast food again.

[Endangered Specie]

12. I imagine they put stuff in there that makes it addicting

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

15. Bingo.

They even said so. It's very much designed to be addictive and he even reported to his doctor that after the first couple of weeks, he found his moods affected to the point that eating it made him in an instant good mood and if it had been a while, he was in a horrible mood.

McDonalds even calls the people who eat there at least once or twice a week "heavy users."

[CAcyclist]

If you stop eating fast food, and then try one a few months

later, it won't taste so good any more. There's independent places that make really good hamburgers - a couple dollars more is worth it.

[RumpusCat]

32. i'm with you--i'm incurable!

I read Fast Food Nation and saw Supersize Me... and in both cases came away craving fast food! Lol. I think I'm a lost cause. It's not like I'm a big fast food eater--maybe a couple of times a month--but when I want Burger King, Burger King is the only thing that will do. :evilgrin:

[Native]

16. Don't do the fast food thing except for salads @ Wendys

and an occasional nuggets for the kids. Looks like the nuggets will become a thing of the past. Thanks for the post.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

19. Well

they do a segment in Super Size Me on how they "make" the nuggets.

Watch that and you'll never allow another chicken nugget to pass the lips of your children again. My daughter actually gagged. She told me she's seen pinkish meat in her nuggets before.

[Native]

23. Its next on my Netflix list.

This will be our kid's first, official horror flick!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

24. I think it's actually quite eye opening for kids too

he talks about the lack of exercise etc

Now I don't know how old your kids are but there are about two or three cuss words and he mentions a problem with his penis once when talking to his doctor and his girlfriend talks about how their sex life is not as good, because he doesn't have as much energy anymore. So that part, depending on your kids' age, might not be cool with you. She doesn't get overly graphic, but she does mention he has trouble "getting it up."

(Hope I won't get in trouble for saying that.)

My daughter didn't get that comment and I didn't really explain it. All in all, that's all that would be objectionable.

[Native]

28. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't think my kids would catch on either.

[jonnyblitz]

20. I watched it a few weeks ago!

I was stunned to discover they use the WHOLE chicken (beak,feet, etc.) for their chicken mcnuggets!!!!! :puke:

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

21. Yep

just grind that shit up!

I got sick to my stomach and I can't even tell you the last time I had a chicken nugget.

[Massacure]

22. The only thing I eat in the way of fast food is McDonald's McFlurry

I love those things. I only get them every couple weeks during the summer months though.

Is their McFlurry mentioned in Super Size Me!

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sabriel]

26. Will you be starting a fast food haiku thread?

I need to know, so I can starting thinking about it.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

35. Go for it!

I probably won't, I only compose haikus when drunk and I'm not drinking tonight!

LOL!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. Hey Moonbeam, I liked this movie but have to make a few comments.

For those who haven't seen it, "SuperSize Me" is essentially a broad reaching documentary about obesity and how we eat in America. I think it's a very good movie and highly recommend it. It uses a stunt done by the filmmaker (Morgan Spurlock) as a running thread to organize the rest of the stories and information around.

Spurlock's stunt? To eat nothing but McDonald's food for a month, and monitor his health, weight, blood work lab values etc.

The comment I will make: Spurlock made the experiment WAY "extreme" beyond what would really be required to satisfy the condition "I ate nothing but McDonald's for a month". I don't doubt the reality of what happened to him as presented in the film: substantial weight gain (25 or 28 lbs if I recall for a medium sized guy), elevated liver enzymes showing inflammation and damage to the liver, cholesterol and lipids through the roof, etc.

But, for even a guy eating fast food all the time, he ate WAY more calories than what would have kept him full. Frequently had two of the big sandwiches. Always had the giant sugary drink. Always got dessert. Always had the giant shake WITH the desert.

Even the physician and dietician he had working with him suggested that he cut out or cut back on the liquid portion of his calories (which is a pretty substantial part of it when you're eating like that), but he didn't do it.

I'm saying, he could have had the following each day, with some rotation of menu items:

Breakfast: Coffee/OJ, Egg McMuffin etc., hash browns.
Lunch: Big Mac or other sandwich, fries, regular or diet soft drink
Dinner: Similar to lunch

He would have satisfied his conditions and had a TON less calories. The dietician estimated his daily intake at about TWICE his daily requirement. No doubt he probably still would have gained weight, felt crappy and probably raised his cholesterol, but he may well not have damaged his liver the way he did by cramming the calories so intensively (making pate out of himself in a sense).

A lot of times in medical or life sciences research we will ratchet up the conditions in an experiment to be way beyond what would be likely to be encountered in real life, in order to be more likely to observe an effect if there is one, or see a more dramatic result. A good example is studies looking for toxic or cancer causing effects of drugs, using very high doses of the drug or very high concentrations of the chemical in question. I think Spurlock was in a sense doing this with himself.

Sadly, I don't doubt that some people DO take in calories the way Spurlock did, judging from the number of 300-400 lb patients I see these days (I remember when I was in training and it was a big deal to take care of someone 300 lbs, like "wow"! And this wasn't all THAT long ago...) And some of that excess obesity or calories does seem to have a tendency to damage the liver. It's very frequent to observe so called "fatty liver" disease in many of these patients, where the liver is shot through with fatty deposits and sometimes functionally damaged.

For those who saw the movie, did you not notice a pronounced Michael Moore influence on Spurlock's style of filmmaking? I did. I think he's a big talent and am on the lookout for his next film.

[hollywood926]

29. Slightly off the subject, but Fast Food Nation is also a great example of

how the Republican economic philosophy DOES NOT WORK. I highly recommend that book - it's a real eye-opener in many ways!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

37. I'm checking it out from the library on Monday.

Been meaning to for quite some time, but this has motivated me.

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

34. I did notice the MM influence

and I liked it.

That being said, he does acknowledge in the film that his eating was "extreme" and that he ate as much fast food as some people eat in EIGHT years.

I didn't know you were a doctor!

[fujiyama]

39. It was an exagerration

but I still think it presents the eating habits of Americans.

I remember years ago, when I was younger, I had a friend. His mom and dad would work full time...and they never had time to cook a meal. The family was probably middle/working class.

They went to McDonalds probably every day for dinner. It was literally their meal.

Needless to say his family was quite large, except for a brother who had moved out of the home.

My guess is this is more typical than we think. I think there are millions of families that are overworked and have absolutely no time to make anything at home.

[GOPisEvil]

30. Fast food haiku!

You can't stop me - you can only hope to contain me!

Salmonella! Puke!
This beef from 1000 cows!
I hope they weren't sick!

[Moonbeam_Starlight]

36. You are so awesome at haiku writing

did you major in English?

Another good one from you.

[GOPisEvil]

38. Political Science, if you can believe that.

An Aggie, too. :P

[Catchawave]

33. Meet your meet

bon apetit !

http://www.meetyourmeat.com/

[Selwynn]

41. If it tastes good, it tastes good.

I don't care if there's rat turds in it.

[name not needed]

43. Why do you think I eat White Castle?

Good coming in, not so much out.