It is already a given fact that eating in McDonalds is not that healthy. The more it is if one is eating its Big Mac which contains 540 calories and 25 grams of fat. However, people might not know enough as a new infographic sheds light to what really happens to our body after eating a Big Mac.
The infographic made by Fast Food Menu Price shows the effects of eating the McDonald signature hamburger in an hour, divided in 10 minutes each.
According to the infographic, in the first 10 minutes after eating Big Mac, the brain will release a sudden flow of "feel good" chemicals that will give the consumer a feeling of pleasure and happiness that often result to "compulsive eating." However, the brain will prefer eating high-calorie food during this period while sugar levels increased to abnormal intensity.
After 20 minutes, the high-fructose corn syrup and sodium additives contained in the buns of the said hamburger will make the body addicted to it and crave for more. Half an hour later, the body will feel the effects of too much sodium intake, resulting to a feeling of hunger.
That starving feeling will continue 40 minutes after consumption as the body will have already lost control of blood sugar.
The infographic then cited that after 60 minutes, slow digestion will kick in while highlighting that a Big Mac will take three days to be fully digested.
In an interview by The Independent, Priya Tew, Dietitian and Spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association, mentioned that she disagrees with some of the facts presented in the infographic.
Although Tew agreed with the tendency to prefer high-calorie foods and the increase in sugar levels, she debunked the claims regarding the addictive corn syrup, saying that there have been small-scale studies on rodents that observed mentioned effects but it is not enough to compare it to humans and make the assumption.
She also emphasized that the effects of sodium level and salt really affect the body, but she pointed out that the level present in Big Mac is not enough to cause dehydration.
"Because it's quite a high-fat item, it will slow down digestion. It says it takes three days to digest, I don't know about that," Tew said to The Independent.
Nonetheless, Tew agreed with the suggestion made at the end of the infographic that tells consumers to not eat Big Mac on a regular basis but instead, make it an "occasional indulgence."