Chicago, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 01/21/2011 -- Natural health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola advises against eating McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, a favorite fast food treat that contains a “slew of synthetic chemicals” and other potentially harmful ingredients.
A review of Chicken McNugget ingredients reveals that they contain dimethyl polysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent used in cosmetics, Silly Putty, war paint, and other goods, and tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), an artificial antioxidant derived from petroleum.
Chicken McNuggets are described as “made with white meat, wrapped in a crisp tempura batter” when less than half of the product is actual chicken. The remaining half is composed of corn-based fillers, additives, and synthetic chemicals.
Dr. Mercola expresses concern over the potential health effects of these ingredients. A single gram of TBHQ, for instance, can cause you to collapse, vomit, suffocate, or experience a sense of delirium, nausea, and ringing in your ears. Ingesting five grams can lead to death.
Animal studies show that TBHQ can cause biochemical changes, cell mutation and affect your liver and reproductive system.
“While you need to eat 11 pounds of McNuggets to ingest a gram of TBHQ, it still doesn’t justify why McDonald’s uses a toxic chemical as an ingredient,” Dr. Mercola points out.
A discrepancy in the supposed safe limits for TBHQ use in food production is also seen. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives determined that TBHQ was safe for human consumption at levels of 0-0.5 mg/kg of body weight. But more recently, the Codex commission set the maximum allowable limits at between 100-400 mg/kg, depending on the food TBHQ is added to.
Super Size Me, a 2004 documentary, presented the dangers of regularly consuming fast food meals. After eating at McDonald’s three times a day for a month, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock experienced depression, gained 25 pounds, and suffered from liver problems and sexual dysfunction.
A separate study showed that those who ate fast food at least twice a week gained 10 pounds or more and doubled their risk of developing insulin resistance, which is linked to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Dr. Mercola advises avoiding not only Chicken McNuggets, but fast food in general.
Wean yourself off fast food and processed foods by preparing healthy home-cooked meals. “Reclaiming your kitchen is part and parcel of healthful living, so you know exactly what you're putting in your body,” Dr. Mercola recommends.
About MERCOLA.COM
Mercola.com is the world's most visited natural health website, averaging 14 million visitors monthly. It was founded in 1997 by Dr. Joseph Mercola, a licensed physician and surgeon in the state of Illinois and author of multiple New York Times bestsellers. Dr. Mercola was voted the 2009 Ultimate Wellness Game Changer by the Huffington Post, and has been featured in TIME magazine, LA Times, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, the Today Show, CBS’s Washington Unplugged with Sharyl Attkisson, The Dr. Oz Show, The Doctors, and other major media resources. His mission is to ignite a transformation of the fatally flawed health care system in America, and to inspire people to take control of their health.