McDonald’s oatmeal contains more sugar than a Snickers bar

[RockdaMan]

...and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. (Even without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.)

The bottom-line question is, “Why?” Why would McDonald’s, which appears every now and then to try to persuade us that it is adding “healthier” foods to its menu, take a venerable ingredient like oatmeal and turn it into expensive junk food? Why create a hideous concoction of 21 ingredients, many of them chemical and/or unnecessary?

Anyone got an answer? I don't.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...oatmeal-wrong/

[TGS]

Sugar works on the reward pathways in the brain - we quite literally become addicted to it. Oatmeal doesn't - so it makes commercial sense to load apparently "healthy" food with addictive crap so that we will want to have more of it. It is as evil as selling crack at the school gate.

[Sweetpea]

Oatmeal at McDonalds?

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Oatmeal at McDonalds?

i know, right?

i remember having oatmeal every morning for breakfast when i was in high school. we would sometimes squirt chocolate syrup into it. my siblings enjoyed it with milk.

i can't imagine why anyone would order oatmeal at mcdonalds. i mean, oatmeal is easy enough to prepare, even if one argues that they would dine at mcdo for convenience's sake.

[Cyberman tM]

Despite what many might think, fruits are anything but vacant of calories. Dried fruit tend to be worse because the main weight(water) is gone.

So I don't think it's surprising that this oatmeal variant has so many calories.
Of course, they also sweeten it additionally. But I doubt that their additions are the main reason for the high sugar content.

What exactly does "chemical and/or unecessary" mean? Just because it's chemical doesn't mean it's bad. Just as being organic doesn't make it healthy.
I'd never drink organic juice of Atropa belladonna. Nor am I going to guzzle down WD40.
Both are going to be bad for me, but only one would be "chemical".

Generalizations doesn't help. Especially when dealing with food.


Too bad that blog didn't specify just what "11 weird ingredients you would never keep in your kitchen." are supposed to be.

I took a look at the McD site and didn't really find anything that'd surprise me.
I agree that hardly anyone would have them in the kitchen, but that doesn't mean anything. Food prepared in the kitchen isn't supposed to stay 100% fresh for days and/or be completely free of any germs - and still look perfect.

Here's the ingredient list:

Originally Posted by McD oatmeal ingredients

Ingredients (Allergen statement in ALL CAPS.)Back To Top

Oatmeal without Brown Sugar
Whole grain rolled oats, food starch-modified, maltodextrin, natural flavor (plant source), barley malt extract, caramel color.

Cranberry Raisin Blend
Dried sweetened cranberries (sugar, cranberries), California raisins, golden raisins, sunflower oil, sulfur dioxide (preservative).

Diced Apples
Apples, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C to maintain freshness and color).

Light Cream
Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, datem, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium citrate, carrageenan.

CONTAINS: MILK.

There's few in there that I'd consider suspicious. Modified starch by virtue of not being more descriptive of course.
Sodium Stearoyl lactylate sounds horrible but doesn't look too bad if you look it up in Wikipedia.

I had to look up "datem" too, but found it's the same stuff you find almost anywhere in processed food.

--

In case anyones still reading: I'm not saying this stuff is good. Or that McD does the right thing by selling THAT as healthy.
But just because it's from McD or processed food doesn't mean it's going to kill us all.
I would welcome more strict rules for advertising. As it is, I'm glad they (have to) provide complete lists of what they're putting into the stuff.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Cyberman tM

But just because it's from McD or processed food doesn't mean it's going to kill us all.

True. The additives help McDonalds have a consistent, easy to prepare and long-life product, and are almost certainly not harmful in any way.

But personally, if I'm having porridge oats, the ingredients list would look like this:

Water, Rolled oats, honey, iodised salt*.





* I'm not wholly against chemicals in food. A bit of added iodine is a good thing, and the same applies to several other additives.

[CHunter_Author]

Whatever McDonalds is doing it works on me. They are inside my head with a direct line to my taste buds. If they don't get me with the oatmeal, theyll get me with the pies, if they don't get me with the pies, theyll get me with the cookies, if that doesn't work, the smoothie is there. And don't get me started on the tea!

[wyndslash]

speaking of mcdonald's, i plan to have an early lunch there tomorrow before class. breakfast is available until 10:30 am. hehe

[jbcohen]

When you all go home tonight take a look at the common foods that you have around your home and look at the amount of salt and sugar that you have in everything. You will find it shocking. I found sugar in mustard (scratching my head I exclaimed "they put shugar in this stuff").

[Sweetpea]

Sugar, like salt, is used to enhance certain flavours. I heard if you are baking onions, you should add a bit of sugar before adding the chopped onions. The standard ingredients of mustard are ground mustard seeds, vinegar, water, sugar and salt...

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by TGS

Sugar works on the reward pathways in the brain - we quite literally become addicted to it. Oatmeal doesn't - so it makes commercial sense to load apparently "healthy" food with addictive crap so that we will want to have more of it. It is as evil as selling crack at the school gate.

I think that the they should be able to sell any food they want. You are buying the food knowing very well that McDonald's is by far not the healthiest place to eat

Now I wouldn't eat the Oatmeal but only because I don't like my Oatmeal to taste like the crap that comes from the microwave. If someone is dumb enough to think that McDonald's can produce something healthy they are out of their minds. Have you seen the "healthy" apple slices they serve smothered in caramel.

[pholy]

Have you seen the "healthy" apple slices they serve smothered in caramel.

The apple slices are healthy if you lick the caramel off before you eat them...

[jezebel]

Originally Posted by THE TERMINATOR

I think that the they should be able to sell any food they want, why should the government be able to say how much fat/calories are in the food. You are buying the food knowing very well that McDonald's is by far not the healthiest place to eat

Does the government tell them how much fat/calories McDonalds can put in their food? I was not aware of that.


Or are you saying you object to the government telling McDonalds they must tell consumers what is in the food they sell?

[HistoryWes]

I didn't think it was all that good. Now I know just to go for the hotcakes anyway.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by THE TERMINATOR

I think that the they should be able to sell any food they want, why should the government be able to say how much fat/calories are in the food. You are buying the food knowing very well that McDonald's is by far not the healthiest place to eat

Now I wouldn't eat the Oatmeal but only because I don't like my Oatmeal to taste like the crap that comes from the microwave. If someone is dumb enough to think that McDonald's can produce something healthy they are out of their minds. Have you seen the "healthy" apple slices they serve smothered in caramel.

Why should they be able to sell food if it is harming people?