USA Today got this wrong
I helped Morgan Spurlock create Super Size Me and was his co-star and nutritional "voice of reason."
USA Today recently profiled John Cisna, a high school teacher in Iowa, who tested out an experiment with his students to eat nothing but a McDonalds diet they had created in order to lose weight. John also added daily exercise, and kept to a strict calorie intake.While John did lose 37 pounds over the course of his 90 day experiment, and he had it partly right, in reducing his daily calorie intake and finally getting an exercise plan in place, John is still missing the MUCH bigger picture. I agree with him and his results - YES, you can lose weight eating food from anywhere. But is John really healthier? How is his cholesterol? Did his gut "microbiome" degrade over that time, as he ate refined carbohydrates, trans fats and genetically modified ingredients? I do not believe that "thinner" means "healthier." Over the course of Super Size Me, Morgan gained 24.5 pounds, his cholesterol went up 60 points, and his liver was filling with fat, giving him non-alcoholic hepatitis. This was largely due to the high amount of high-fructose corn syrup found in most of his meals, as well as most fast food, from the drinks to the ketchup.I believe most people cannot eat the way John did and experience any health improvements, because most of us are suffering from undiagnosed food sensitivities. Dairy, gluten, sugar, GMO corn and soy sensitivities are rampant, and you would be hard pressed to find any meals in McDonald's that don't contain these ingredients. While John embarked on an interesting experiment in service to his science students, there is still a lot more to do to #FixFood and our health in this country.McDonald's and the rest of the fast food giants are still marketing heavily to children through commercials, toys, and HappyMeal.com, a website I find particularly insidious. John's experiment doesn't address the problem with marketing this type of food to children, who don't know the difference between and advertisement and an educational program. So what can McDonald's and John do to really be a part of the solution?McDonald's and other fast food chains could eliminate high fructose corn syrup, and one of our top sources of calories and causes of "diabesity." McDonald's could pledge to switch to non-GMO ingredients, as Cheerios just announced it would do for their original cereal. McDonald's could start shifting towards grass-fed beef, which protects the health of the cows, the environment, and the people that eat the meat.Yes, Science Teacher John lost a bit of weight eating McDonald's. But John and McDonald's have a long way to go before they're truly healthy.Learn more How to Heal your digestion with my favorite probiotics!!Check this out Fitness or Movement Inspiration with Erin Stutland + Shrink Sessions!Want to help me #FixFood? Join the Super Size Me 10 Year Anniversary series, March 10-14:
Click here to sign up for for the week-long, free series: http://www.entheos.com/