Energy from food comes in three ways: Protein, Carbohydrates & fat. So how about a burger?

Your body obtains the energy it needs through protein, carbohydrates and fat. The USDA Dietary Guidelines (20115-2020) recommends the following calorie percentages for each in your daily intake: 

• Protein: 10-35%
• Fats: 20-35%
• Carbohydrates: 45-65%

With a 2000 calorie a day diet, this means 200-700 calories should be protein, 400-700 calories should be fats, and 900-1300 calories should be carbohydrates. The simplest way to determine calorie content of your foods is to use one of the many food logging apps or go to USDA Food Data Central website. However, since these are among the required nutrients required on food nutrition labels, and many restaurants provide that information if requested, you can also do the calculation yourself. For every gram of protein, there are four calories. For every gram of carbohydrates, there are also four calories. For fat, each gram contains 9 calories.  

photo credit https://sites.psu.edu/eworkingernutr360/2017/03/17/the-importance-of-macronutrients/

Let's take a look at a typical fast food burger from McDonalds. According to their website, a double quarter pounder with cheese has 42 grams of fat, 43 grams of carbohydrates, and 48 grams of protein. The chart below shows the three nutrients are within the RDI (Recommended Daily Intake).

Many look at these numbers and this picture and think it's time to head to the drive-thru for a juicy double quarter pounder with cheese. After all, it's within the RDI for the day. However, other items come into play when looking at overall nutrition. Eating the RIGHT types of fat, carbohydrates and proteins helps promote a healthy lifestyle and  reduced risk of many diseases that could lead to a shortened lifespan. So, when choosing fats, stay away from saturated fats, trans fats, and high cholesterol. When choosing proteins, keep them lean, and when choosing carbs, stick with high fiber, low sugar foods. This burger has 20 grams of saturated fat, 2.5 grams of trans fat and 186 milligrams of cholesterol. It only has 2 grams of fiber and 10 grams of sugar. Hopefully, these numbers make you rethink the drive-thru.

If you're really craving a burger, there are things you can do to make it better for you. Use a lean ground beef (I try to always buy the 93% lean) or ground turkey. Use a whole wheat bun, low fat cheese (or skip the cheese), add dark green lettuce and tomatoes and maybe even some slices of avocado. You can also limit the mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard or find lower calorie options. 

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photo credit: https://weheartit.com/entry/346054504

Sources: 
​Marie, Boyle. Personal Nutrition. 10th ed., Cengage, 2019. 
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/double-quarter-pounder-with-cheese.html