I'm Lovin' It? Not Really.

I have a simple test for you to complete. It involves one challenge. I want you to guess the ingredients in McDonald's french fries. Do it without using an internet search engine. Just go off your gut instincts. How many ingredients are in a french fry from McDonald's?

If you guessed one, two or even three, then you are DEAD WRONG!

Thanks to new industry-wide labeling regulations from the Food and Drug Administration, all restaurants and businesses which serve food at twenty or more locations will have to start making visible the amount of calories in their menu items. These new regulations also require that ingredients in food be made readily available to customers. By the end of 2015, these new regulations will be in full effect all across the country. If you've been to a fast-food restaurant like McDonald's recently, then you've noticed that the way in which they present their menu choices may have changed. This is directly related to the oncoming new FDA regulations -- don't let them fool you. Restaurants like McDonald's simply decided to get ahead of the curve and attempt to put a positive spin on the mandated changes. As such, this is fantastic news for the American consumer.

Now... back to those french fries.

Shockingly, there are SEVENTEEN ingredients in McDonald's french fries. Here they are:

1. Potatoes - At least part of the fries are real food.
2. Canola Oil - This is the chief bonding agent in the fries which makes them hold their shape.
3. Hydrogenated Soybean Oil - Highly saturated and one of the worst things you can ever consume.
4. Safflower Oil - One of the healthiest of cooking oils on its own, but unfortunately McDonald's heats it to such a high temperature that it alters the compound of the oil, thereby turning it into an inflammatory chemical. Ever had bad gas or digestive pain after eating at McDonald's? This is why.
5. "Natural" Flavor - A secret mixture of proprietary flavors protected by copyright law. Essentially - they're not going to tell you because the law can't make them. Based upon previous chemical analysis performed by third party research groups, it's suspected that monosodium glutamate (MSG) is one of the key components.
6. Dextrose - Sugar... because french fries apparently needed that.
7. Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate - Used for "coloring" the fries. Most chemical industry standards regulate it as a toxic substance not recommended for consumption.
8. Citric Acid - A preservative to maintain freshness.
9. Dimethylpolysiloxane - An anti-foaming agent that's also regularly used in bathroom caulk as a bonding agent.
10. Vegetable Oil Blend - This is actually another proprietary blend of seven different ingredients, of which there are various other oils and the nearly-unpronounceable chemical tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ). The scary thing about TBHQ is that it's been definitively linked to asthma, hormone malfunction, various skin diseases and cancer.

Apparently, french fries need to be a deadly chemical cocktail before they can be served to you. Who knew?!

Be on the lookout for menu changes at your favorite dining establishment. Hopefully, this will influence how often people consume fast food. Though, considering how lazy and pathetic most Americans are... I doubt it. Personally, I'm eager for people to finally see how many calories they're consuming at Starbucks. You're just drinking syrup folks.