I'm Darryl Edwards (aka The Fitness Explorer), founder of Primal Play, this website is no longer being updated - please check out www.primalplay.com for current details on my work, passion and lifestyle approach.

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Reading List
  • Animal Moves: How to move like an animal to get you leaner, fitter, stronger and healthier for life
    Animal Moves: How to move like an animal to get you leaner, fitter, stronger and healthier for life
    by Darryl Edwards

    Animal Moves

    • improve strength, speed and stamina
    • increase mobility, flexibility and stability
    • look, feel and perform better

    Find out more and details on how to purchase at www.animalmovesbook.com

  • Paleo from A to Z: A reference guide to better health through nutrition and lifestyle. How to eat, live and thrive as nature intended!
    Paleo from A to Z: A reference guide to better health through nutrition and lifestyle. How to eat, live and thrive as nature intended!
    by Darryl Edwards

    "If you are looking for a simple way to better understand Paleo concepts, Darryl's Paleo from A to Z guide is the go-to resource.
    -Mark Sisson, best-selling author of The Primal Blueprint and publisher of Mark's Daily Apple

  • Paleo Fitness - A Primal Training and Nutrition Program to Get Lean, Strong and Healthy
    Paleo Fitness - A Primal Training and Nutrition Program to Get Lean, Strong and Healthy
    by Darryl Edwards, Brett Stewart, Jason Warner

    "This book is a useful reference to enable individuals just starting out on the Paleo path as well as those who want to explore more challenging, playful and interesting ways to move."

    -Robb Wolf, New York Times best-selling author of The Paleo Solution

     

  • 7 Day Introduction to Paleo Fitness: Get Fitter, Get Stronger, Get Healthier in Seven Days. Move as Nature Intended.
    7 Day Introduction to Paleo Fitness: Get Fitter, Get Stronger, Get Healthier in Seven Days. Move as Nature Intended.
    by Darryl Edwards
  • The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet
    The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet
    by Robb Wolf
  • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
    Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
    by Robert M. Sapolsky
  • Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health & Boundless Energy (Primal Blueprint Series)
    Primal Blueprint: Reprogram Your Genes for Effortless Weight Loss, Vibrant Health & Boundless Energy (Primal Blueprint Series)
    by Mark Sisson
  • Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things
    Slow Death by Rubber Duck: The Secret Danger of Everyday Things
    by Rick Smith, Bruce Lourie, Sarah Dopp
  • Wahls Protocol, The : A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles
    Wahls Protocol, The : A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles
    by Terry Wahls, Eve Adamson
  • Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
    Born to Run: The Hidden Tribe, the Ultra-Runners, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
    by Christopher McDougall
  • In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating: An Eater's Manifesto
    In Defence of Food: The Myth of Nutrition and the Pleasures of Eating: An Eater's Manifesto
    by Michael Pollan
  • Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
    Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
    by Michael Pollan
  • The Paleo Diet for Athletes
    The Paleo Diet for Athletes
    by L. Cordain
  • Vegetarian Myth, The
    Vegetarian Myth, The
    by Lierre Keith
  • The Second Brain
    The Second Brain
    by Michael D. Gershon
  • The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
    The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
    by Loren Cordain
  • Eat Drink Paleo
    Eat Drink Paleo
    by Irena Macri
  • Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL is Wrong with My Numbers?
    Cholesterol Clarity: What the HDL is Wrong with My Numbers?
    by Jimmy Moore, Eric C. Westman
Tuesday
Feb252014

What's in your McDonald's French Fries? [UK vs US]



http://www.trueactivist.com/mcdonalds-transparency-campaign-revealed-17-ingredients-in-their-french-fries/

I received the above link via facebook this morning and decided to double check the information read rather than accepting by default what was read.  Which is easy to do especially when it comes to McDonald's.

This web article discusses McDonald's French fries and the 17 ingredients they contain (some of which are toxic)! 

image source: trueactivist.com

Interesting as well as most items on the list, salt is now silicoaluminate, dextrose and potassium iodide? What happened to old-fashioned sodium chloride?

On checking locally, the stricter food regulations here in the UK mean the ingredient list is vastly reduced. Here in the UK McDonald's uses 3-4 ingredients (dextrose optionally added depending on the time of year).  The list also does not comprise difficult-to-pronounce additives such as dimethylpolysiloxane which according to McDonald's "is added to the vegetable oil to prevent the oil from foaming and boiling over during cooking, which would be a serious safety risk to our crew." Although McDonald's do fail to mention the potential risks to consumers of a silicone based agent used for cosmetics, shampoos and heat-resistant tiles - being used as a food additive. [Please note the improved UK ingredient list does not mean I advocate McDonald's French fries as a sensible food choice!]

--

Here are the ingredient lists by country for French fries.

UK: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Dextrose (only added at beginning of the season). [The restaurants use non-hydrogenated vegetable oil].

Nutrition source: 
http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/product_nutrition.sides.44.french-fries-medium.html

US: Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid [Preservative]), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness), Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent. CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.  *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients. 

Nutrition source: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product_nutrition.snackssides.120.small-french-fries.html, accessed Feb 25 2014

Canada: (listed on image graphic above)

Nutrition source:
http://www1.mcdonalds.ca/NutritionCalculator/IngredientFactsEN.pdf, accessed Feb 25 2014

It just goes to show that even for an international corporation such as McDonald's that the same menu item can vary vastly per region in terms of nutritional content - so always check locally and verify information, regardless of the source.  It's also one of the reasons I appreciate some of the UK/EU legislation when it comes to our food options in this country - which in the main are far healthier than other parts of the world where regulation is lax.

For more details on Paleo and the Paleo lifestyle check out the book Paleo from A to Z - learn more at www.paleofromatoz.com

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