salads

But could your bagged salad be putting you at risk of food poisoning?

The other day I ordered a salad at a restaurant. The meal that came back made me realize that "salad" means everything and nothing.

In a salad you can find beef, chicken, vegetables, fruit. You can find eggs, cheese, and an innumerable number of dressings, fats, and oils.

On the positive side most salads tend to contain mostly whole unprocessed food - and those who eat salads do have a higher nutrient intake. On the negative side is the energy density of some the brand-name salads.

AOL has detailed some of the more calorie-dense salads.

Diet books endorse processed foods. State health authorities endorse fast food. Welcome to the confusing and incoherent world of "healthy food".

McDonald's Australia have "persuaded" the National Heart Foundation to place the healthy tick on 9 of its meals.

It may seem obvious to some - but now we have some evidence to back it up: people who eat salads (raw vegetables in particular) have above-average intakes of nutrients like vitamin C, E, folic acid, lycopene and carotenoids (via).

McDonald's is having troubles in Europe (see global decline). In fact, the enormous fast food chain just closed 25 outlets in Britain. British people even voted McDonald's as the most unethical company (out of many other big brands). In the USA however, the picture is very different.

In three years, revenue has increased by an incredible 33 percent. Where is all that money coming from? It certainly isn't the 'healthy' items...