{"id":72041,"date":"2025-08-16T06:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T06:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/72041\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T06:04:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T06:04:10","slug":"the-unhealthy-food-nutritionists-say-you-shouldnt-ban-from-your-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/72041\/","title":{"rendered":"The unhealthy food nutritionists say you shouldn’t ban from your diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Burgers and fries are usually a no-no for health conscious consumers and parents trying to feed their kids a balanced diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But a\u00a0group of top nutritionists have revealed that fast food can be enjoyed in moderation and they wouldn’t advise a full-out ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Julia Cassidy, a dietitian and eating disorder specialist with Eating Recovery Center in California<\/a>, says that demonizing certain foods can cause children to develop an unhealthy relationship with eating.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She lets her son eat at McDonald’s and she doesn’t label fast food ‘or any food as good or bad’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘My sons eat at McDonald’s sometimes, and I treat it the same way I would at any other meal,’ she told HuffPost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She added:\u00a0‘In the long run, this approach supports food flexibility, reduces guilt and protects against the kind of rigid thinking that can contribute to disordered eating.’<\/p>\n

Heidi McIndoo, a registered dietitian based out of Boston, says she also lets her children have McDonald’s for the same reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She explains:\u00a0‘When you completely ban food from your kids, you’re just making those foods more appealing to them.<\/p>\n

\"Burgers <\/p>\n

Burgers and fries are usually a no-no for health conscious consumers. But a group of top nutritionists have revealed that fast food can be enjoyed in moderation and they wouldn’t advise a full-out ban<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

‘It also encourages the mentality of “good” and “bad” foods, which can lead to issues with healthy eating as they get older.’<\/p>\n

McIndoo reveals that when she dines at McDonald’s with her family or orders take-out, she tries to balance out the meal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She highlights that along with burgers and fries, there are some healthier options on the menu.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For example, she suggests swapping soda out for milk and she highlights that McDonald’s sells apple slices – which contain just 15 calories per bag – and these make for a refreshing accompaniment to cut through the grease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Similarly Nikki Fata, a registered dietitian based out of Chicago, told HuffPost\u00a0<\/a>McDonald’s is ‘a welcome option for me and my future children’.<\/p>\n

She acknowledges that fast food is an affordable and convenient option for many people.<\/p>\n

And she highlights that it can be nutritious, with many items packed with essential carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.<\/p>\n

\"Heidi <\/p>\n

Heidi McIndoo, a registered dietitian based out of Boston, says she lets her children have McDonald’s and no food should be branded ‘bad’ or ‘good’<\/p>\n

\"Julia <\/p>\n

Julia Cassidy, a dietitian and eating disorder specialist with Eating Recovery Center in California , says that demonizing certain foods can cause children to develop an unhealthy relationship with eating<\/p>\n

Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n

Fata explains:\u00a0‘Whether it’s a Big Mac, French fry, chicken nugget or McFlurry, each one of these options contains vital nutrients for the human body: carbohydrates, fat, protein and various micronutrients.<\/p>\n

‘I wouldn’t recommend only eating McDonald’s for every meal, every day of the week, but I also wouldn’t recommend eating any other food or type of food for every meal, every day of the week.’<\/p>\n

Award-winning nutritionist\u00a0Kate Llewellyn-Waters previously told DailyMail.com that if you are opting for fast food, she would recommend pizza over McDonald’s or food from a similar restaurant.<\/p>\n

‘A healthy pizza loaded with a mix of different veggies and a good-quality protein source, such as tuna, eggs, can be high in fiber, protein, healthy fats, calcium, vitamins and minerals, and is fine to be included in a balanced diet once a week,’ Llewellyn-Waters explained.<\/p>\n

‘Opt for a nutrient-dense, good quality pizza over a McDonald\u2019s, which is ultra-processed, deficient in nutrients, and contains numerous chemical additives.<\/p>\n

‘I would advise keeping these types of fast-food takeaways, which are devoid of any beneficial nutrients, to the complete minimum.’<\/p>\n

However, no matter what you eat, Llewellyn-Waters points out that the portion size is key, especially if you’re watching your weight.<\/p>\n

‘If the portion size is too large this can be double the calories or more even of a not-so great nutritional value takeaway [such as McDonald\u2019s]. So, watch the portion sizes.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Burgers and fries are usually a no-no for health conscious consumers and parents trying to feed their kids…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":72042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,485,5127,100,137,532],"class_list":{"0":"post-72041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-dailymail","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}