Is Big Mac Healthier Than McDonald's Kale Salad? Find out Here!

• comments
• 
• 

Taking it at face value, you'd probably go for a salad over a burger whenever you are feeling like some health buff, right? Those amalgamation of greens and whatnots is, for the most part, the only saving grace inside a fast food chain.

Turns out, the kale salad from McDonald's may not be the better option as compared to one of its most popular sandwiches. According to a report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), one of the new kale salads from the fast food chain giant's menu contains more calories, fat and sodium as compared to a Double Big Mac.

"McDonald's boasts on its site that the "Keep Calm, Caesar On" chicken salad contains "real parmesan petals" and "a nutrient-rich lettuce blend with baby kale," wrote CBC.

"But once you plop the accompanying Asiago Caesar dressing on the "crispy chicken" version, the salad's nutritional profile doesn't look so good. According to McDonald's own numbers, the salad tops up at 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of salt."

The Double Big Mac, on the other hand, contains 680 calories, 38 grams of fat and 1,340 milligrams of salt.

Riding on the rise in popularity of kale, which is hailed as one of the superfoods, McDonald's decided to incorporate the green, leafy vegetable into its menu in 2015. This move was also done to offer healthier alternatives for the customers and change the notion of unhealthy eating linked with fast food items. McDonald's is hoping this could also help boost its lagging sales.

In another report from WTOP, the McDonald's Premium Southwest Salad was also compared to a Big Mac. The salad, which has black beans, roasted tomatoes and peppers all on top of romaine, baby spinach and baby kale, also prove to be a less healthier choice when the cheese, ranch dressing, and buttermilk chicken were all added into the mix.

The salad has 710 calories, 43 grams of fat and over 1,300 milligrams of salt compared to the Big Mac's 540 calories, 28 grams of fat and 970 milligrams of salt.

According to Adam Grachnik, spokesperson for McDonald's, the customers still have the option to choose items on their menu and modify them for a healthier choice. "[They] have the choice to have a salad with or without dressing, select a burger without the bun, choose their chicken protein crispy or grilled," he told CBC.

"Eating at McDonald's can fit into a balanced lifestyle," he added. "You just have to ask the crew to reduce sodium, fat or calories to best suit the customers' needs."