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If you've ever eaten at McDonald's, you NEED to see this!

This is a great documentary by independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock that takes a look at the dark side of the fast food industry. Spurlock, a 30-something-year-old guy in EXCELLENT health, decides to conduct an experiment and see what will happen if he goes on an all-McDonald's diet for 30 days. The rules are simple: he has to eat three square meals a day, and EVERYTHING he puts into his body has to come from McDonald's...he won't even have water unless it's bottled water that's sold at McDonald's.

Obviously, we know that this McDiet is going to have bad effects on Spurlock's body and his overall physical health. However, I was absolutely STUNNED at how severely all that crappy food messed him up, and how quickly it happened! This guy gained 10 pounds after only ONE WEEK on the McDiet, and by the end of the experiment he's in such bad shape that the doctors are comparing his liver damage to that of a severe alcoholic.

The one criticism I have about this movie is that even though Spurlock enlists in the help of numerous doctors and dietitians to monitor his progress, this can't be considered a very scientific experiment. People's bodies adjust to things differently, and it's also hard to prove that all of the symptoms Spurlock experienced (depression, fatigue) were a result of his terrible diet (it's very likely that they WERE, but I'm just saying it's impossible for him to prove). Still, because this guy was in such great shape to begin with, we get to see how a McDiet will weaken a perfectly healthy human being, and as I said before, it's really scary to see what happens to him.

In addition to the McDiet, Spurlock also sheds light on other aspects of the fast food industry. He details how a Chicken McNugget is made and reveals how much chicken it actually contains (not much). School cafeterias are also scrutinized as Spurlock investigates what types of food are being served to students in their school lunchrooms...his discoveries are quite frightening.

Throughout the course of the film, Spurlock makes about 200,000 calls to the McDonald's corporation asking for an interview. He never gets one. How shocking.

I haven't eaten at McDonald's in years, so "Super Size Me" only succeeded in reaffirming my belief that any food from that "restaurant" is basically a heart attack on a plate. I hope that more people will begin to reassess their diets and lifestyle choices after seeing this film.