# McDonald's Really Messing With Me **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2010, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583 "2010-03-24T04:20:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/21 "2010-03-24T18:06:45Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Wait what kind of drugs are they using? I just had McDonald’s last night and, now, I’m very concerned. > > Should I see a doctor? I don’t have medical insurance though. > > Maybe I can induce vomiting. Simple carbs are the “drugs” they’re using. They provide no nutritional value other than giving people sugar crashes and a desire to consume more. And yes, if you spend a lot of time at McDonalds you should see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/22 "2010-03-24T18:24:04Z")
To me, Taco Bell is the only place that seems to be formulated so you can’t get enough. And maybe pizza places, but that just seems to be something about pizza. Still, I’m not sure I buy the simple carbs explanation by iteslf, as that would imply the OP never eats out anywhere. I’d say it’s more confirmation bias. You were told McDonald’s is drugged, so, when you got “evidence” of it, then it had to be true. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/23 "2010-03-24T18:44:00Z")
> [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](#): > > Wise as they are, the kids only drank some chocolate milk. Obviously the answer is here. McDonald’s didn’t drug you; your kids did. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/24 "2010-03-24T19:04:20Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > To me, Taco Bell is the only place that seems to be formulated so you can’t get enough. And maybe pizza places. Are you sure you don’t mean wing joints? Especially those that serve beer. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/25 "2010-03-24T19:12:05Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Are you sure you don’t mean wing joints? Especially those that serve beer. Weird. I wonder what kind of drug they give you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/26 "2010-03-24T19:29:38Z")
The ‘drugs in McDonalds’ myth was used as joke fodder in the early 90’s movie So I Married An Axe Murderer. Does anyone know if it was widespread before then? ---
**Author:** ![goodie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@goodie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goodie)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/27 "2010-03-24T19:46:47Z")
You were hungry. McD’s is SUPER low in fiber, won’t fill anyone up for long. No drugs. And thanks a lot, cuz now I want some. (Both.) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/28 "2010-03-24T23:44:51Z")
Not drugs, but careful ingredient selection and presentation: > [@Guardian UK](#): > > [“Higher sugar, fat and salt make you want to eat more.” I had read this in scientific literature, and heard it in conversations with neuroscientists and psychologists. But here was a leading food designer, a Henry Ford of mass-produced food, revealing how his industry operates. To protect his business, he did not want to be identified, but he was remarkably candid, explaining how the food industry creates dishes to hit what he called the “three points of the compass”.](http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/mar/13/obesity-salt-fat-sugar-kessler) The whole article is well worth a read. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/29 "2010-03-25T00:39:13Z")
> [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](#): > > Wise as they are, the kids only drank some chocolate milk. I, on the other hand, found myself eating their food as well as my own. Your kids are fattening you up, ready for the slaughter - and don’t want to spoil their appetites. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/30 "2010-03-25T01:01:31Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Yes, you were drugged by McDonalds. > > Allow me to introduce you to the guy who is convinced he was “gassed” because that is the only possible explanation to sleeping a long time after being awake for 30 some hours and travelling on an international flight. > > No, he wasn’t jet lagged and tired… and no you weren’t just plain hungry. Maybe they’re the same guy: while he was gassed, hotel employees in the pay of McDonald’s injected him with drugs so that the next time he ate McD’s he’d go mashuggenah with the eating. It all makes sense now! ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/31 "2010-03-25T01:35:48Z")
[quote=“Duckster, post:2, topic:533583”] So you believe that MacDonalds is illegally tainting their food so as you to eat more of it? Is that about right? You heard it from somewhere so it must be true? No, idiot, that’s not about right. I actually -ate- there and the experience was so horrific that maybe I will see a doctor - - - something’s just not normal over there. ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/32 "2010-03-25T01:38:08Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Yes, you were drugged by McDonalds. > > Allow me to introduce you to the guy who is convinced he was “gassed” because that is the only possible explanation to sleeping a long time after being awake for 30 some hours and travelling on an international flight. > > No, he wasn’t jet lagged and tired… and no you weren’t just plain hungry. Your response replies that I’ve never been hungry, or that something about the entire day was unusual (like an international flight) that would better explain the result. I’ve considered it, but my day just wasn’t that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/33 "2010-03-25T01:41:48Z")
> [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](#): > > I always feel hungry after eating McDonald’s (I only go when with a group and when they all _insist_ on going). I wouldn’t immediately put it down to drugs though, just that it’s poor quality food. I don’t know if there’s any scientific basis behind it, but it strikes me that my body is basically asking for more nutrition when it complains of hunger after McDonalds. Hmmmm . . . the first rational response. I’d buy that, but why don’t I have that experience with any other fast food or convenience store junk food? It must have been like some kind of nutritional vacuum and sucked every worthwhile molecule out of my body, the way I felt so hungry afterwards . . . ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/34 "2010-03-25T01:42:52Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > I know a lawyer with a hot cup of coffee in his hand who can help you sue McD’s! 😃 Get me his number. ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/35 "2010-03-25T01:45:29Z")
> [@Sister\_Vigilante](#): > > Do your kids not know what they like to eat? How old are they? To say such a thing, I suspect you don’t have kids. Mine are pretty finicky, though, and seem to randomly switch foods they adore and foods they hate completely. ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/36 "2010-03-25T01:48:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > There’s only one possible explanation: They only put drugs in the OP’s food. > Seriously though, it’s a pretty ridiculous first assumption to start thinking they must have drugged the food to want you make more. McD’s food is _made_ of the kinds of stuff that humans crave (fat, sugar, starch, salt) often beyond the limit of their self-control. > You want more because you’re the descendant of humans for whom these foods were not so abundant or easily obtained - for whom the craving to fill up while it’s available was a survival adaptation. Another rational response. A couple questions: What’s an OP? and . . . . what’s special about McDonalds’ fat, sugar, starch, and salt? I’ve never had this experience at other fast food places. ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/37 "2010-03-25T01:51:19Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > You probably had a lot of simple carbs, in the buns and fries, and a big load of them will cause your blood sugar to spike and then it comes crashing down, whereupon you are hungrier than ever. yes, I had a ton of carbs. And a ton of protein, too, in the burgers, fish filets, and chicken nuggets. Is this effect reduced by having protein? So you’re saying if I could force myself to eat a loaf of bread, I’d have the same response? (I can’t imagine eating a whole loaf of bread at once, unless of course I bought it at McDonald’s.) ---
**Author:** ![liberty3701](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@liberty3701](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liberty3701)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/38 "2010-03-25T01:51:57Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > The ‘drugs in McDonalds’ myth was used as joke fodder in the early 90’s movie So I Married An Axe Murderer. Does anyone know if it was widespread before then? That was KFC, not McDonald’s. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TPMS6tGOACo/hqdefault.jpg "So I Married An Axe Murderer(colonel sanders scene)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPMS6tGOACo) ---
**Author:** ![baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cdc98d/32.png) [@baprisbrey\_aol.com](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/baprisbrey_aol.com)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/39 "2010-03-25T01:53:06Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > If the food were drugged, wouldn’t your kids have eaten everything you got for them? So, that implys the McDrugs only work on adults. :dubious: You’re almost clever . . . except in my post I said the kids only drank the chocolate milk. The milk came in little sealed milk bottles, probably sealed at the dairy and preventing them from sticking their syringes in it . . . . ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583/40 "2010-03-25T01:55:07Z")
There is no such thing as a nutritional vacuum. What you experienced is a phenomenon known as confirmation bias. You experienced an unfamiliar feeling probably caused by a metabolic issue (being too hungry, eating food you don’t normally eat, low blood sugar, possible developing medical condition, etc. There’s literally more than a hundred reasons you could have felt the way you did) and associated it with McDonald’s reputation for serving unhealthy food and using some advanced psychology in their marketing. Combine that with the fact that you’ve heard McDonald’s might go as far as to drug their food to stimulate the feeling you had, and suddenly the one thing seems like evidence for the other. There’s plenty of reasons not to eat at McDonald’s, but “I’m afraid of being drugged” isn’t one of them. There probably isn’t a restaurant chain under more regulatory scrutiny than McDonald’s. The food just sucks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mcdonalds-really-messing-with-me/533583.md?page=3)