I've been under some pretty crazy time pressure lately, and as a result I've been eating out way too frequently.  Most of the time I try to be pretty selective, and stay away from junk food. 

Last night I had all of about 10 minutes to get dinner for the whole family in between hectic activities, and I cracked.  I went to McDonald's.  The ignominy!  The shame!  The carbs!  The worst part, of course, was that it tasted really good.  Just like the cheap gastronomic crack that it is.  I shudder to think what it's doing to me even now.  I heaped on some extra flax seed oil on my cereal this morning to compensate.

Therein lies the problem with food like that.  It tastes good.  It's full of things that are rare in nature, and that our bodies therefore crave and have lots of taste receptors for.  And the occasional indulgence probably isn't too bad.  Or maybe I'm just rationalizing.  People who eat that kind of food all the time are hurting themselves.  Stay away!  It's not good for you. 

On the other hand (and I didn't know the rant would go this way, but there you have it) it's certainly not McDonald's fault that people are hurting themselves by eating their food.  The idea that people are suing fast food companies over being unhealthy is completely ludacris and inappropriate IMHO.  The fast food companies are catering to the market.  They don't make you eat there every day.  That's your choice.  It's up to consumers to understand that the food's not good for them, and that's hardly a secret.  Taking responsibility for your own health and nutrition is essential, and no one is going to do it for you.  Don't wait for your doctor to tell you to go on Lipitor, just eat better (and excercise, but that's a whole 'nother story).

OK, I'll stop now.  I'll go back to basking in the glow of my musli and soy yogurt with apples and bananas.  Ahhhhhh.