No Quiero Taco Bell: Why The Chain's New Breakfast Menu Is A Bad Way To Start Your Day
In a new effort to compete with fellow fast-food chains, Taco Bell has released its new breakfast menu that will debut to customers on March 27. The chain will also serve its breakfast until 11 a.m. in order to one-up the earlier closing of McDonald's 10:30 a.m. breakfast. The star of this new category is the Waffle Taco — a waffle shell that encases scrambled eggs, cheese, and bacon or sausage. Oh, and don’t forget the gooey syrup to top this all off. Many news wires and media outlets have been reporting that some customers are torn between the new menu additions — some either love it or some think it’s a terrible addition to the ever-growing American waistline. They expressed their thoughts via Twitter yesterday.
“Just when I thought Taco Bell couldn't get any better.” (@CollinJustin1)
“Good morning everyone. Anyone else counting down to when Taco Bell starts serving breakfast earlier.” (@mourningsend)
“Taco Bell has a new breakfast menu! Now you can get your diarrhea out of the way first thing in the morning.” (@savvystrider)
“I feel as gross as I do after eating there just from seeing Taco Bell's breakfast menu.” (@rikkilynn)
Agreeably, as we look closer at the menu, you might tend to side with the latter group of individuals.
According to their online menu, many of the Taco Bell breakfast sandwiches and items listed under their breakfast menu have a caloric content exceeding 400 calories, not to mention their high saturated fat and sodium content. The A.M. Crunchwrap with bacon has 650 calories, 40 grams of fat, and 50 grams of carbohydrates. Looking at the Food and Drug Administration recommendations of daily total fat consumption, the A.M. Crunchwrap accounts for more than half of the daily intake of 65 grams.
Moreover, their Waffle Taco, which has been their selling point in this new campaign, does not have a nutrition fact label on the chain's website. In fact, the only nutrition regarding the Waffle Taco, is the ingredients statement on the website. So before you start adding Taco Bell to your morning routine, you might want to reconsider making your own breakfast taco. Take a look at the new Waffle Taco's harmful ingredients:
1. Enriched Wheat Flour: This type of flour has been stripped of its nutrients in order to give the flour a longer shelf-life, prevent it from being a target for bugs, and to make it into a finer texture. However, since many of the nutrients in the product are removed, it's basically full of empty calories. Not only are the calories empty, but this type of white flour is also high on the glycemic index meaning that it will increase your blood sugar — leading to weight gain or blood sugar issues.
2. Natural And Artificial Flavor: This labeling on food products has many people scratching their heads. The misuse of the word "natural" is one that can tend to lead to confusion. Natural and artificial flavors are a combination of man-made flavors. According to The Huffington Post, “natural flavors come from nature, but that doesn't mean they come from what the label says. “In other words, a strawberry flavor doesn't have to come from a strawberry (ditto on french fries).” This might not seem like such a big deal, but since the FDA does not require manufactures to list the flavor additives on the ingredients list, chances are many people are not aware of what they are eating. These can sometimes cause allergic reactions or other unpleasant side effects, such as headaches. Monosodium glutamate, also known as MSG, is a common “natural ingredient,” and according to the Mayo Clinic has been linked to headaches, chest pains, nausea, and weakness.
3. Tertiary Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ): This ingredient found in eggs is a petroleum-based preservative. It’s found in many foods as well as dog foods, cosmetic products, and varnishes. According to Natural News, the FDA does allow up to 0.2 percent of TBHQ to be used for human consumption, but long-term uses of this additive could lead to nausea, vomiting, and in children, it can also increase ADHD symptoms.