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Bryan Johnson Orders Taco Bell's Most Popular Menu and Reads Off What's Inside

Bryan Johnson · ▶ 22:44 · 15 min read
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Overview

In this video, Bryan Johnson goes to Taco Bell for the first time in about 20 years, orders the chain's most popular items, and goes through them one by one. For each item, Johnson describes how it looks and smells, then lists ingredients and nutrition figures they consider harmful. The central question is simple: how bad is Taco Bell food? Johnson's answer is blunt from the start. They call most of the menu ultra-processed, not really food, and argue that American capitalism "pointed its powers at food. Not to feed us, but to addict us." Johnson also claims that over half of what the US eats every day is ultra-processed.

15 min read

The video mixes nostalgia with criticism. Johnson describes midnight Taco Bell runs as a teenager and repeatedly imagines going back to tell 16-year-old Bryan what was in the food. The health claims below are presented as Johnson's claims and the studies Johnson cites. The video does not include independent verification of them.

Crunchwrap Supreme: A Better Smell Hiding the Same Problems

The first item out of the bag is the Crunchwrap Supreme. Johnson notes how heavy it is and how much oil has seeped through the packaging. They also admit to liking the design, where the tortilla is folded in and browned "like a blooming as a flower," and remember enjoying that browning as a kid. The smell, Johnson says, doesn't immediately read as fast food. It smells like any Mexican restaurant.

According to Johnson, the Crunchwrap contains processed beef, emulsifiers, and a lot of sodium. Their main point is aluminum. Johnson says the outer tortilla alone contains 2.6 mg of aluminum, and cites a study of 1,925 people followed over 15 years. In that study, ingesting more than 0.1 mg of aluminum through drinking water was associated with cognitive decline, Alzheimer's, and dementia. From this, Johnson calculates that one wrap a day would equal 26 times the aluminum amount referenced in the study.

Johnson then compares Taco Bell with McDonald's, which they reviewed in an earlier video. Holding McDonald's food, Johnson says, you feel repulsed because you can feel the oil and smell how processed it is. Taco Bell's aroma, by contrast, makes you think the food is somehow better. Johnson calls this the dangerous part, since in their view the bad ingredients are hidden behind that aroma.

Mexican Pizza and Johnson's View of Taco Bell as a Company

The Mexican Pizza arrives in a smashed box with oil soaked through. Johnson's reaction to the smell is immediate: "Oh my god. That's disgusting."

Johnson says that combining beef, cheese, and heat creates nitrosamines and HCAs, compounds they describe as potentially carcinogenic and shown to damage DNA. Johnson calls DNA damage a major pathway for aging, cancer, neurodegeneration, and chronic disease. They also point to calcium propionate, a preservative that Johnson says can worsen behavioral disorders, irritability, and ADHD in children.

After putting the pizza aside, Johnson explains how their view of the company has changed. As a young person, they thought Taco Bell was simply assembling a menu of low-cost food. As an adult who has "seen behind the curtain," Johnson now calls it an "inherently an amoral company" that profits from food addiction and people's declining health. Johnson expects the company would justify itself by saying it just gives people what they want, and says they don't accept that as a justification for its existence. Johnson calls Taco Bell "a menace to society" in ways that make society fundamentally worse.

Nacho Fries and the Imagined Product Meeting

Johnson finds the large Nacho Fries less appealing than McDonald's fries, which they describe as clean, narrow, and skinny. These potatoes look "pretty sad" to Johnson and are, again, oily. Johnson calls them a Dorito made as a fry and jokes about how such products get invented. They imagine a whiteboard listing "the 10 most destructive foods known" to humans, someone proposing a combination of two, and a colleague named "Nancy" being praised at lunch for "a banger idea." Nancy comes back later in the video as the running joke for Taco Bell's product team.

Johnson describes the fries as fried starch, heavily dyed with cheese powder, and loaded with sodium. They say the sodium is 75% of the daily recommended amount. The accompanying cheese sauce is so thick it won't move in its container, and Johnson compares it to Play-Doh. Fried starch, dried cheese powder, and a yellow sauce together are, in Johnson's words, a "triple deck layer death."

Johnson then speaks directly to Taco Bell fans. They say they understand them because they loved Taco Bell too, and remember the anticipatory dopamine clearly. Johnson's point is that no matter how often you feel sick after eating it, the craving doesn't stop. They describe this as trapping people in "this odd self-harm loop."

Doritos Locos Tacos and Synthetic Dyes

By the time Johnson opens the Doritos Locos Taco, the shell has gone soggy. It looks like a big Dorito chip. Framing it as something to tell their 16-year-old self, Johnson makes two points. First, they say the taco is full of artificial flavoring systems designed to keep you hungry. Second, its colors don't occur naturally. Johnson lists yellow 5, yellow 6, and red 40, and says these dyes have been found to carry contamination with benzidine, which they describe as a Group 1 carcinogen known to cause cancer. "It's like they're trying to kill us in my opinion," Johnson says.

Yum Brands and PepsiCo: Johnson's Point About Ownership

In the middle of the video, Johnson steps away from individual items to talk about corporate structure. They point out that Taco Bell is not an independent company. It belongs to Yum Brands, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut. According to Johnson, the three brands have different logos but share the same supply chain, technology, and marketing tricks. You may think you're choosing between tacos, pizza, and fried chicken, Johnson says, but you're really "just choosing which door to walk through into the same factory."

Johnson also explains why Taco Bell doesn't serve Coke. Yum Brands used to be owned by PepsiCo and split off in the 1990s. As part of that deal, Johnson says, Yum Brands signed a long-term exclusive beverage contract with PepsiCo, so PepsiCo gets a cut of every drink ordered at Taco Bell.

Beefy Five-Layer Burrito: Beef, Antibiotics, and Sodium

Johnson describes the Beefy Five-Layer Burrito as a brick that could hurt someone if thrown. It comes with the same cheese sauce as the fries and smells like a sour cream bean burrito. As with the Crunchwrap, Johnson notes that it seems like it might not be that bad at first.

Johnson then brings up what they call Taco Bell's "long weird history with beef." They contrast what you'd expect beef to contain, which is beef, with the seasoned beef ingredient list their team found. Johnson later calls it "like 40 ingredient beef." Johnson also mentions a horsemeat scandal in which some beef contained more than 10% horse DNA, specifies that this happened in Europe, and says they'll "forgive" Taco Bell for it.

Johnson says the biggest issue with the beef is antibiotics. They cite the Natural Resources Defense Council's 2019 Chain Reaction V report, which gave Taco Bell a D grade because its commitment to reducing antibiotic use in its beef supply was considered too modest and slow to address antibiotic resistance. Johnson says the antibiotics in the beef can damage your microbiome and even lead to antibiotic resistance in it.

The burrito also contains 1,290 mg of sodium, which Johnson says nearly maxes out what the American Heart Association considers reasonable for a day. Johnson anticipates the objection, "Horses lick salt. Why can't I?", and answers that sodium increases blood volume, which puts pressure on blood vessels.

Baja Blast: Sugar, Dyes, and Taco Bell's Clean-Label Claims

Johnson says the Baja Blast contains 111 g of sugar, which they estimate at about 28 sugar cubes. They call it drinking straight sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which Johnson describes as "the most processed sugar you can get." They admit it smells good and brings back childhood summers, playing outside with friends and wanting a cold drink. Still, Johnson says it has every characteristic that will cause diabetes "almost immediately in my opinion." Johnson recommends 20 g of sugar or less per day, and none if possible. By that standard, the drink is more than five times a reasonable amount.

The drink's blue color, which Johnson says evokes Bahamian water, comes from the synthetic dyes blue 1 and yellow 5. Johnson uses this to challenge Taco Bell's public claims. They note that the company has said it is replacing artificial colors and flavors with natural alternatives, yet Baja Blast still contains blue 1 and yellow 5, and Doritos Locos Tacos still contain yellow 5, yellow 6, and red 40. Johnson adds that products still contain what they call artificial flavors, naming MSG, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. They include a clip of a company representative describing efforts to reduce sodium, clean up labels, remove artificial colors and flavors, and eliminate trans fats. Johnson dismisses this as "marketing BS" and jokes that the representative must have "drawn the short stick" to say it publicly.

Cheesy Gordita Crunch: Saturated Fat and Preservatives

Johnson says the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, with its soft outer layer around a hard shell, smells exactly as they remember from 20 years ago. According to Johnson, it has 11 g of saturated fat, about as much as a Big Mac. They describe high saturated fat intake as causally linked to coronary narrowing and a higher heart attack risk, and tell viewers to imagine narrowing their arteries with every crunch.

Johnson also lists calcium propionate, which they link to decreased attention, sleep disturbance, and hyperactivity in children. The spicy ranch sauce contains sodium benzoate, which Johnson calls another contributor to hyperactivity in children. They cite a study involving 153 three-year-olds and 144 eight- and nine-year-olds.

Johnson also concedes the company's skill. They say Taco Bell has done "an absolutely phenomenal job at making addiction so fun," to the point where people hate themselves for eating it and then do it again anyway. "You have to give it to them," Johnson says.

Spicy Potato Soft Taco: Fries Inside a Taco

Johnson doesn't think the Spicy Potato Soft Taco existed when they used to eat at Taco Bell. They imagine its origin as another Nancy idea: fries sell well at fast food places, so why not put fries inside a taco?

Johnson says the taco has 28 g of refined carbohydrates, which they expect to spike blood glucose. They also say it contains hydrogenated oils with trans fats, which Johnson links to cardiovascular disease, inflammation, and some cancers. It shares additives with other items too. Johnson names sodium metabisulfite, which they describe as inflammatory and linked to allergic reactions, and benzoate, which they link to intolerance and increased hyperactivity, especially in children.

Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito and Marketing to Kids

The Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito gets the strongest nostalgic reaction. Johnson says they used to order this one, and demonstrates their old habit of squeezing a hot sauce packet onto it. "Man, this really does make me time travel," they say, adding that they and their friends "kind of lived off of Taco Bell." Johnson also mentions that they received about 30 hot sauce packets.

Although this is the vegetarian option, Johnson says it isn't healthier. They list hydrogenated oils, which Johnson links to cardiovascular disease, vascular dysfunction, inflammation, and multiple cancers. They also list sodium metabisulfite, which Johnson says triggers oxidative stress, inflammation, asthma, and allergic reactions, and which they say kills or harms normal human cells in lab dishes.

Johnson also argues that Taco Bell has focused heavily on marketing to children. They compare it to McDonald's Happy Meals and toys, and say Taco Bell has worked to get kids asking their parents to take them there and to make it teenagers' regular spot, as it was for Johnson and their friends. In Johnson's view, the company knows it is "starting the addiction early," at an age when kids can't yet judge where food falls.

Chicken Quesadilla: Saturated Fat, Sodium, and Sauce Additives

Johnson almost misses the chicken quesadilla, which is stuck at the bottom of the bag under the pile of hot sauce packets. They call it a long-standing staple of the menu.

According to Johnson, it contains 13 g of saturated fat, which they describe as the American Heart Association's maximum daily recommendation. Johnson links saturated fat to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. The quesadilla also has 1,250 mg of sodium, which Johnson puts at 83% of the daily recommended amount. The tortilla contains calcium propionate and aluminum, and Johnson repeats their earlier claim that these cause irritability and lack of focus in children. The jalapeño sauce contains potassium sorbate, which Johnson says potentially has mutagenic and genotoxic properties in human immune cells.

Cinnamon Twists and the Final Verdict

To finish, Johnson reveals that they also ordered Cinnamon Twists and says they couldn't stop themselves. Johnson says the item is identical to what they ate 30 years ago. They admit to liking them because they seem light, with just a sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon, and cinnamon is supposed to be good for you. As a kid, Johnson thought they "could be a lot worse."

The reveal is more mixed than for the other items. Johnson says the twists are only 170 calories but contain 10 g of added sugar. They acknowledge that everyone has sugar cravings and suggest saving the "sugar budget" for options like honey and polyphenol-rich fruit. Johnson also points out that the twists are deep fried, not baked, and says deep-frying carbohydrates exposes you to potentially cancer- and dementia-causing compounds. They add that the seed oil used for frying is reheated repeatedly, which Johnson says creates toxic compounds that lead to accelerated aging, cellular damage, and visible skin aging.

Johnson closes by speaking directly to viewers: "I am on your team. I am the loudest voice in your mind. Do not eat this garbage. You are better than that." They tell viewers that finding other ways to nourish themselves will make them happier and help them regain self-respect, and they call Taco Bell a terrible influence on everything good and virtuous that viewers want. The video ends with Johnson asking viewers which food establishment they should review, or in their words "take down," next.

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