--- description: People think burgers are healthy. Here's how to make them healthier. title: Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Diet & Nutrition](/tag/dietnutrition/) ## Diet & Nutrition Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 5:24 PM CUT  Horizontal Shot of Double Chronic Burger at Mom's Burgers with two patties, chees, fried egg, tomato, pickle, bacon, lettuce, mustard, french fries Horizontal Shot of Double Chronic Burger at Mom's Burgers with two patties, chees, fried egg, tomato, pickle, bacon, lettuce, mustard, french friesGetty Images by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 23, 2016 5:24 PM CUT A [new survey](http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/four-in-five-americans-agree-burgers-are-a-good-source-of-nutrients "undefined") reveals that 82% of Americans who eat hamburgers think that the sandwich is a good source of nutrients. Researchers with the market research group Mintel polled 1,767 Americans who had ordered a burger from a restaurant in the last three months. 62% of the people said they love burgers—and the numbers were strong even among Millennials, the generation most likely to say that menu healthiness is important to them when they choose a restaurant. Americans’ obsession with burgers isn’t surprising, but the sandwich’s perceived healthiness is, given the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) [recently announced](http://time.com/4086858/who-meat-cancer/ "undefined") that processed meat is a carcinogen and red meat likely causes cancer. While burgers are good sources of protein, iron and vitamin B12, they come with a lot of problems, [according to nutrition experts](http://time.com/3947163/burgers-red-meat/ "undefined")—particularly the fatty meat, sugary ketchup and refined grain buns. The new survey did find that even burger lovers know they could choose a healthier sandwich. People want more chicken and turkey burgers, the survey found, which are considered healthier options. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/"},"headline":"Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy","datePublished":"2016-05-23T17:24:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T17:46:04.011Z","description":"Health experts may disagree","url":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","burgers","red meat"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9248ac6f388a9ed0/69889469ab6d77b0886a9cde/burgers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Double cheeseburger with egg, bacon & french fries","caption":"Double cheeseburger with egg, bacon & french fries","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4345052/burgers-healthy-red-meat/","name":"Most Americans Think Burgers Are Healthy"}}]}] ```