We are all guilty of thinking that fries make the perfect tasty side dish for any meal, and sometimes we crave eating a whole portion of fries just by themselves. Of course we all know that they aren’t the healthiest of things, but how bad for us really are they? Unfortunately, it turns out, they are very bad! In fact they are one of the worst things that we eat on a regular basis and here are the reasons why:
1) Sprinkling the Salt
Fries contain an enormous amount of salt! In fact in fast food restaurants, a medium order of fries has more than 10% of your daily intake of salt. And if you are one of those people that then adds more salt to their fries, then honestly you are putting your body through hell.
2) Soaking in Oil
A whopping 26% of your daily fat intake comes in just one medium portion of fries. A lot of this fat comes from the excessive oil that is used in preparing the fries. Not only is there a lot of oil, but the type of oil used can actually be highly dangerous. The chemical bonds in the hydrogenated vegetable oils often used in making fries become damaged through heating and reheating, which can cause severe health issues!
3) Skinned of nutrition
Most of a potato’s nutritional value comes from their skin. Peeling the potato to make fries therefore takes away most of the goodness. So the whole lie that we tell ourselves that fries count as one of our daily vegetables because they are made of potato, unfortunately doesn’t hold up.
4) Creating Toxic Chemicals
Acrylamide, a dangerous carcinogen can form during the process of making fries, because of the presence of sugars, an amino acid called asparagines and hot temperatures. Some studies suggest that this chemical has been linked to several types of cancer, so be warned, that bowl of chips really can have killer consequences.
5) Carbs
Fries contain a large amount of high glycemic carbohydrates which can have an effect on your insulin production. Meaning that instead of insulin processing nutrients in your body, it is instead putting fat into your blood stream. The resulting increase in blood sugar is particularly bad if you are diabetic, so be careful! Remember, it is not about the number of calories in food, it is about what form they come in. And the carbs in fries have the worst kind! So if you are trying to lose weight, cutting out fries is a must.
So instead of a plate of fries with a meal, try and order a side salad or even some garlic bread! Or when the craving from fries hits, make some home-made ones in the oven, that way you can keep on the skin and control the amounts of oil and salt included.