Do You Want Fries With That?

Photo by Kalz📸🇺🇬 Michael: https://www.pexels.com/photo/fries-on-plate-2498440/

Eating reasonably well whether to lose weight, or just for general health purposes, can often be achieved with a few strategic changes in what you eat and how much and how often you eat certain foods.

One extremely popular food in the United States that we’d all really be better off to avoid is French fries. Now, most people think of fried food in general as being unhealthy, but there’s a huge range in the quality and composition of fried foods.

Pan frying fresh vegetables in fresh extra virgin olive oil is a bit different from deep frying oreos in a fryer that last had its oil changed… well, never!

In general, the more you heat and cool, and heat again, cooking oil, the greater the amount of toxins that develop in it. This is particularly true of polyunsaturated seed and vegetable oils like soybean and canola. The chemical structure of the fats in these oils makes them subject to chemical breakdown when heated that results in toxic and even carcinogenic substances forming in them. One-time use as in pan frying isn’t so bad (and using an air fryer avoids the issue altogether), but deep fryers with oil that’s used over and over again can definitely reach levels of toxic substances that are decidedly unhealthy.

Generally, polyunsaturated oils are used in deep frying because you need a lot to fill a fryer and they’re cheaper than other cooking oils such as mostly monounsaturated olive and avocado oils, and saturated fats like coconut oil and butter. Polyunsaturated oils also enjoy a somewhat undeserved reputation as being healthy (when uncooked, yes, but when repeatedly heated, not so much!). A lot of restaurants will even brag that they use cholesterol-free cooking oils to try to make you think their food is healthier than it is (frankly, you’re a lot better off with the cholesterol!).

Even the same food in different locations of the same restaurant chain can vary in terms of their nutrient and toxin content, because one location may be more conscientious about changing their fryer oil than another.

In addition, some foods pick up more of the toxins in the oils than others. This brings me back to French fries. They’re sticks of highly-absorbent starch, which means that pound for pound (and calorie for calorie) they’re likely going to suck up a lot more of the bad stuff in the oil than a lot of other foods, such as fried fish or chicken.

For those watching their weight, fries are also giant calorie bombs – deep fried carbs! They’re pretty much the definition of “empty” calories!

But they are delicious! And while it would be best to just say no to French fries, sometimes you just might not be able to turn them down.

This is where the “how much and how often” part from the first sentence of this article comes in. If you eat a small order of fries once or twice a month, the damage is minimal – enjoy them in moderation as an occasional treat!

On the other hand, “super-sizing” your order and doing it a few times (or more) each week is likely going to cause some problems – and not just weight gain. Significant amounts of the toxins in deep-fried french fries consumed regularly over a long period of time will likely have some detrimental effects on your health. At the very least, your liver is probably going to get a little stressed and want to slap you!

But if you are trying to lose weight and/or maximize your health, kicking fries to the curb is one fairly simple measure you can take that can make a noticeable difference in the long-run!

Until next time…

George F. Best, D.C.