Are McDonald's French Fries the Most Unhealthy Fast Food?

You see those golden arches beckoning in the distance and your foot slowly eases off the gas pedal. An order of crispy McDonald's French fries would sure taste good. If you give in to your cravings for a packet of their famous fries, how badly are you hurting your health? Are McDonald's French fries one of the most unhealthy fast foods out there?

Let's do a nutritional analysis of McDonald's French fries and see how bad those golden fries really are:

Calorie Content

A small pack of McDonald's French fries is going to set you back around 250 calories without the catsup. But who eats French fries without ketchup? If you go a bit crazy and opt for the large order of fries, you'll be taking in around 570 calories. A small order of fries is not unreasonable from a calorie standpoint as long as you eat healthy for the rest of the day. The large order may be fine for a splurge, but could certainly pack on the pounds if you eat them on a frequent basis.

Fat content

A small order of McDonald's French fries has 13 grams of fat with 2.5 grams of that being saturated fat. With 117 calories coming from fat and a total of 250 calories in a small order, 47% of the calories comes from fat. This is not a good ratio. The American Heart Association recommends eating foods where the fat content is 20% or less of total calories. McDonald's fries certainly strike out from a fat standpoint. There's also the issue of trans fats. Fortunately, McDonald's is in the process of converting over to trans fat free oils which should make their fries less unhealthy.

Carbohydrates

A small packet of McDonald's French fries has a total carbohydrate content of 30 grams with 3 grams of fiber. Certainly if you're following a low carb diet, you'll want to avoid a carbohydrate load this high. Plus, potatoes are a high glycemic carb meaning they can wreck havoc with your insulin levels which can promote weight gain. If you're watching carbs, you may want to reconsider indulging in even a small packet of fries from McDonald's.

Sodium content

A small packet of fries from McDonald's has around 140 mg. of Sodium. The American Heart Association recommends restricting sodium content to 2,000 mg. per day or less. While 140 mg isn't horrible, this value will certainly go up if you sprinkle extra table salt on your fries and douse them in high sodium ketchup. Unfortunately, these added seasonings sure make them taste good!

Other health issues

There's another important health issue related to French fries that's less well publicized. Studies have shown that many fried foods, particularly fast food French fries, are high in a substance known as acrylamides, which are thought to be associated with an increased risk of cancer. A large order of McDonald's fries had one of the highest levels of acrylamides of the foods tested at 72 micrograms. This is at least three times what the EPA will allow in a cup of water. This is certainly food for thought if you're concerned about your cancer risk.

In conclusion, McDonald's fries certainly don't make the grade from a health and nutrition standpoint. They could even be considered one of the most unhealthy fast foods, particularly since fast food restaurants coming out with healthier alternatives. Besides being high in calories, fat, and carbs, they offer little in the way of solid nutritional value. If you consider them to be a splurge, you probably won't do harm to yourself by having an occasional order, but just don't make them a part of your daily diet.