Giving French Fries A Bad Name

In the world of healthy eating, French Fries are getting a bad name. The make up of a fry can vary greatly from chip to chip. They may all look the same but a chemical analysis of different frys tells a different story, with some getting the all clear and others being downright unhealthy. The variety of potatoes and oils used for cooking them can affect the nutition content of a chip massively.

The big culprit are the trans fatty acids which are not natural fats but fats artificially created with hydrogen being mixed into vegetable oil. This procedure is called hydrogenation and is used by food producers in order to keep produce from going off and to create a better tasting product.

These trans fatty acids, nick named trans fats are in fact saturated fats which have a much higher cooking temperature and are easy to cook with but are very high in bad fat. Like butter and animal fats which are saturated fats, trans fats raise levels of dangerous cholesterol and diminish the beneficial cholesterol. This puts a strain on our health and on the heart and cardiovascular cycle.

The FDA in the United States has ordered all food processors to have clear labelling on packaging to outline the level of trans fatty acids to inform the consumer of exactly what type of fat is present and what quantity he or she is eating. Today it is estimated that in the US about forty per cent of all food eaten is processed food which tends to be high in trans fats. The simple French Fry is said to contribute to close to a quarter of that. McDonald's Restaurant and other high street food chains are being targeted for the fact that the products that they sell are notoriously high in these trans fats.

Research shows that some oils used for frying are better for you than other ones. For example olive oil, palm kernel oils and avocado oil are better for you than using hydrogenated vegetable oils. However the reason that the bad hydrogenated oils continue to be used is due to it being cheap and it enables the chips that are cooked to stay tasty for a longer time.

This can be the difference between a good tasting and bad tasting fry in a fast food outlet. Using other more healthy oils would reduce the taste quality of the fry and would also push up costs for the cooking. Some oil refiners are saying that they are looking into making a good amnd healthy hydrogenated saturated oil which doesn't have trans fats but unless the public actually stop eating fries made with the trans fats there is not much of an economic justification.

Potatoes are actually not bad for you on their own, and if cooked well can be tasty too. It seems that it is just the unhealthy cooking that is giving the French Fry a bad name.