Two ugly truths about French fries
1. French fries contain loads of “bad fats”
You may say it’s one of the simplest ways to make a fast, delicious and filling meal to buy frozen bagged sliced potatoes, and fry them in oil. But… this is just the way to turn an innocuous vegetable such as potatoes into a harmful time bomb
Of course, a healthy diet also involves consuming fats, but it matters what food we eat to provide our body with these. Probably everybody has heard of saturated and unsaturated fats. The essential thing is to make sure most of the fats we consume are unsaturated, as these are the ones that have many health benefits. For example, they lower the level of cholesterol in the blood; also, they decrease inflammations and regulate heart rate. Unsaturated fats primarily come from plants, vegetables, seeds and nuts.
Saturated and trans-fats are the “bad fats”, as they increase the risk of many diseases, such as diabetes, heart and circulatory diseases and tumors. Trans-fats are made by hydrogenizing oils, and they are a preferred ingredient in food industry. Fries available in fast food restaurants and the freezers of grocery stores also contain trans-fats. These fats increase bad cholesterol level and they also increase the formation of blood clots that cause strokes or heart attacks.
2. French fries are veritable calorie bomb
Potatoes, in heir natural form, are not harmful to our health. However, we can make them unhealthy if we eat too much of them cooked in the wrong way. Potatoes, especially white potatoes used for French fries, are high in starch and carbohydrates. The human body transforms fast-absorbing carbohydrates into ready-to-use energy, or, if not used up, they are stored in the fat cells. If we eat white potatoes regularly, we must be certain that our weight will increase, unless we don’t use excess energy in exercise. That is, if we eat French fries, we should immediately run to the gym to work off carbohydrates or watch the numbers on the weight scale go up. In addition, white potatoes are proven to increase the level of blood sugar. Eating food high in carbohydrates also increases the risk of heart stroke and diabetes.
Unfortunately, children are not exempt from these risks as well. It is well known that they have to eat lots of carbohydrates for a healthy growth, but it is rarely specified what kind of carbohydrates they need. From early infancy, children should be introduced to slow-absorbing carbohydrates. For example, consuming whole wheat grains is a perfect choice, because they absorb slower and provide the amount of carbs necessary for the body for a longer time, and give a prolonged sense of fullness too. Make sure that children, together with us, abandon the habit of eating French fries, and start eating whole wheat grains. To little ones, offer whole wheat cereals for breakfast and a yummy pizza for dinner, made with whole wheat flour too.