They are served as a complement to the main dish or as a snack, but the reality is that the most normal servings contain more calories than the rest of the meal
The most common amount of French fries that are given as an individual portion in a fast food restaurant is around 55. In the case of larger menus, it is even higher: as long as it is advertised as double, giant, or something similar, there are many more.
Eric Rimm, scientist, and nutritionist at Harvard University has recently argued that they are so harmful that we should not take more than six at a time to avoid the negative consequences of their consumption.
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Rimm has sparked a debate and even a critical reaction on social networks such as Twitter, where many users have ridiculed the meager amount.
In addition, these servings are generally considered as a companion, so their impact on our body is even worse since we are ingesting more calories.
For example, a large serving of Mcdonald’s fries contains 510 calories, just 30 fewer than a Big Mac.
The basic menu of these chain restaurants shows a very worrying approximate figure: about 1,300-1,400 calories, of which French fries take second place behind hamburgers.
Taking into account that we need about 2,200 calories a day, a single meal of this type already covers 60% of the entire day: the preferred side is a starch bomb, as Rimm explained.
The nutritionist’s figure is very low, but even if other more generous expert recommendations are followed, which establish around 15 – slightly more than double the maximum amount proposed by Rimm – it would be much lower than the more normal servings that we usually find, to say about 50-60.
Less years of life
The big nutritional problem is that two factors are added: carbohydrates from the processed tuber, since they are usually potatoes already cut and treated, which considerably raise the level of glucose in the blood.
This is added to fries as they are fried at high temperatures, they add fats that damage the arteries. Most of the time the amount far exceeds 15 potatoes, but it also creates an eating habit that is difficult to eradicate.
The warning about the disproportionate consumption of potato chip rations has already been dealt with extensively by nutritionists. The Department of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard University, which is headed by T. H. Chan, has been especially belligerent against its consumption.
The other main source that has been used in the Anglo-Saxon media is a macro-study published last year in the ‘American Journal of Clinical Nutrition’, in which the consumption of chips of 4,440 individuals between 45 and 79 for eight years was monitored.
The conclusions focused more on the frequency and habit of consumption associated with an increased risk of premature death.
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