McDonald's baked goods -- including McGriddles, McDonaldland cookies, and biscuits -- now have 0 grams of trans fat per serving. Apple pies and baked cookies will be in that group by the end of the year. McDonald's fried pies, which aren't served nationwide, will have 0 grams of trans fat in June 2008, according to McDonald's web site.
The world's largest fast-food chain said Thursday that it had switched to a trans-fat-free cooking oil in all its U.S. and Canadian restaurants. McDonald's chief executive said french fries, hash browns and other fried foods are now cooked in a blend of canola, corn and soybean oil.
trans fat and mcdonalds
The world's largest fastest food chain has announced that it has switched to non-trans-fat cooking oil in all its U.S. and Canadian restaurants. McDonald's chief executive said French fries, hash browns and other friend foods are now cooked in a blend of Canola, corn and soybean oil. Trans-fats are believed to increase the risk of heart disease and restaurant chains are under pressure to switch to different oil. McDonald's has been slower than others, partly out of a concern over taste.
So where does trans fat come from? There are two types: man-made artificial trans fats and naturally-occurring ones. Artificial trans fats are created when hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oils, a process that turns the oil solid. Man-made trans fat can be found in baked goods and fried foods under the name "partially hydrogenated oil." Natural trans fats are made in the gut of some animals, which is why you'd find the fat in meat and dairy products. Trans fats can hide in obvious places (like fried foods and monstrous burgers) and not-so-obvious ones (like, for example, the coleslaw at Long John Silver's has one gram of the stuff in the family size).
To get your health in check and stave off heart disease, the team at Eat This, Not That! set out to discover the restaurant meals with the most trans fat, so that you know what to avoid when eating out. In order to compile a list of the foods with high trans fat content at popular restaurants, we assessed the nutritional information of popular appetizers, side dishes, entrees, and desserts and included the picks with more than two grams of trans fat. We ranked these menu items from bad to worst according to trans fat content and broke ties by deferring to our secondary metric, calorie count. Find out which 30 restaurant foods have the most trans fat.
Arby's definitely "has the meats," but it also serves up an incredulous amount of trans fat and sodium in its beef and cheddar roast beef sandwich. Nearly half of this sammy's calories come from fat, too!
With two beef patties, a load of cheese, and way too much bacon, we're not surprised that this monstrous burger carries two grams of trans fat. In addition to that, the Baconzilla also houses 23 grams of saturated fat, which amounts to over two days' worth!
Stacked with a half-pound of beef, a double dousing of special sauce, two slices of cheese, and three slices of bread, the Grand Mac is definitely one of the worst items you can order at the golden arches. This sandwich boasts two grams of heart-disease-triggering trans fat, as well as the equivalent amount of total fat as almost five small packets of McDonald's fries.
Who knew that a chocolate strawberry shake could clock in at nearly 1,000 calories and two grams of artery-clogging trans fat? Wienerschnitzel manages to sneak those scary nutritionals in, so you're better off saying sayonara to dessert at the burger joint.
You might think that ordering a burger with mushrooms is a better choice than ordering a bacon-topped sandwich, but not at Whataburger. This sammy rings in two grams of trans fat and 360 more calories than its bacon and cheese Whataburger.
Yikes: 1,200 calories, over three days' worth of saturated fat, and about four days' worth of sugar? Keep checking the nutrition panel, and you'll also spot two grams of trans fat in Sonic's Oreo chocolate shake. This dessert is definitely not worth a sip.
Not only does this Buffalo wing dish come packed with crinkle fries and Texas toast (which are made up of fat and refined carbs) but it also packs in various fat-laden sauces. You'll get two grams of trans fat in this dish, along with the salt equivalent of 217 Rold Gold pretzel sticks!
This larger-than-life meatloaf has 2.5 grams of trans fat. Instead of opting for the massive 10.2-ounce meatloaf, go for the kid's portion, which clocks in at 240 calories, 1 gram of trans fat, 460 milligrams of sodium, and 13 grams of protein.
This BK offer comes with a half-pound of fatty beef, a hearty portion of thick-cut smoked bacon, American cheese, ketchup, and mayo, all sandwiched between a soft sesame seed bun. Sounds like a one-way ticket to heart disease, if you ask us! Opt for the Bacon King Jr., and you'll save a whopping 580 calories, 2.5 grams of artery-clogging trans fat, and a half day's worth of bloating sodium.
Wendy's triple-patty-burger contains three-quarters of a pound of beef, in addition to processed American cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled, ketchup, mayo, and onion on a toasted bun. While most of the trans fat is coming from the beef and cheese, just because it's naturally-occurring, it doesn't give you the green light to dig into this burger. If you're craving a burger at Wendy's, get one of the Jr. options to cut back on heart-taxing trans fat.
If you're looking to raise your LDL cholesterol and heart disease risk, this is the dish to order on the regular. And no, we're not condoning that. The Louisiana Chicken Pasta contains a whopping four grams of trans fat coming from the oil-doused fried chicken and a preposterous amount of cheese.
Cheese curds and bacon topped over a fatty patty lend this burger 85 of Lay's chips worth of fat. You'll also find four-and-a-half Big Macs worth of trans fat in this monstrous sandwich from Buffalo Wild Wings.
Burger King's triple-stacked burger contains a full day's worth of sodium and nearly double the amount of saturated fat as McDonald's massive Quarter Pounder with Cheese. Blame it on the -pound beef patty, smoky bacon, melted American cheese, and the sugary Stacker sauce. Plus, there are five grams of trans fat in this massive burger!
The Cheesecake Factory is home to some of the fattiest meals on the planet, and this spicy-chicken-topped appetizer is no exception. In addition to sneaking in a whopping five grams of trans fat, these nachos also pack in as much sodium as 1.6 teaspoons of salt, a double whammy against your heart!
Outback may be known for its Bloomin' onion appetizer, but that shouldn't give you the green light to order it off the menu. The calorie, sodium, and carb counts are excessively high, but the trans fat content is the most outrageous. It's clear that Outback fries its onion in partially-hydrogenated oil, which means you're way better off skipping this fried app.
Almost 4,000 calories, 10 days' worth of saturated fat, and 16 grams of trans fat (scary stuff!) deems this dish the absolute worst on our list. Where's all the fat coming from? The batter-dipped fish, crispy butterfly shrimp, seafood-stuffed crab shells, and hush puppies are all fried in heart-taxing oil.
The group said by changing to the new reduced trans fat cooking oil, McDonald's sales will not be adversely affected, noting that Doritos snack brand saw strong growth driven by Doritos Salsa last year and the move to remove all trans fats.
In Europe and the US, food makers are under growing pressure from consumer groups to cut the trans fat content in food products. Last year Denmark became the first country in the world to ban trans fats from food products over fears these hydrogenated fats could contribute to heart disease. While the EU has yet to reach a position on the labelling of these artery-clogging fats, changes are likely as consumer bodies keep up the pressure for tougher labelling and call on industry to use alternatives.
Kraft foods said earlier this year that it had launched a trans fat free version of its iconic Oreo biscuit. The move follows a court case against Kraft's owner Nabisco - which attracted massive media attention in the US - whereby BanTransFats called on the firm to remove the biscuits from sale because of the harm trans fats could cause to children.
The case was later withdrawn because the lawyer who filed the suit said the publicity surrounding the case accomplished what he set out to do: create awareness about the dangers of trans fat. Kraft is now leading the way in efforts to reduce trans fatty acids in food products.
The Whopper, Burger King's signature sandwich, contains 1.5 grams of trans fats. The more meat the higher the trans fat level, however, so if you decide to make it a Triple Whopper, that'll set you back a full four grams (not to mention 1,160 calories and 75 grams of fat).
Even though donuts and biscuits have historically been loaded with trans fats, Dunkin' Donuts has done a great job of eliminating them from just about every menu item. Because trans fats occuer naturally in milk, though, there's no way to remove it from their creamy frozen beverages. Their Large Frozen Coffee Coolata with cream (instead of skim milk), for example, contains 1.5 grams of trans fats. And if you're curious, the only donut they offer with quantifiable trans fats is the chocolate caramel donut.
Should you decide to order the ungodly Triple with Cheese at Wendy's it contains 4 grams of trans fats, but the more patties you add to a burger the higher the trans fat count. So for Wendy's we took the Baconator, which is a dish unto itself (as opposed to just a triple; you could also order a quadruple if you wanted), to be their high water mark: it contains 2.5 grams of trans fats.
Believe it or not, the highest trans-fat menu item at Dairy Queen doesn't involve ice cream, which contains naturally-occuring trans fats (even though just about every ice cream-based menu item contains at least .5 grams of it). It's the foot-long chili cheese dog, which contains 2.5 grams. 2ff7e9595c
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