I don’t recommend eating French fries regularly because they contain too many calories and too much fat. Even worse, they are a major source of deadly trans-fats. 

But I also recognize that people love the taste, so if you have to have them order the smallest size (310 cal and 13g fat) and share them with a friend. Go easy or you’ll regret it the next time you hop on the scale.

Trans-fats are another story. They are created by bubbling hydrogen gas through vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation. Trans-fats worsen blood-cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. In fact, they are harder on the heart than saturated fat.

Because they are so bad for your health, the amount of trans-fats in our foods is now limited to .5 g per serving.  (This is still too much because trans-fats accumulate in the bloodstream and can add up fast.)

Since French fries are one of the worst offenders, many of the chains have promised they would greatly reduce the amount.  But a new investigation by Consumer Reports reveals that some of the chains are fibbing to us.

In fact, two of the major fast-food chains are putting more fat in their fries. 

A small order of fries from Wendy's claims to have 1 gram of trans-fat, but Consumer Reports found it actually contains 2.7 g, on average.

Burger King is misstating their trans-fat levels, too. They claim no more than 6 g for a small order of fries, but Consumer Reports found 8.2 grams.

And what about the leader of the pack, McDonald's?  They actually had a tiny bit less than the advertised amount of  8 g – still too much.

The best score went to Arby's, who said their small fries contain only have 1 g. Testing revealed even less.

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