Do you think McDonald's fries are normal fries as you can do at home? The answer is no ! Indeed, McDonald's fries contain more than 10 ingredients, which should be reason enough to avoid them. Because in reality, how many ingredients do you really need to make fries apart from potatoes and vegetable oil?
Grant Imahara, on his television science show, made a startling discovery by visiting a McDonald's fries plant and researching fries to find out exactly what they are made of.
Are Mcdonald's fries really dangerous?
After several tests, here is a list of the ingredients in McDonald's fries:
- Potatoes
- Colza oil
- Soybean oil
- Hydrogenated soybean oil
- Natural beef flavor
- Wheat Hydrolyzed
- Hydrolyzed milk
- Tertiary butylhydroquione (TBHQ)
- dimethyl polysiloxane
- Dextrose
The 3 toxic ingredients on the list are TBHQ, dimethylpolysiloxane and hydrogenated soybean oil.
Dimethyl polysiloxane
Dimethylpolysiloxane, also called polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is a type of silicone. It is a non-biogradable synthetic substance. It is commonly used in items such as contact lenses or medical devices. It is even contained in shampoos and detanglers, because the properties of PDMS give the hair shine and makes them smooth.
PDMS, under high temperature conditions, is known to break down into compounds that include formaldehyde. This last element is qualified as carcinogenic to humans by the National Toxicology Program.
TBHQ
According to Dr. O'Keefe, a professor of food science at Virginia Tech, it is a synthetic antioxidant added to foods to prevent or delay oxidation. Oxidation leads to a loss of flavor and color quality and can even make foods toxic. In addition, oxidation causes the breakdown of vitamins, leading to a loss of nutritional value.
TBHQ, which stands for tert-butylhydroquinone, is commonly used in foods such as cookies, microwave popcorn, butter and chicken nuggets. Dr. O'Keefe explained that it is not made from butane as it says on the Internet, it does not contain butane but contains a tertiary butyl group.
According to the Centers for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a government study found that this additive increased the incidence of tumors in rats. And according to the National Library of Medicine (NLM), cases of impaired vision have been reported when humans consume TBHQ.
TBHQ has also been blacklisted in the Feingold Diet, a diet dedicated to the management of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. In other words, health experts recommend that people with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) should stay away from TBHQ.
Hydrogenated soybean oil
This ingredient may seem the least dangerous of the first two, but it is not. Also known as processed fat, health experts call this oil the worst fat, far worse than saturated fat.
According to Dr. Mercola, a specialist in alternative medicine and osteopath, hydrogenated oil can cause cancer, obesity, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, weakened immune system, increased bad cholesterol and reproductive problems. Many of these problems are directly related to processed fat present in the partially hydrogenated oil.
Hydrogenated oil is something that absolutely can not be found in nature. The process used to synthesize this oil increases the dangers. The concern about hydrogenated soybean oil does not only involve the hydrogenation process, it also concerns the soybean itself.
Researchers now find that soy is very dangerous. 90% of the soybeans grown in the world is a genetically modified crop that is extremely rich in fat. The high fat content of soybean oil is aggravated by the hydrogenation process.
Mcdonald's reaction
In a statement to Global News, a Canadian television channel, McDonalds said that after listening carefully to its customers and identifying some of the challenges the company faces, McDonald's has created a seamless line of communication via the interactive platform of online questions and answers.
That Mcdonald's is more transparent about what's going on in their food is good. But the question that arises is whether it will really eliminate the dangerous ingredients contained in its foods.
Feel free to share this article to warn your friends and family about the dangers of the ingredients in McDonald's fries!
