A Harvard professor has come under fire for suggesting that people should only eat six french fries in one sitting. Eric Lim, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, commented in a New York Times article about how unhealthy french fries are.
“Not many people are going to return three-quarters of a pack of fries,” Lim said. “I wish it came with a side salad and six fries.” He also lamented Americans’ love of fried food, saying, “It’s a shame that in this country they’re trying to take it out of my cold, dead hands.”
On Twitter, people have strong feelings about his offering.
What kind of crazy person wants six fries? I know it’s bad for you, but eating six fries feels like torture. I’d rather not eat them. But we all know that’s not possible. 🍟 pic.twitter.com/dDT4HYjNUF
— ⚜️ηαтαℓιє ℓσ¢кєтт⚜️ (@natlckettwrites) November 29, 2018
Six fries or six plates of fries? You can’t just eat six fries. 😂
— Jamie Schultz (@GCUmom77) December 3, 2018
Harvard professor says the average serving of fries is 6…someone get a degree please
— East Atlanta Santa (@chillumais) December 3, 2018
Really. I average 6 fries per bite.
— Zac Thomas (@ZacPThomas) December 3, 2018
Lim was not available and did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.
While nutritionists agree that french fries aren’t a health food, they’re divided on Lim’s recommended serving size. “Potatoes are a high-calorie food to begin with, and when you dry and fry them, the calories go up and the vitamin content goes down,” Gina Keatley, a registered dietitian with a private practice in New York City, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I agree with Dr. Lim that if you’re going to eat fries, you should think of them as a treat. Steak fries are about 20 calories a piece, so six of them would be a good snack/treat.”
While potatoes can be “part of a healthy diet,” french fries are “an occasional food at best,” Karen Ansell, R.D., D., R.D., and author of Healing Superfoods for Anti-Aging: Stay Younger, Live Longer, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Plus, at some restaurants, french fries are fried in partially hydrogenated oils, which are very bad for your heart,” she says. “Plus, frying removes a lot of the healthy nutrients that are naturally found in potatoes, like vitamin C.”
But Alisa Ramsey, registered dietitian and owner of Alisa Ramsey Nutrition and Wellness, says Lim’s recommendation is too extreme. “Restricting food, whether it’s a physical restriction like, ‘I’m only going to eat X number of french fries,’ or a mental restriction like, ‘French fries are bad for me,’ causes cravings and overeating,” she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “When you feel like a food tastes bad or that you shouldn’t have it, or that you can only have a little bit of it, your body senses a lack and responds with increased cravings, making you more likely to overeat.”
Overall, Ansel recommends thinking of French fries as “a cake or a pie — it’s fine to have a small amount as an occasional treat.”
If you’re a big fan of French fries, you can make them a little healthier at home by cooking them in an air fryer. “All you need to do is drizzle them with a little olive oil to get that crispy texture that you’d get from eating French fries,” says Keatley.
If you occasionally have fries with your meal and are otherwise eating healthy, there’s no need to stress about it, says Ansel, and if you don’t limit yourself on fries, over time, “they’ll become less appealing, and you’ll be able to eat them, and when you’re full, you can stop and move on,” says Ramsay.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
Instagram, Facebook, and twitter Nonstop fresh inspiration delivered to your feed every day.