Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurants serve a variety of meals, many coming with your choice of side items. While some side items are healthy, others are not. The fries at Applebee's are one of the most unhealthy side items the restaurant serves. The fries contain a considerable amount of calories, fat and sodium while providing limited nutritional benefits. If you are trying to maintain a healthy diet, you may wish to avoid selecting this side item when dining at the restaurant.
Calories
A side of fries at Applebee's contains 400 calories. This is a significant amount of calories for a side item. Most people eat roughly 2,000 calories each day, but some eat more or less than this amount depending on their lifestyle, age, weight and gender. Considering most of the main dishes on Applebee's menu contain well over 400 calories, considering both a main dish and a side of fries could put you at almost half of your daily allowance of calories.
Fat
The fries contain 19 grams of total fat in each serving. About 3.5 g of the total fat comes from saturated fat. The fries do not contain any trans fat. Your health may be adversely affected if you regularly consume foods high in fat, especially those high in saturated fat or trans fat. The FDA recommends limiting your daily fat consumption to less than 65 g of total fat, and only about 20 g of this amount should come from saturated fat.
Sodium
There are 720 milligrams of sodium in the fries at Applebee's restaurant. Excessive sodium consumption can have a negative impact on your overall health, including contributing to cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines state that most adults should limit their consumption to less than 2,400 mg a day, but some organizations suggest restricting your sodium consumption even more. The American Heart Association, for example, suggests that adults consume only 1,500 mg of sodium each day. Since many of the main dishes at Applebee's also contain significant amounts of sodium, it would be easy to reach or surpass this daily sodium limit if you select the fries as a side item.
Carbohydrates and Protein
Applebee's fries have 51 g of total carbohydrates. This includes 4 g of fiber. The FDA guidelines recommend getting about 300 g of total carbohydrates and 25 g of fiber each day. The fries also contains 5 g of protein. The FDA guidelines recommend getting at least 50 g of protein per day.
Alternatives
While the fries at Applebee's are not the healthiest option, they are not the least healthy option either. The chili cheese fries and crunchy onion rings both contain more calories, fat and sodium than a side of fries. Healthier side item options include the house salad, fresh fruit or seasonal vegetables.
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