McDonald's Health Makeover

McDonald's plans to use a new cooking oil for its french fries that it says will do less damage to your diet.

Criticized by some nutrition experts for contributing to a surge in obesity in the United States, McDonald's Corp., said it will begin cooking its fries -- as well as its Chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, hash browns, and crispy chicken sandwiches -- in a new oil that reduces trans-fatty acids by 48 percent and saturated fat by 16 percent.

The nation's biggest hamburger restaurant chain said the new oil will increase the amount of the more beneficial polyunsaturated fat. Health experts suggest that replacing saturated fats with unsaturated ones can help lower cholesterol levels.

The fries will still have the same amount of total fat, McDonald's said, with polyunsaturated fat rising 167 percent. According to McDonald's Web site, a large order of fries contains 26 grams of fat, with 4.5 grams of saturated fat.

"It's a win-win for our customers because they are getting the same great french fry taste along with an even healthier nutrition profile," McDonald's USA president Mike Roberts said in a statement Tuesday.

The fast-food giant worked with its longtime supplier Cargill to develop the new oil, which a few of its restaurants will begin using in October. All 13,000 domestic McDonald's restaurants will use the oil by February.

The move by McDonald's comes as more focus is being put on Americans' weight problems, with some 50 million people now considered obese.

In recent years, some fast-food chains, including Subway, have competed against McDonald's and others by promoting lower fat, lower calorie items on their menus.

In July, a New York man sued McDonald's and three other fast food chains, claiming their food made him obese.

The 56-year old man weighs 272 pounds, had heart attacks in 1996 and 1999 and has diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. He said he ate fast food for decades, believing it was good for him until his doctor cautioned him otherwise.

Some class-action attorneys are looking to take on the food companies and restaurants in the same way they took on tobacco companies, seeking billions of dollars in damages for health problems and deaths.

McDonald's also was sued last year by vegetarian groups for using beef flavoring while claiming its fries were vegetarian. The company in May agreed to pay $10 million to organizations that support vegetarianism and $2.4 million in legal fees.

Company executives said the oil switch had been in the works for years and was unrelated to legal actions.