Fast Food Items Highest In Trans Fat - The 88 Least Healthy Foods

One of the absolute worst ingredients your food could possibly contain is trans fat. Maybe you've heard of it? If not, here's a quick run down of some of the horrible things that studies have shown may be caused by a diet high in trans fat:

Coronary Heart Disease (Raise bad cholesterol AND lower good cholesterol)

Stroke

Diabetes

There then exists some (albeit less) evidence that trans fat may also cause:

Cancer

Obesity

Liver Dysfunction

Infertility

Like I said, it's one of the worst ingredients your food can contain. And, guess what? Fast food is pretty much the most common place you'll find this evil type of fat. Fast food is also the place you'll find the highest amounts of it.

Knowing this, I looked over the nutrition facts of literally every single item from the menus of McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, A&W, Arby's, Hardee's, In-N-Out Burger, Jack in the Box, Little Caesars, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Sonic, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy's, White Castle, Popeyes, Del Taco, Carl's Jr., and Dairy Queen to put together a list of the 88 fast food items highest in trans fat.

Keeping in mind just how terrible trans fat is and all of the terrible things it can cause, I have given this the very catchy nickname of "The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You." When you look over this list with the understanding that you should be eating 0 grams of trans fat per day, you'll realize that my little nickname really isn't that much of an overstatement. So, without further ado...

The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You:

White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings - Sack Trans Fat : 30 grams White Castle Fish Nibblers - Sack Trans Fat : 16 grams KFC Chicken Pot Pie Trans Fat : 14 grams Burger King Hash Browns - Large Trans Fat : 13 grams White Castle Chicken Rings - 20 rings Trans Fat : 13 grams Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Large Trans Fat : 12 grams Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges Trans Fat : 12 grams White Castle Clam Strips - Sack Trans Fat : 12 grams Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 6-piece Trans Fat : 12 grams White Castle French Fries - Sack Trans Fat : 11 grams Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Medium Trans Fat : 10 grams Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Large Trans Fat : 10 grams Jack in the Box Onion Rings (8) Trans Fat : 10 grams Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Large Trans Fat : 10 grams White Castle Onion Chips - Sack Trans Fat : 10 grams Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 4-piece Trans Fat : 10 grams Burger King Hash Browns - Medium Trans Fat : 9 grams Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Small Trans Fat : 9 grams Dairy Queen Large Onion Rings Trans Fat : 9 grams McDonald's Large French Fries Trans Fat : 8 grams Burger King French Fries King Size Trans Fat : 7 grams Domino's Garlic Dipping Sauce Trans Fat : 7 grams White Castle Onion Rings - Sack Trans Fat : 7 grams Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Medium Trans Fat : 7 grams Jack in the Box Sampler Trio Trans Fat : 7 grams Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Bites (16) Trans Fat : 7 grams Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Medium Trans Fat : 7 grams Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Biscuit Trans Fat : 7 grams Dairy Queen Regular Onion Rings Trans Fat : 7 grams Boston Market Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie Trans Fat : 7 grams Arby's Apple Turnover Trans Fat : 6.5 grams Burger King BK Chicken Fries 12pc Trans Fat : 6 grams Burger King French Fries Large Trans Fat : 6 grams Burger King Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit Trans Fat : 6 grams Arby's Cherry Turnover Trans Fat : 6 grams White Castle Chicken Rings - 9 rings Trans Fat : 6 grams White Castle Clam Strips - Regular Trans Fat : 6 grams White Castle Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (10 sticks) Trans Fat : 6 grams Jack in the Box Chicken Biscuit Trans Fat : 6 grams Jack in the Box Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Trans Fat : 6 grams Dairy Queen Large Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard Trans Fat : 6 grams A&W Large Fries Trans Fat : 5.5 grams McDonald's Baked Apple Pie Trans Fat : 5 grams Burger King Sausage Biscuit Trans Fat : 5 grams McDonald's Medium French Fries Trans Fat : 5 grams Burger King Ham, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit Trans Fat : 5 grams Burger King Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Trans Fat : 5 grams Burger King Hash Browns - Small Trans Fat : 5 grams White Castle Onion Chips - Regular Trans Fat : 5 grams Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Small Trans Fat : 5 grams Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Small Trans Fat : 5 grams Jack in the Box Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Trans Fat : 5 grams Jack in the Box Original French Toast Sticks (4) Trans Fat : 5 grams Jack in the Box Sausage Biscuit Trans Fat : 5 grams Dairy Queen Large French Fries Trans Fat : 5 grams Burger King BK Chicken Fries 9pc Trans Fat : 4.5 grams McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (5 pc) Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Boston Market Chocolate Cake Trans Fat : 4.5 grams KFC Chicken and Biscuit Bowl Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Burger King Onion Rings King Size Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Burger King French Fries Medium Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Sonic French Toast Sticks (4) Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Jack in the Box Sourdough Ultimate Cheeseburger Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Jack in the Box Stuffed Jalapenos (7) Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Jack in the Box Blueberry French Toast Sticks (4) Trans Fat : 4.5 grams White Castle Fish Nibblers - Regular Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Dairy Queen Med. Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard Trans Fat : 4.5 grams A&W Onion Rings Trans Fat : 4.5 grams A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich Trans Fat : 4.5 grams Burger King Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich Trans Fat : 4 grams McDonald's Hotcakes (2 pats margarine & syrup) Trans Fat : 4 grams Burger King Onion Rings Large Trans Fat : 4 grams Burger King Cini-minis Trans Fat : 4 grams White Castle French Fries - Regular Trans Fat : 4 grams White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings - Regular Trans Fat : 4 grams White Castle Chicken Rings - 6 rings Trans Fat : 4 grams White Castle Hot Chocolate Large Trans Fat : 4 grams Arby's Cinnamon Twist Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Papa Burger Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Original Double Cheeseburger Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Chili Cheese Fries Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Cheese Fries Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Chili Fries Trans Fat : 4 grams A&W Kids Fries Trans Fat : 4 grams Dairy Queen 1/2 lb. FlameThrower GrilllBurger Trans Fat : 4 grams Jack in the Box Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (6) Trans Fat : 4 grams Jack in the Box Sausage Croissant Trans Fat : 4 grams

*NOTE* The above list shows every fast food item that contained 4 or more grams of trans fat per serving. There were TONS of items that contained less than 4 grams (anywhere from 0.5 to 3.5) but I decided on 4 grams as the cut off point for the WORST 88 foods. 3.5 grams of trans fat is still terrible, but the above 88 are the worst of the worst.

Fast Food Restaurant Appearances On This List

For added fun, I figured I'd add up how many times each fast food restaurant appeared on the above list. Here are the results:

Jack in the Box: 24

Burger King: 16

White Castle: 16

A&W: 10

Dairy Queen: 8

McDonald's: 5

Arby's: 3

KFC: 2

Domino's: 1

Sonic: 1

In-N-Out Burger: 0

Subway: 0

Taco Bell: 0

Wendy's: 0

Pizza Hut: 0

Popeyes: 0

Little Caesars: 0

Papa John's: 0

Of the fast food restaurants that appeared 0 times on this list...

Wendy's did have items that contained up to 3.5 grams of trans fat.

Taco Bell did have items that contained up to 3 grams of trans fat.

Popeyes did have items that contained up to 3 grams of trans fat.

Pizza Hut did have items that contained up to 2 grams of trans fat.

Subway did have items that contained up to 2 grams of trans fat.

Little Caesars did have items that contained up to 1.5 grams of trans fat.

In-N-Out Burger did have items that contained up to 1 gram of trans fat.

Papa John's did not have any items that contained any trans fat. Every item had 0 grams.

The following fast food restaurants did not include trans fat content in the nutrition information provided on their web site. Every other nutrient was listed except trans fat. These restaurants were therefore not included in the above list.

Hardee's

Del Taco

Carl's Jr.

In addition, as far as I was able to tell, some fast food restaurants didn't provide any nutrition information on their web sites whatsoever. These restaurants were also obviously not included in the above list.

Nathans

Roy Rogers

Blimpie

Kenny Rogers Roasters

Quiznos

Trans Fat FAQ

How much trans fat are we supposed to eat per day?

The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. Not per meal or per food, but per day total. And, get this. They also say that there is enough naturally occurring trans fats in some meat and dairy products that most people already reach this maximum 2 grams without the additional consumption of the industrially manufactured trans fats contained in the foods on the above list. So, to sum up, if you care at all about your health and enjoy being alive, you should be eating 0 grams of trans fat per day.

So does this mean we should never eat fast food ever?

In a perfect world, pretty much. I mean, you know it's junk. Besides trans fat, there's the always fun stuff like saturated fat, calories, and sodium to also think about. It really is the type of food that should never be eaten... ever. Sure, there are some better choices you can be making at these types of restaurants. And, if you're going to eat this stuff, you should definitely be making those choices. For starters, avoiding the 88 foods on this list would be a fantastic idea.

Is this information all current? When was it put together and when was it last updated?

This list was originally created in October 2007, and last updated in November 2007. I'm thinking of updating the list once or twice a year to keep it all up to date. When I do update it, it will be mentioned right here.

I found this list useful. Do you have any other similar fast food content on this site?

You bet I do. This list is actually part of a series of really big fast food articles I have put together. Feel free to check them out: Fast Food Items Highest In Calories and Fast Food Restaurants And Nutrition Facts Compared.

Where did you get all of this nutrition information from?

All of the nutritional content (trans fat) used in creating the above list was taken directly from the official web site of each fast food restaurant.