Are Sweet Potato French Fries Healthier Than Regular Fries?

McDonald’s is testing sweet potato fries. But are they any healthier than the real thing? Experts weigh in on this important advice for French fry lovers, and anyone with kids. (Photo: McDonald’s / Twitter)

After a year of changes, McDonald’s is testing another new addition to its menu: Sweet potato French fries.

McDonald’s is currently testing the fries in Texas, the fast food giant revealed in a tweet Wednesday, and could roll them out across the country if all goes well.

The fries are just one of a number of changes McDonald’s has made in recent months. In early October, the chain began serving select items from its breakfast menu all day. It’s also beginning to offer “Create Your Taste” kiosks across the country, in which customers can build their own burger, with very un-McDonald’s-like options such as beetroot and lettuce wraps.

The changes are reportedly part of a larger movement by several major chain restaurants to create healthier, more transparent options for customer.

But, while sweet potato fries certainly sound healthier — and are often offered as a wholesome option on children’s menus at restaurants nationwide — are they really any better for you than “regular” fries?

As a whole, not really, say experts.

“They’re a slightly better option than regular French fries, only because they contain vitamin A and have a lower glycemic index that regular fries,” registered dietitian nutritionist Sonya Angelone, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, tells Yahoo Health.

However, she adds, if you’re looking to increase your vitamin A intake, there are much healthier ways to do it.

Sweet potatoes and russet potatoes (which are typically used to make fries) each have their own distinct health benefits, certified dietitian-nutritionist Gina Keatley tells Yahoo Health, but sweet potatoes are very high in beta carotene, an antioxidant that contributes to skin and eye health, and have twice as much fiber as russet potatoes.

But while sweet potatoes may have a slight nutritional advantage over the russet potato in its pure form, the frying process throws a wrench in things.

“Once they’re fried, that all changes,” registered dietitian-nutritionist Karen Ansel, co-author of The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life, tells Yahoo Health. “When you compare a fried sweet potato to a baked sweet potato, its vitamin C and vitamin A content drops by more than 75 percent with frying. At the same time, they more than double in calories and soak up loads of fat.”

Related: What Diet Experts Eat at McDonald’s

The fiber in sweet potatoes will also take a hit, and almost all of it will be lost in the dehydration and frying process, says Keatley.

At the end of the frying process, which one comes out on top? It’s hard to say, says Angelone. “We’re splitting hairs,” she says. “Neither fried food item is a good choice — the calories add up, and it’s a very ‘expensive’ way, calorie-wise, to obtain some much needed vitamin A.”

Experts agree that having McDonald’s fries, or sweet potato fries in general, here and there won’t torpedo your diet. But if you’re undecided between sweet potato and regular fries, it’s best to just make a choice based on your taste preferences.

Says Ansel: “There’s no reason to choose sweet potato fries instead from a health perspective.”

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