A new study pardoned fried foods, but only those cooked in olive or sunflower oil.
When it comes to eating, Americans will fry just about anything. Chicken and potatoes are old favorites, but Twinkies, soda, and donuts are also fair game. Like many things that we enjoy, though, fried foods can kill you.
As food is fried, it soaks up oil, increasing both the calorie count and fat content. When the oil is reused — think of your favorite Chinese-Italian-American buffet — the trans fats increase. That’s the kind banned in restaurants a few years back by New York City.
Eating too much fried food can increase both your blood pressure and cholesterol level, not to mention cause you to gain weight from the extra calories. All of these put you at risk of heart disease.
Not all oils are created equal. A new study of over 40,000 people in Spain found no connection between eating fried foods and heart disease or death. Some people even ate the equivalent of two medium servings of French fries a day. Researchers think that frying foods in olive or sunflower oil — typical of a Spanish diet — kept the subjects’ hearts healthy. These oils are common in the Mediterranean diet, already shown to be good for your heart.
It’s probably too early to set up shop at your favorite greasy restaurant. As the researchers pointed out, “consumption of fried foods in Spain is not a proxy for fast food intake.” But the next time you set up your deep fryer, consider filling it with olive or sunflower oil. It just might save your life. Unless, of course, you set the oil on fire while trying to deep fry a pair of sneakers.
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References
- Guallar-Castillon, P., Rodriguez-Artalejo, F., Lopez-Garcia, E., Leon-Munoz, L., Amiano, P., Ardanaz, E., Arriola, L., Barricarte, A., Buckland, G., Chirlaque, M., Dorronsoro, M., Huerta, J., Larranaga, N., Marin, P., Martinez, C., Molina, E., Navarro, C., Quiros, J., Rodriguez, L., Sanchez, M., Gonzalez, C., & Moreno-Iribas, C. (2012). Consumption of fried foods and risk of coronary heart disease: Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study BMJ, 344 (jan23 3) DOI: 10.1136/bmj.e363
- Leitzmann, M., & Kurth, T. (2012). Fried foods and the risk of coronary heart disease BMJ, 344 (jan23 3) DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d8274
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