Fried foods may not be the killer we’ve all been led to believe, if you live in Spain, are active and your fried food is cooked mainly in olive or sunflower oils that have not been used over and over again.
A study in the latest issue of the British Medical Journal suggests that frying foods in olive and sunflower oils is not associated with an increased risk of heart disease or premature death.
The study – conducted by researchers at the Autonomous University of Madrid - followed 40,757 adults aged 29 to 69 over an 11-year period. All were free from heart disease when the study started.
The participants were asked how often they ate food that was fried, battered, crumbed or sautéed in a typical week. By the end of the study, the researchers noted 606 events linked to heart disease. There were a total of 1,134 deaths.
"In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death," the study's authors concluded.
“Our results are directly applicable only to Mediterranean countries with frying methods similar to those in Spain,” the researchers added.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends Canadians limit their fried food intake. It notes that while the human body requires some fat and oils every day, people should focus on healthy fats. They come in the form of monounstaturated and polyunsaturated fats which can lower LDL cholesterol ("bad cholesterol") and are found in olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, non-hydrogenated margarine, avocados and some nuts.
"There's a risk that people could take away the wrong message from a study like this," Samara Foisy, a registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation said.
"We may skim the results, instead of reading the study critically. Yes, there may be some strength to this study but it is only one study involving a certain group."
The Mediterranean diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, less meat and far less consumption of fast food than what most people in North America tend to eat. Fast food is generally deep fried in oils that are used over and over again.
Most frying in the Mediterranean diet involves lightly coating vegetables or fish in flour as opposed to dunking food in batter that will absorb a greater quantity of oil. While both pan frying and deep frying are used, most fried foods are prepared in a pan.
Fosiy recommends pan frying or sauteeing food in a little olive or sunflower oil, if you want to fry once in a while. Better yet, she says, try poaching.
The authors of the study caution that while the news appears to be good for people who like fried food prepared in a Mediterranean-style diet – mostly using olive or sunflower oil - frying with other types of fats, reusing oils several times, or consuming fried snacks high in salt may still be bad for your health. They urge further study.
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