The moment we set sights on fried food, all possible imaginations of good health seem to vanish for many. A new report from the British Heart Foundation states that munching on fried foods may not be associated with heart disease or premature death, but only if they are fried in olive or sunflower oil.
This study incorporated above 40,000 adults who were inspected for a span of 11 years. The health of all these people was monitored where no apparent link between fried food consumption and coronary heart disease risk came forward.
Victoria Taylor, our Senior Heart Health Dietitian, cited, “Before we all reach for the frying pan it’s important to remember that this was a study of a Mediterranean diet, rather than British fish and chips. Our diet in the UK will differ from Spain, so we cannot say that this result would be the same for us too.”
The volunteers of the analysis utilized sunflower or olive oil to fry the food. The team recommends everyone to replace saturated fats like lard, butter or palm oil with unsaturated fats to maintain low levels of cholesterol in the blood.
The team cautioned that irrespective of the cooking method used, consumption of high fat food may lead to weight gain and obesity that are presumably risk factors for heart disease. A nutritious diet comprising many fruits and vegetables with only a small amount of high fat foods, may be the best for heart health, concluded the team.
The study is published in the British Medical Journal.