26th Jan 12
Fried food cooked with olive oil fine for heart
by Paul Russell
Fat chance: study finds fried food had no effect on Spanards' hearts
Fat chance: study finds fried food had no effect on Spanards' hearts
Eating fried food might not be so bad for the heart, so long as olive or sunflower oil is used to make it, say experts.
They found no raised risk of premature death or heart disease linked with food which had been cooked this way. However, the investigators point out that the discoveries, from studying the typical diet in Spain in which these oils are used in abundance, are not the same for lard and other cooking oils.
When frying food it gains more calories as it absorbs the oils’ fat. And experts know eating a lot of fat-laden food can increase blood pressure and lead to high cholesterol, both of which are risk factors connected to heart disease.
In the study, the Autonomous University of Madrid-based researchers surveyed 40,757 adults on their diet. The participants had to answer questions about the food they ate during a typical week and the way in which that food was cooked and prepared.
None of the adults questioned had any indication of heart disease when the 11-year study began, but by the time it finished 1,134 heart disease deaths and 606 events had occurred. When the researchers studied the heart events in more detail, they discovered no connection with fried food. They believe this is due to the kind of oil which the food is cooked in.
The University of Regensburg in Germany’s Professor Michael Leitzmann said in an accompanying editorial that the myth which states frying food is bad for the heart is not backed up by available evidence. However, he pointed out that this does not mean eating fish and chips regularly will have no health-related consequences.
Prof Leitzmann went on to say that the study indicates that certain aspects are relevant when frying food such as which oil is used, together with other areas of the diet.
For many years Mediterranean diets have been regarded as healthy, being full of low-fat, high fibre fresh fruit and vegetables, in addition to plenty of fresh fish. And an endless list of studies have shown that a balanced diet like this is able to reduce the risk of illnesses such as heart disease and cancer.
Senior heart health dietician Victoria Taylor, who works for the British Heart Foundation, said that before thinking it’s okay to fry everything, it is worth remembering that this study was of a Mediterranean diet and not British fish and chips. She said that as the diet in the UK is different, we cannot say the results would be the same here.
She went on to say that the study’s participants used unsaturated fats like sunflower and olive oil to fry their food. She explained that they recommend swapping saturated fats such as butter, palm oil or lard for unsaturated fats to try and keep cholesterol down, adding that the study gives more reason to make that switch.
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