DEEP FRIED FOODS..HEALTHY OR NOT??

Hmm.. Just look at those fried Pooris..Looks so appetizing..Isn't it!!  How many pooris can you have at a time;-) 

Not only pooris, french fries, Dough nuts, Chips, Wada, deep fried chicken wings or any food item that is deep fried keeps us engaged in eating for quite a long time..Unknowingly piling up a lot of fat and calories into our body.

Have you guys kept a check on the portion of what you are consuming..Let me help  you..It's for sure not limited to 1 or 2, it will be more than 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 and goes on till our tummy says stop and creates a weird sound in the form of a burp to indicate that you are full.. But the poor tummy is not aware of the ill effects of the quality of your food but only has a check on the quantity of the food you eat :-)

So dear Friends..Let's have a small discussion about how healthy are these deep fried foods and at what frequency can we have them, I mean daily or once a week or once in a month..

It's quite tough to resist deep fried foods during many instances especially the aroma of fried oil is itself is tempting(though its nauseating during pregnancy) even a thought or a discussion of fried foods will make us salivating:-)  Irrespective of gender, age, race we all are addicted or attracted towards deep fried foods..Aren't we??

Fried  foods, I really don't know, why, they are treated as a special form of foods and also cooked mostly during festivals in India, though nowadays, no occasion is needed and what we find around us is mostly deep fried..Ha, Got it, the reason our ancestors made them special and only during festivals is the secret behind having fried foods ONLY OCCASIONALLY!! Oh! my God!!Our ancestors are the best..Kudos to them..

All the stressful discussion above is worth and the main cause which is the reason behind the negativity for these deep fried foods is the deep diving of foods in the greasy, oily, fatty oil:-(

What happens is, when the foods( be it carb, protein or fat) are left in an ocean of oil they obviously absorb some of oil, which is already sticky and ready to mingle, and finally forms a good amount of layer on the foods..and  the high temperatures at which the oil is boiled, tends to break down even the good fats in oil turning them into villains (fats are broken down, oxidised and degraded and form free radicals).

Most of the oils used for deep frying are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils which are rich in trans fat and this trans fat as we all know in long run may cause increase in your cholesterol levels. Trans fat is usually an adulterated form of fat which helps in longevity of the processed foods but decreases the longevity of our lives.

But due to the recent advances in chemistry and medicine many are aware of the dangerous effects of long term use of hydrogenated vegetable oils and have shifted towards Olive oils, rice bran oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, corn oil etc.. But though these oils may be healthy, but when exposed to higher temperatures constantly may turn out be unhealthy.

Deep frying increases the formation of advanced glycation end products (AGE's) on the surface of foods and these AGE's trigger the formation of carcinogens like Acrylamide, Acrolein, Aldehydes, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Heterocyclic amines etc.. BEWARE!!

Not only that, the AGE's may also increase inflammation of Lungs, Breast, Pancreas, Prostate, Kidney etc... Patients with impaired Kidney function may have tough time in clearing the heavy, greasy fats they eat in the form of oily, deep fried foods.

Most of the vegetables which are rich in Vitamins and Minerals are drained of their nutrients once dived in hot oils. So, you are getting empty calories..

Suppose if you are frying fatty foods like meat, the already excess fats add up more fats and calories, when they are deep fried.  Excessively fried foods are the reason behind acid reflux in stomach which we experience in the form of regurgitation, and irritable bowel syndrome. Being high in calories, increased fat content, may cause a rise in total cholesterol , LDL cholesterol, Obesity which indirectly may be the cause to Type 2 Diabetes and many other metabolic derangements..

Let us take a break over here..

And later let's continue our discussion regarding which oils are better for deep frying, and how frequent can we reuse the fried oil, and how frequently can we enjoy the fried foods..

Already an aversion started in my mind towards the fried foods but let's see how long will it be there ;-)