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 ;-)

MILK - SHALL I ??

Milk- The first food we ever happen to taste as soon as we are born:-)

And we do continue to have milk in our daily routine as we keep growing..

Being obvious that we all consume milk since childhood till oldage, do we really need to look into the health benefits of milk..What say, Friends!! I guess, not really!!

But, the reason I felt to share a few of them here in my blog is that the kind of bad reputation the poor, milky white, pure, a whole pack of nutritious supplement Milk is receiving nowadays..

So, let's just have a deep dive into what exactly the milk contains and how it effects the human body.

As soon as someone says milk, the thing, at an instance that comes onto your mind is Calcium, Right?

Yep, Milk is one of the richest source of calcium, easily and economically available and  good for your teeth and bones thus needed for you throughout your life. No wonder all our elders were back of us till we finish our glass of milk and we are behind our kids;-)

As shown in many TV commercials, though they show many sports men and women in advertisements related to Boost, Horlicks or whatever, but what exactly the main base is,. if you guys think logically is milk, and is the actual secret behind their stamina..Guess how?? Milk has a good amount of protein(whey and casein) which are important for building up strong muscles and keep them fit.

Loaded with minerals(Calcium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Selenium, Zinc, Magnesium, Iron, Iodine, Copper, Sodium, Manganese) and vitamins(Vitamin A, D, B2, B1, B12, B6) milk is a guarenteed nourishment for all, irrespective of age and sex.

The carbohydrate in milk is Lactose( a milk sugar) which helps in providing energy to your cells in the body, except for some who are lactose intolerant should maintain a little distance to the natural energy giving drink:-(

Here comes the culprit of all the bad reputation the actually pure and innocent milk is receiving- Saturated fat. Fat in milk constitutes mainly about 60% saturated fats, 30% monounsaturated, 4% polyunsaturated, about 4% of conjugated linoleic acid. But all the fats are actually not that bad when taken in moderate amounts and when we compare all the highly processed, low-fat but LOADED WITH EXCESS SUGAR foods, the extra amounts of cheese, fried snacks, excess trans fatty foods I feel our dear milk is always a dear to us with its loaded amount of calcium, protein, vitamins, and minerals.. Right?

With extreme modernisation, we are over analysing our foods introduced by our ancestors since years and actually trying to study them with a magnifying glass and what happens when you tend to observe anything with a  magnifying glass?? All things appear HUGE AND SCARY!! Right?
So, thats the same with the saturated fats picture in milk which is gaining extra importance and making us think twice before we have our glass of milk at least once daily, infact I know many who have stopped drinking milk just with the thought of excess fat in milk but they happily binge on other junk foods.

Any logic guys??

Ya, I agree, a glass of milk is loaded with more than 100 calories, but the calorie conscious people and people with high amount of cholesterol can limit their intake but all others can happily have milk.

In fact recent researches have shown that the excess fat in milk is known to increase even the good cholesterol(HDL) along with large LDL(bad) cholesterol and therefore provides us the stamina to fight with the bad cholesterol without any external help. The potassium in milk helps in reducing the blood pressure, prevents heart diseases, prevents you from stroke attacks.

Anyone suffering from insomnia(lack of sleep) and I guess most of your well wishers would have surely advised you to have a glass of milk before you go to sleep(Better have that glass of milk atleast 2 hours before you go to sleep).. Yes, the choline in milk helps in relaxing the muscles and also helps in transmission of nerve impulses and maintains the structure of cellular membranes, so that all cells function actively:-)

Milk also has certain antioxidants that help in protecting  from cancers such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer according to certain studies.(The naturally found fats like conjugated linoleic acid adds more value to milk)

The milk fortified with Vitamin D helps in the absorption of all the calcium we need and also makes you smile more and be happy, I mean the Vitamin D helps in increased production of serotonin a hormone responsible for relaxing effect and relieves us from depression and anxiety too..

A lot more about milk shall be discussed in my next blog- SKIMMED OR WHOLE MILK??
BUFFALO MILK OR COW'S MILK?? Want to know the answers?? Let's catch up in my next blog..

Till then, take care Friends:-)