Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The "Fried Food Is Bad for Your Heart" Myth

You can use olive oil to fry with, but you have to be careful with it, as cheaper olive oils have a lower smoke point, and you shouldn't heat an oil above that temperature. I almost exclusively use olive oil now, and have stopped buying salad dressing and just use oil and vinegar on my salads. For frying I sometimes use real butter (there is no other kind, and nothing else like it -sorry "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter") but just as often just bring out the bottle of oil (and you even have to be careful about that:


21 Crazy Facts About The Unbelievably Corrupt Olive Oil Industry
and Don't Be Tricked By Fake Olive Oil


But back to frying. Eating fried food alone (depending on what kind of oil you use) does not increase heart disease risk:


The latest study, published in the British Medical Journal, found no association between the frequency of fried food consumption in Spain - where olive and sunflower oils are mostly used - and the incidence of serious heart disease.-Fried food heart risk 'a myth'

7 comments:

  1. I'd be more worried about blood sugar levels and cholesterol if you eat fried foods often.

    Don't kid yourself into thinking fried food is healthy... it's a delicious indulgence from time to time, but it will kill you faster than just about anything but cigarettes or huffing mercury.

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  2. I don't care for deep fried food that much (or even fried food in general), too greasy. The only claim here, however, is the relationship to heart disease. Of course, diabetes, obesity and other health problems may still result from over indulgence in certain foods.

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  3. I've gone to several 'olive oil' tastings and once visited many producers at the SIAL in Paris back in 2004. There are so many distinct flavors, colours and layers to olive oil.

    Personally, I like when it pinches; almost to the point of bitterness making you want to sneeze. Add some five year-old balsamic, some bread and...Dee-lish!

    This sheds some light on how oil is regulated in Italy - just look for the D.O.P designation like I do for tomatoes and wine:

    http://dbkgroup.org/Papers/EuropeanJournalLipidScienceTechnology103(141-150).pdf

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  4. It's a science paper by the way.

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  5. T.C. you are amazing! Thanks for the info!

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  6. The bill is on the way. In Canadian dollars. Hope you don't mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We used to laugh at Canadian dollars. Not anymore.

      Delete

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