Limiting fried foods: Health risks and safer alternatives for frying

Health and nutrition specialists strongly recommend limiting fried foods to an absolute minimum. However, if we cannot give up this food preparation, it is worth paying attention to the fat we choose for frying.

Unfortunately, many people still use fats that are unsuitable for this purpose. What is worse, during thermal processing at high temperatures, they can produce health-hazardous toxic compounds. Therefore, we should avoid them.

Although frying food often adds flavor, it hurts our figure because it significantly increases the calorie content of the prepared dishes. This method of food preparation also has a considerable impact on our health, especially on the cardiovascular and digestive systems.

Frying can lead to holes in the intestines, causing them to become leaky. Although fried foods have a unique taste and tempt us with their aroma, they can cause various ailments, such as heartburn, indigestion, stomach pain, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, belching, and painful intestinal cramps.

Limiting the consumption of fried foods is also crucial for preventing heart and circulatory diseases. Regular consumption of such products is associated with elevated blood cholesterol levels, which in turn increases the risk of stroke and atherosclerosis.

Despite these warnings, it is difficult for many people to give up this food preparation. However, before deciding on fried chicken, pancakes, dumplings, or croquettes, it is worth knowing which fats are unsuitable for preparing dishes at high temperatures.

Although extra virgin olive oil is excellent for cold consumption and contains many valuable health properties, it is unsuitable for frying. At high temperatures, it can produce carcinogenic compounds.

While flaxseed oil contains valuable omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, it is also unsuitable for high-temperature processing. Its low smoke point means that the unsaturated acids turn into carcinogenic substances during frying.

The same applies to pumpkin seed oil, milk thistle oil, and grape seed oil. Soybean oil and corn oil also become toxic bombs when fried.

It is best to use fats with a high smoke point for frying, which is why rapeseed oil is deservedly famous. Clarified butter, appreciated by chefs, can also be used safely.