“Fried” can be a scary word when talking about dietary options. It can also be a scary word when talking about rats, but let’s keep things on track, shall we? An interesting bit of research suggests that some foods might not be all that bad for you if you combine them with this sometimes naughty culinary practice.
According to a recent study at the at the University of Granada in Spain (via Popular Science), some foods are more nutritious for you if you deep fry them in olive oil rather than boil or eat them raw. Certain vegetables like potatoes or carrots saw their fat content increase, but the deep frying allowed for higher levels of natural phenols in the veggies. That’s a good thing because this dynamic can make selected foods valuable in the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases
Here’s how Cristina Samaniego Sánchez, one of the authors of the study, views the results.
“We can conclude that frying in EVOO was the technique with the highest associated increases of phenols and can therefore be considered an improvement in the cooking process, although it also increases the calorie density of the food because of the amount of oil absorbed.”
“If the concentration of phenols found in the raw ingredients is high to start with, the overall concentration level is further increased if EVOO is employed during the cooking process, while boiling does not significantly affect the concentration levels. Boiling is recommended if the vegetables are to be consumed together with the cooking medium (i.e. the water).”
It’s not exactly Dr. Nick’s “Window To Weight Gain™” from The Simpsons, but at least there’s hope for those of us with a weakness for fried things.
(Via Business Journal)
