The high fat and calorie content in fried food increases the possibility of health problems such as obesity, stroke, diabetes, cancer etc. Here are some of the effect of fried food.

OBESITY.

A gram of fat in fried food provides 9 calories compared to the 4 calories found in a gram of protein or carbohydrates. If you regularly eat fried foods, you are likely to become overweight or obese.

DIABETES

Eating fried foods regularly leads to an increased risk for type-2 diabetes, according to a study published in “Diabetes Care” in April 2011 and another study in “Nutrition & Food Science” in 2013.

RISK OF CANCER

Research studies funded by National Cancer Institute and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center came up with the following conclusions:
At temperatures high enough for deep frying, potentially carcinogenic compounds can start to form in the food.
These toxic compounds, which increase as the oil is re-used and re-heated, include acrylamide, heterocyclic amines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehyde and acrolein.
Acrylamide is found in carbohydrate-rich foods such as French fries; heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons form in meat when it reaches high temperatures; aldehyde is an organic compound found in perfume; and acrolein is a chemical present in herbicides.
Deep-fried foods are also known to contain the highest levels of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), a group of compounds linked to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, conditions that are associated with cancer. We shall talk more on AGEs next week.

STROKE.

Over the years, many research studies have concluded that fried foods are one of the risk factors for stroke.
Most fried foods are cooked in saturated fats which are responsible for arterial blockages that then lead to strokes and other related cardiovascular illnesses. The saturated fat is stored by the body in the arteries which then eventually causes constriction. This slows down blood flow and oxygen transport to vital organs in the body. Frequent oxygen deprivation leads to many chronic ailments, and with a stoke can lead to permanent brain damage.

What You Can Do

Take fried foods once a week.
If you visit Fast food outlets for fried chicken, French fries etc only during festive occasions like Christian & Muslim festivals, you don’t have to feel guilty.
You are better off baking, boiling or steaming your food instead of frying it.
Frying at very low temperature increases fat absorption on the food.
Also putting too much food in the pan at one time lowers the temperature of the oil, and lower oil temperatures increase the amount of time it takes to fry the food, thus increasing the amount of fat absorbed during cooking.
Experts also recommend throwing out oil if it has begun smoking, and not reheating used oil.
Remember, I will recommend you take fried foods once a week. If you hope to fight off any of the diseases mentioned above, do like me, and abstain from fried foods completely.
People find it easier to blame their neighbor or some enemy for a spiritual attack when they are suddenly hit by any of the above diseases than to accept that consuming foods we consider toxic eventually led to these diseases.
The diseases don’t strike you while eating the toxic food. But one toxic food after the other, year after year of feeling good & healthy, and one day, stroke strikes, cancer strikes…and we point our fingers at some enemy.
We are our own worst enemy.