No Direct Correlation Between Fried Food and Heart Disease

[ChicksterJo]

Having travelled extensively in the Meditteranean region, there are one or two things to understand about their diet. They eat little breakfast, usually only hot chocolate/coffee and maybe a roll, croissant or slice of bread. They tend to have one light meal, and some choose to eat this at lunch time, and one bigger meal.The light meal would probably only be salad or an omlette.The bigger meal would be either fish, or meat with vegetables/salad. Potatoes are not eaten that much but rice and pasta is. The lovely warm climate means that peppers, courgettes/zuchini, aubergines and tomatoes, along with a huge variety of salad vegetables, grow in abundance, and are beautifully sweet. Fruit is also readily available. Many of the Catholic countries have lots of Holy days when meat is not eaten. Also, I think some people would be surprised at the modest size of their meals. Meat is expensive, and eaten fairly sparingly. Fish however is abundant. A typical plate size in these countries is about eight inches and they do not pile them high either. Maybe it's more about portion control than content.

I will have to agree with this. My family in the Philippines still eats mostly a traditional Filipino diet, and they cook a lot with coconut oil. Olive oil is kind of hard to come by there, especially if you don't have money. They do not eat much meat, but fish is a staple. There is also a traditional dish - adobo - which is basically the Filipino version of duck confit, except pork was traditionally used. After the adobo is cooked, the pork would sit in what I would nicely say is lard, as a preservation technique. The lard that contains the pork is also used in cooking. However, many young people there are starting to eat more and more processed foods, going to fast food places, etc. Portion control or moderation is really what it is about.

 

[eggbuster]

You are all out of date.

Animal fats are in; vegetable fats are out. Particularly when it comes to frying, its the vegetable oils that will kill you. Do some research and look at recent data from the last few years. Anything before that has been proven wrong but the misinformation is still going strong. Real butter is good; margerine (vegetable oil spread) is not. Eat grass fed beef, pork and chicken and you won't have to worry about unhealthy fat. Its the grain fed stuff that will do you in.

Bon Apetite.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I don't think the issue with fried food is that it is fried food. I think the issue is that fried food is eaten in large quantities which make up the majority of the meal, and then veggies and fruit are not eaten.

A 4 ounce piece of fried chicken served with a green salad, 2 steamed veggies and 1/2 cup of brown rice would be a healthy meal. 1 1/2 pounds of fried chicken with a glob of mashed potatoes and a roll, is not so healthy if that is the sort of meal that is routinely eaten (now and again won't hurt you)

 

[Capvin]

The OP may be correct in saying that there may not be a DIRECT correlation between fried food and heart attacks. HOWEVER, is the fried food causes one to be obese then obesity has a direct correlation to heart attacks. ALSO, if friedf food causes ones colesteral to become elevated then elevated collesteral has a direcvt correlation to heart attacks.

 

[GardenerGal]

Thanks for the link, ChicksterJo. I'll read it for comparison. Still plan to find some coconut oil and try it!

Yes..this is a little off-topic but coconut oil remains a hotbed of controversy. I read what you posted, and then I went to look for another text, here: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/new-look-at-coconut-oil (And then scroll down and read about Ancel Keys' campaign). I just hate to see this oil attacked.

I do not fry often (well, I was on a frying spree last December), and when I fry I use my cast iron pan and lard. But it's always in moderation.

 

[GardenerGal]

The best way to avoid becoming obese is to: burn more calories per day than you eat per day. That's all.
Cook with oils.
Enjoy Mickey D's.
Indulge in that chocolate shake.
Eat what you love.

Just don't eat more calories than you burn.

To reduce risk of heart disease, consume saturated fats and cholesterol in moderation. In fact, consume anything in moderation.

That's about all we need to do.

But why is it so @$^&&* hard????

 

[newfoundland]

Would anyone eat a pound and a half of meat? I have always been taught to allow 4 ounces per person. Medical opinion here says, as a rule of thumb, your piece of meat should be no bigger that the back of hand, fingers not included, when you make a fist.

 

[charmedbychickens]

I have heard that about coconut oil as well. I bought some and at first was afraid that my food would taste coconuty since the smell is strong, but surprisingly it doesn't . I use that when frying up my eggs more than the EVOO.

 

[Mattemma]

I hate when studies show some food item I use is good for you. Then the price of it skyrockets.Ofcourse in a year or two they do another study saying it wasn't as good as they thought,and then the price goes down to where I can better afford it.

All in moderation.

 

[cassie]

Some years ago for my own amusement I started making a list of all the things that some study or other said was bad for you. You know what I found out? EVERYTHING is bad for you, including distilled water. A nutritionist/scientist I used to know gave me some good advice. He said moderation in all things and to never eat anything that your grandmother would not recognize as food.