Is fried food bad for you? Research debunks this false myth:

Is boiling vegetables actually healthier than frying them?

Scientific research has debunked this common misconception through a series of rigorous experiments, showing that frying can in fact be healthier than boiling, as long as extra virgin olive oil is used in the process.

The abstract of the study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Granada (Spain) provides information on the experiment "extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), water and a water/oil mixture (W/O) were used to fry, boil and sauté Mediterranean vegetables (potatoes, pumpkin, tomato and eggplant)”

The research reveals that frying vegetables can ‘produce large amounts of oleic acid and antioxidants, substances that exert strong anti-cancer and anti-diabetic actions.' This finding was also reported by the specialized website news.fidelityhouse.eu.

The research team coordinator Christina Samaniego Sanchez, director of the Nutrition Department at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Granada, explained the ground-breaking (and certainly surprising!) findings of the study.

Dr Sanchez elaborated: "Frying is the cooking method that produces the greatest increases associated with the phenolic fraction, which means an improvement in the cooking process." "Over the years, research has led us to believe that frying vegetables is to be avoided, and the fear of gaining weight has led the significant beneficial properties of antioxidants to be plunged into oblivion."

Indeed, while boiling potatoes and vegetables causes the loss of many healthy substances contained in them, frying in extra virgin olive oil maintains their properties virtually unchanged.

Provided that the frying temperature does not exceed 180° and that it is not consumed more than twice a week, fried food is not bad for you.
But remember the ground rule: only use extra virgin olive oil.

"Frying with EVOO produces a greater amount of oleic acid and antioxidant components that help prevent, in the long run, cancer, diabetes and loss of vision," writes Il Fatto in its wellness column, referencing the above research.

Here is the experiment: "Researchers conducted cooking tests comparing boiling, frying in extra virgin olive oil, and cooking in a mix of water and oil. For the test, they used 120g of diced, de-skinned potatoes, pumpkin, tomato and eggplant; the seeds had all been removed. After cooking, the vegetables were examined using the high-performance liquid chromatography method. We tested the levels of moisture, fat, dry matter, the total number of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. We concluded that vegetables fried in olive oil had a higher amount of phenolic compounds".

Furthermore, adding olive oil in boiling water boosts the phenolic profile of raw foods.

On this subject, the newspaper Il Fatto has also interviewed Sara Farnetti, internist and expert in functional nutrition, who explained: "Frying is a cooking method that requires a short amount of time and the oil used creates a protective film around the food which keeps its vitamin content intact. So, while it may sound like a paradox, fried food is more nutritious than boiled food. Moreover, warm oil stimulates the liver which produces more bile and speeds up intestinal transit and elimination of toxins. The ground rule, however, persists: do not fry too often.”

In short, frying with extra virgin olive oil is a great cooking method. Indeed, other types of oils, such as seed oils, are easily altered, even in contact with air and even ‘restructured oils’ in the laboratory that are able to resist the heat, are tasteless and artificial.

Also, boiling will cause the loss of almost all nutritional properties of foods: proteins, fats and vitamins.

Frying in extra virgin olive oil will maintain the vitamin composition of your food unaltered: happy frying with EVO oil, everyone!

Journalistic source: di Vita&Salute per il Fatto | 13 AUGUST 2021
SOURCE ENGLISH TEXT https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/8/8/246

07 October 2021