Even a small portion of fried foods can increase the risk of heart disease, says study

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Each additional weekly serving of 114 grams or 4 ounces (½ cup) of fried foods increased the risk of heart attack and stroke by 3%, heart disease by 2% and heart failure by 12%, the study found. An average serving of McDonald’s french fries, for example, is 117 grams.

No associations were found for deaths due to cardiovascular disease or any other cause, but the researchers said this could be due to the relatively small number involved in some studies.

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When food is fried, it absorbs some of the fat in the oil, potentially increasing calories. In addition, commercially fried and processed foods can often contain trans fats, created by an industrialized process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them stronger (think of semi-soft margarine and shortening).

The food industry loves trans fats because they are cheap to produce, last a long time and give the food a great taste and texture.

In addition to fried foods, you will find trans fats in coffee cream, cakes, pie crusts, frozen pizza, cakes, biscuits, biscuits and dozens of other processed foods.

The US Food and Drug Association banned trans fats in 2015, but extended the time periods for the industry – most recently gave companies until June 18, 2019 to stop food production and until January 1, 2021, for these products to stop. operate in their own way through the market.

However, there is still a gap. The FDA allows companies to label a food as “0 grams” of trans fats if a portion of the food contains less than 0.5 grams.

If people eat several servings of such foods, small doses can add up quickly, experts say, contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other conditions such as dementia.
According to the American Heart Association, trans fats increase bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol. The AHA recommends replacing trans fats in fried and processed foods with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola.
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Just an association

Despite the evidence underlying the impact of trans fats on health, this meta-analysis of studies can only show an association between the consumption of fried foods and cardiovascular risk.

“The findings of this study are consistent with current guidelines for limiting the consumption of fried foods, but cannot be considered as providing conclusive evidence on the role of fried foods in cardiovascular health,” said Alun Hughes, professor of cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology. at University College London, in a statement. Hughes was not involved in the study.

This is due to the fact that most studies of this kind respond to the memory of the participants in the study of the amount and type of fried food consumed, which is subject to error. In addition, high consumption of fried foods is likely to be associated with overeating and obesity, lack of exercise and other unhealthy behaviors that can contribute to heart disease, experts said.

“If the relationship is causal, we can’t assume that this association is definitely reduced to the fat content of foods, because many of these foods are highly processed and often contain both fat and carbohydrates together,” said registered dietitian Duane Mellor. a senior teacher at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK.

“So when considering this type of study, it’s important to keep in mind that while reducing fat intake is a logical part of a healthy diet, it’s also important to look at what foods are consumed. instead, ”said Mellor, who was not involved in the study.

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