Give It A Pass

"Eating fried foods does increase total calorie intake and risk of obesity, which is related to an increased risk of death."
"However, in our analysis, we have accounted for total calorie intake, lifestyle habits and obesity status."
"After controlling for these factors, the association of fried foods with all-cause death and cardiovascular death remained."
"We know fried food consumption is something very common in the United States and also around the world. Unfortunately, we know very little about long-term health effect of fried food consumption."
Wei Bao, senior study author, assistant professor of epidemiology, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa

"Poultry and fish are generally regarded as 'heart healthy' dietary choices, but the process of frying changes the health consequences."
"When fried foods are consumed, the altered structure of those fats used for frying generates signals for more inflammation, more [hardening of the arteries] and higher blood sugars."
"This only worsens when the fried food ingestion is associated with sugar sweetened beverages, high sodium and less fruit and vegetable intake."
Dr. Clyde Yancy, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago

"Elimination of trans fats is important."
"Consuming foods prepared by grilling or baking would be the preferred choice -- but if occasional fried foods are consumed, frying with safer oils such as olive oil would be a good way to go."
Daniel Lackland, researcher, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston

One or more serving of fried chicken a day was linked to a 13% higher risk of death from any cause.

Not very good news out of a new study, for people who enjoy fried chicken and fried fish, both of which -- chicken and fish -- are otherwise considered wise choices in the makeup of a healthy diet's protein portion. During the frying process. foods will absorb fat while losing water content, a result that makes food taste more appetizing to most people, enjoying the resulting crunchy texture. That mouth-watering taste stimulates people to eat more than they otherwise would, and as many as one in three adults in North America consumes fried fast food on a daily basis.

The study, that concludes women who tend to eat fried chicken daily may be 12 percent likelier to die prematurely than their counterparts who avoid eating fried chicken regularly, was recently published in the medical journal BMJ (British Medical Journal). And then there's another popular favourite -- fried fish -- and it was seen to have a seven percent greater risk of premature death from all causes associated with one daily serving, according to the study's findings.

Fried food infamously has been linked through previous research to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes; the new finding links a potential connection to premature death. Diet questionnaire data from 106,966 women, ages 40 to 79, who participated in the Women's Health Initiative study between 1993 and 2017 were followed, and it was from this study that researchers involved in the current study drew their conclusions.

Researchers followed each woman on average for around 18 years, and during follow-up, 31,588 women died, including 9,320 who died of heart problems, and 8,358 who had died from cancer. Researchers examined how frequently women reported eating certain food items when first enrolled in the study, including 'fried chicken', 'fried fish, fish sandwich and fried shellfish (shrimp, and oysters)", among other fried foods like french fries, tortilla chips and tacos.



The researchers accounted for associated factors that might have hastened death; limited education, inactivity and eating an overall unhealthy diet, and the finding was that regularly eating fried foods was linked with a heightened risk of death from any cause, but specifically, from heart problems. At minimum, one daily serving of fried chicken disposed women to a 12 percent more likely category of death through heart conditions as opposed to women whose diet didn't include fried food, according to the study.

There appeared no impact in the risk of dying from cancer, associated with the regular consumption of fried food. A demographic of younger, non-white, less educated, lower-income women tended to identify as participants who regularly ate fried foods. This group was also identified as likelier to be smokers, to exercise less frequently, and whose diet was of a lower quality. One drawback to the study results is that women were relied upon to accurately recall what they had eaten.

That aside, the evidence appears clear that food preparation can produce a large impact on health. Ideally, avoiding fried foods altogether could be recognized as the safest option. Failing that, given human propensities, some methods of frying are superior to others, and the type of oil lubricating that fry pan is a critical choice potentially leading to a better outcome, as pointed out by Dr. Lackland who had no involvement in this study.

Fried chicken: good but deadly.

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