Most of us know that a diet rich in fried foods is bad for us. A review of the studies quantifies how bad it can be.
In a meta-analysis of 19 studies that included diet and health data from more than 1.2 million men and women worldwide, Chinese researchers calculated the effect of eating potato chips, fried fish, fried snacks and other fried foods. cardiovascular health.
Comparing groups with a higher intake of fried foods to people who ate less over an average of nine years, they found that high consumption of fried foods increased the relative risk of coronary heart disease by 22 percent; for stroke by 37 percent; for heart failure by 37 percent; for death from cardiovascular disease in 2 percent; and for death from any cause by 3 percent.
The analysis, published in the journal Heart, found no evidence that one type of fried food was better than another. Using the combined data, the researchers calculated that each additional 114 grams (about 4 ounces) of weekly fried food increases the risk of heart failure by 12 percent and a major cardiovascular event by 3 percent.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans discourages the consumption of fried foods, but does not offer specific limits on the amounts in a healthy diet.
The senior author, Dr. Fulan Hu, from the Health Sciences Center at Shenzhen University in Shenzhen, China, offered this advice: “Reduce meals in restaurants. Reduce your fast food intake. Use healthier cooking methods to boil, steam, bake or grill instead of frying to make homemade food. “