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

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

No associations were found with deaths from cardiovascular disease or from any cause, but the researchers said this may 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 from the oil, increasing the calorie count. Additionally, 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 firmer (think semi-soft margarine and shortening).

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

In addition to fried foods, you can find trans fats in coffee creamer, cakes, pie crusts, frozen pizzas, cookies, crackers, cookies, and dozens of other processed foods.

The U.S. Food and Drug Association banned trans fats in 2015, but has extended timeframes for the industry – the latter giving companies until June 18, 2019 to stop producing foods and January 1, 2021 to get these products to their liking. let it work through the market.

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

If people eat multiple servings of such foods, the 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 raise your bad cholesterol levels and lower your good cholesterol levels. The AHA recommends replacing trans fats from fried and processed foods with monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats, such as olive oil and canola oil.
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Only an association

Despite the evidence behind the health effects of trans fats, this meta-analysis of studies can only demonstrate a link between fried food consumption and cardiovascular risk.

The findings of this study are consistent with current guidelines to limit fried food intake, but cannot be considered definitive evidence for the role of fried food consumption 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 investigation.

That’s because most studies of these types of answers to the memory of the amount and type of fried foods eaten, which is prone to errors. In addition, high consumption of fried foods is likely 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 cannot assume that this association is definitely related to the fat content of the foods, as many of these foods are highly processed and often contain both fat and carbohydrates,” said registered dietitian Duane Mellor. , a senior teacher at Aston Medical School in Birmingham, UK.

“So when considering this kind of research, it’s important to remember that while reducing fat intake is a logical part of a healthy diet, it’s also important to consider what foods are eaten instead,” said Mellor, who was not involved in the investigation.

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