Fried food items like french fries or potato chips are considered extremely unhealthy but according to a study conducted by University of Naples, Italy, it actually is healthy! Sounds great doesn't it?
The study was conducted by professor Vincenzo Fogliano along with Italian chef Giuseppe Daddio. "Frying is bad for us? Absolutely not!", Sydney Morning Herald quoted Fogliano as saying. "If it's fried in the correct way, a potato chip...can be an excellent nutritional product," he said.
According to the study, Zucchini and eggplant which are thought to be healthy, soaked up 30 percent of the cooking oil which is bombed up with saturated fats. Unhealthy food items like Pizza and potato consumed just 5 percent of the oil. "A fundamental rule is that starch plays an important part in sealing the food being fried and reducing the oil absorption. The starch in potatoes....is particularly effective," Fogliano explained.
Oil is remarkably absorbed in pre-fried and frozen food items. "Attention must be paid to frozen or pre fried products. In these cases, the quantity of food absorbed increases significantly," Fogliano told the Italian newspaper La Stampa.
However, most of the food suppliers use frozen products, "95 percent of people selling fries use a frozen product...they're full of preservatives, they use beef tallow...they also use whey power," said Mark Koronczyk, CEO of Melbourne's Lord of the Fries restaurants. "I think it's a great study, especially as we don't do frozen fries, we use fresh potatoes," said Koronczyk.
Unfortunately, all the fast food restaurants use frozen food products The process of using fresh potatoes is laborious and high priced.
However, the Dieticians Association of Australia had a different point of view. "Chips can be made slightly healthier if you're cooking them at home. But they're still high in fat and there's not a lot of nutrition in them, especially if the skin is removed," spokeswoman Melanie McGrice told The Sydney Morning Herald.
