There has been lot of discussions on oily and baked food that has not only increased the confusion among people but also increased the health problems due to these foods. Generally it is advised to eat a balanced healthy diet which contains all the nutrients required by your body. Your body needs sufficient nutrients that help in maintaining a healthy life.
Cooking food either through baking and frying changes the nutritional content of the food and also affects the health of the individual consuming it.
Baked foods
Baking is generally done in oven and it requires minimum oil that helps in reducing the fats intake. Baking is a dry heat cooking method that contains little fat when compared to frying. The drawback in baking is it destroys the heat-sensitive vitamins during the cooking process. The heat-sensitive vitamins are Vitamin C and Vitamin B that generally gets destroyed due to the dry heat cooking method.
If the fluids are used in the baking process like stock, the water soluble vitamins will be lost during the baking process. Temperature above 300 Fahrenheit is used for baking the food items. Research says that at higher temperatures carcinogens are produced in the food. The common carcinogen that is produced during the baking process is acryl amide. To avoid the production of carcinogen, lower roasting temperatures are preferred while baking.
Fried foods
Foods can be fried differently either by deep- frying method or by stir frying method. Fried foods contain more amount of fat when compared to baked foods. Frying foods in hot oil do not leads to loss of water soluble vitamins in the foods. Generally healthy oils are used like soybean or olive oil. Using soybean and olive oil for frying not only prevents vitamin loss but also boost the intake of healthy fats and vitamin E.
Deep frying are less healthy when compared to stir frying as deep frying leads to more absorption of fats and increases the production of carcinogen. Stir frying does not increase the absorption of fats.
Baked foods Vs Fried foods
There are certain chemical changes that take place during baking and frying the foods. The most common chemical changes that take place are:
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Advanced glycation end products
When you deep fry the foods in hot oil and at high temperatures advanced glycation end products are formed. Deep frying leads to formation of advanced glycation end products. When the starch rich foods are deep fried it eventually increases the production of carcinogen. Production of advanced glycation end products is harmful and can lead to many chronic diseases. According to the recent researches advanced glycation end products are associated with diabetes.
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Partially hydrogenated oil
Food courts and many restraints use partially hydrogenated oil for cooking foods as it is cheaper to produce and last longer without any further changes. Partially hydrogenated oil or Trans fats are known to be responsible for heart attacks and obesity. Trans fats also reduce the person’s immunity and promote weight gain.
Thus baking is preferred when compared to frying as it does not require more fat content during the cooking process. There are many different methods apart from baking and frying that are healthier and beneficial for health. When we compare these two methods baking is much healthier than frying.
Atefa Noorain
Connect with Atefa NoorainAtefa Noorain, (Microbiologist) former Head of the Department of Life Sciences, Assistant Professor of Microbiology at Sujatha Degree College for Women. She worked as an Associate Research Analyst at Thomson Reuters and an Associate Editor of two research journals. She has presented her research work in 3 International Conferences. She has written articles for national journals and international journals. She had been felicitated as a Young Speaker in the last conference. She has worked on Nanoparticles as a part of her research project and won the Best Scientist of the Day award.
