“Fried food difficult to stop … How to eat healthy?” [황수경의 건강칼럼]

｜ Fried foods increase body fat and bad cholesterol
｜ It should be consumed with vegetables rich in dietary fiber or after squeezing the oil.
｜ Yoon Seong-won, nutritionist, “When you eat fried food, you have to pay attention to how to consume it and how to store it”

[내레이션 : 황수경 아나운서]

Half price chicken, half price pizza and half price sweet and sour pork. Recently, half-priced foods are a hot topic. Large quantity and affordable price. Half-priced food seems to be welcomed by consumers in the age of high prices. However, these foods are generally high in calories and fried foods, so eating too much can damage the nutritional balance.

Most of the batter, which gives it a crunchy texture, is kneaded with wheat flour. Flour is a very refined carbohydrate among carbohydrates, so it can quickly raise your blood sugar. It can also be a major cause of body fat gain. Another problem is that the flour holds the oil during the frying process.

Of course, you also need fat. Fat is an essential nutrient for our body, accounting for 20-25% of the daily nutrient intake. The important thing is to eat “good fats”. High-temperature fried chicken and sweet and sour pork contain trans fats, which are not good for the body. These trans fats raise LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol. Lowering HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol, can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

The high calorie count when fried is also a problem. It depends on how much oil the ingredients absorb, but when deep-fried, that’s 1.3 times to 2 times more calories than steaming and roasting. In fact, according to data from the Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines, 100 g of boiled chicken thigh contains 187 kcal, and baked chicken leg is 213 kcal, while fried chicken is 317 kcal, showing quite a difference.

If you still can’t give up tempura, you should eat it after squeezing the oil out with a tea towel or remove at least half of the tempura before eating it. Although the life of tempura is tempura, it is a way to cut down on trans fats and carbohydrates. Also, when eating fried food, add vegetables to balance nutrition. This is because if you often eat sweet and sour chicken or pork, you may be deficient in nutrients such as dietary fiber and vitamins. By the way, sweet and sour pork goes well with slices of cabbage or onion. When eating chicken, add green onions, lettuce, paprika, etc. to increase the feeling of satiety. This will naturally result in fewer French fries.

Another thing to keep in mind is that fried foods should be consumed as soon as possible. This is because the fat in fried food tends to turn rancid when it comes in contact with the air, and the rancid oil can form carcinogenic factors. If there is any fried food left, keep it sealed. Avoid eating fried foods that have been stored for a long time.

Column = Hydak Nutrition Counselor Yoon Seong-won (nutritionist)