It is important that you make lifestyle changes if you want to have a healthier and longer life with the people that you love. You can start with your diet. Your diet should include adding more vegetable and fruits to your consumption. Aside from that, you should also lower your fat intake.
To lower fat intake, it is best to consider baked food. This goes to show that eating healthy will also depend on the method of cooking. However, the most common method these days is deep-frying. Deep-frying is a method where the food is totally submerged in oil at a high temperature. It is not good for health.
Ideally, you need to steer away from dishes that are deep-fried – even if it makes you feel good. It is better to consider baking. To convince you, here are some reasons why baked foods are healthier compared to fried foods:
Fried foods have more AGE (Advanced Glycation End) products
Most deep-fried products these days are coated in breading comprised of starch. You must know that when these foods are deep-fried in oil, the high temperatures will cause the starches to develop AGEs. The AGE can react to form carcinogens.
Fried foods produce oxidation
When the oil is heated to high temperatures, it will produce another negative effect – oxidation. You must be aware that oxidised oils can cause many health problems from damage to lungs to kidneys and heart.
Fried foods are cooked in partially hydrogenated oil
This partially hydrogenated oil is also called trans fat. Trans fat is cheaper to produce and it usually lasts longer. Aside from that, trans fat can withstand high cooking temperature. These are the reasons why most restaurants use it.
Trans fat is not ideal for your health because it can raise your bad cholesterol level. This means that eating trans fat will increase your risk of developing heart disease. If you consider oven baked chicken, you are limiting saturated fat which can increase your good cholesterol.
Fried food can affect weight management
Every tablespoon of oil adds about 120 calories and 14 grams of fat to your food. These can significantly affect weight management. With baking, it only requires little to no oil.
In baking, the oil that you choose can make a difference. You should opt for healthy monounsaturated fats like olive oil or coconut oil. Olive oil cannot withstand a high temperature that is why it is not used in fast food restaurants.
Bottom line
Without a doubt, baked food is the healthiest choice compared to frying. It is time not to rely on fat to impart flavor on your cooking. You can always consider marinades and herbs to enhance the meal. Aside from baking, you can also consider steaming or roasting.
If you cannot avoid deep-fried foods, at least eat them in small amounts or pair them with healthy foods like vegetables and fruits that are low in calories. To preserve the nutritional value of foods, bake foods at lower temperatures but this means it will increase the cooking time.