Cookery Demonstrations on tele’ channels, in Sri Lanka – by Dr Harold Gunatillake

I was amazed, shocked to watch a most unhealthy cookery demonstration on one of the TV channels in Sri Lanka

The whole program was focussing how tasty to cook food with a particular kind of cooking oil, obviously being a product sold by the sponsors of the programme.
The chefs demonstrated how peeled cut potatoes, fish fillets and green peas were deep fried in a particular variety of oil to produce a tasteful display.

The potato segments were mixed with corn flour, (if needed to add wheat flour), then deep fried in a pan filled with one whole bottle of clear processed oil from a labelled bottle.

The ‘battered’ potato segments were inserted in the boiling oil one by one, saying that if all were inserted at once, they could adhere to each other. The boiling in oil goes on for nearly 15 minutes and the brownish fried potatoes were put onto a wide flat dish.
The fish fillets were coated with egg and bread crumbs and were deep fried for another approximately 15 minutes until they turned brown.

The health problems that people should be aware are as follows:

Potatoes are one of the healthiest foods on earth provided they are cooked properly.

Deep fried potatoes have approximately 243 calories in one cup. Deep-frying causes much retention of oil, doubling or trebling the food’s calorie content. More calories are added on by mixing with flour, which tastes good but not health-wise. Deep frying loses most of the micronutrients, and you are just eating starch.
Peeled medium baked potato on the other hand has 190 calories, more healthy and nutritional values remain. Boiling in hot water till the unskinned potatoes are soft would be the healthiest way to cook potatoes. The skin retains the micronutrients.

Nutrients

Potatoes have more potassium than banana one medium potato has 620 milligrams of potassium, i.e. 18% of the recommended daily value. Deep frying will totally destroy the potassium in potatoes.

Potatoes have vitamin A, calcium, Thiamine. Niacin, Folate, Zinc and copper, among others, and deep frying as mentioned kills them all.

Deep frying potatoes cause the highest acrylamide formation. Acrylamide is a chemical used in certain industrial processes, such as making paper, dyes and plastics. Acrylamide is also found in cigarette smoke. It is formed when starchy foods like potatoes are fried or cooked at high temperatures. Foods like French fries and potato chips seem to have the highest levels of acrylamide.

Studies have shown that acrylamide produce cancer in animal studies.

The chefs in question poured one whole bottle of clear oil into the frying pan. Clear means it is processed oil. When cooking oils are used to fry foods at high temperatures for a long period, the oil turns into a trans-fat. Trans-fats are notorious to cause heart disease, stroke, among other chronic diseases. Furthermore, ones used oil should be discarded due to harmful high free radical content.

Stir Frying

In stir-frying a Chinese cooking technique called chao, a small quantity of oil is used at high temperatures to quickly sear or steam the food. In this way of cooking there is hardly any oil retention and retains the heat sensitive nutrients unlike deep frying.

Studies have revealed that people living in US referred to as the “stroke belt” extending from Carolina to Arkansas and Louisiana where stroke rates are among the highest in the country eat deep fried fish for taste. These were the findings from a study by Dr. Fadi Nahab –director of the stroke program at Emory University Hospital.

Most ladies and chefs watch these programs on Tele in Sri Lanka and unless they are aware of the morbidity caused by deep frying any food will adopt these techniques of cooking food injurious to their health. Furthermore, invariably children too are given these fried foods and they cultivate a taste for deep fried foods.
It is sensible to cook foods the way grandmother has taught you and avoid experimenting with most of the cookery demonstrations shown on tele.

Good advice by Dr harold