A new study has discovered that, contrary to popular belief, people who fry their food in sunflower or olive oil aren’t increasing their risks of heart disease.
According to researchers, their findings go against the idea that frying food is bad for the heart as they discovered that using certain oils when cooking makes no difference to a persons heart health.
Researchers analysed data from almost 41,000 adults aged between 29 and 69 who did not have heart disease at the start of the study.
They were divided into four groups according to how often they ate foods fried in olive and sunflower oil. These were monitored between high and low amounts of oils and took into account foods that were deep fried, pan fried, crumbed, sauteed and battered.
The researchers looked at the 11-year follow-up on the participants and found that just over 600 of them suffered coronary heart disease ‘events’ and 1,100 people died from any cause.
The researchers analysis found no differences between the four groups and the results did not vary between those who sued olive oil for frying and those who used sunflower oil. Or none at all.
"In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death,” the study wrote in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).
The study added that while eating a plentiful of fried foods carry risks of increases blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity, which can all lead to heart disease, there is still no direct link between cooking oils and heart health.
"Taken together, the myth that frying food is generally bad for the heart is not supported by available evidence. However, this does not mean that frequent meals of fish and chips will have no health consequences.,” adds Professor Michael Leitzman, from the University of Regensburg in Germany.
Talking to The Huffington Post, Eva Lopez, macrobiotic consellor from the SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain said: “In general the more unsaturated oil is, the more volatile and sensitive to heat and light oxidation it is. And the more saturated is the reverse. So the animal fat, saturated, usually solid at room temperature, while the plant is usually liquid.
“But on the other side, as everyone knows the saturated fats are not advisable for our health. So given the choice, better animal vegetable fat, and certainly avoid margarine (hydrogenated vegetable fat very harmful to our health, especially cardiovascular).”
To find out which cooking oils are better than others, we spoke to nutritionist Angela Dowden to see which oils keep the heart healthy.