Cancer: Recently, Dr Priyanka Sehrawat has come up with quite a worrying component of today’s eating habits and their relation to the risks of developing cancer. She took to her Instagram handle to share how the risk of developing cancer increases by frequent consumption of fried street food.
Health Risks of Repeatedly Heated Cooking Oil
As Dr. Sehrawat puts it, it’s the repeated heating of the same oil that turns the problem into a menace. That’s, in fact, one of the most common practices in many of our eateries and other people’s homes. It is leading to the oxidation of fats in the oil to form such harmful substances as trans fats and acrylamide. As various studies over these years have shown, the consumption of trans fats keeps causing serious adverse effects to the health of the heart, significantly raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Acrylamide, on the other hand, is a chemical compound directly linked to increased risk of cancer.
Avoid Reusing Oil Frequently
On the other hand, Dr. Sehrawat listed out several practical tips to mitigate such hazards. At the very top of her list was that one should not re-heat oil multiple times, which is a common feature in making such fried foods as pooris, bhatures, and various deep-fried items. The same oil, being re-used again and again, provides more opportunities for these harmful compounds to get accumulated, and so it becomes all the more dangerous.
As people in the lower-income countries cannot afford to throw oil every time, she however recommended filtering the oil before the next use in her message. In guidelines by the Indian Council of Medical Research, it stated that one can reuse the oil at the discretion of thorough filtering and within a very short span, ideally 2-3 days. The oil should be kept only for general vegetables preparations, which are boiled.
Minimize Consumption of Fried Foods
Finally, Dr. Sehrawat also advised against the high consumption of fried foods, in which the oil is reheated numerous times—highlighting the risks of toxic compounds.
Long story short, occasional fried foods may not appear harmful, but repeated heating of oil with frequent consumption of such food comes with huge health risks. Following advice from doctors like Dr. Sehrawat can help a person in taking active steps to protect his/her health and reduce the risk of cancer.