Health experts warn against repeatedly frying of food in oil

KABUL (Pajhwok): Medical experts believe repeatedly frying food in cooking oil could become oxidized and generates carcinogenic substances in human body.

They strictly advice against frying food in cooking oil for a second time or more.

Dr. Faridullah Omari, a specialist and trainer at Antani Hospital, advised against the reuse of cooking oil for frying food. According to him, oils that are fried repeatedly oxidize and produce carcinogenic substances.

He said cooking oil had less resistance against heat than ghee and lost its properties quickly, therefore liquid oil should not be used for repeatedly frying of food.

Meanwhile, Dr. Seyed Farid Shah Rafiei, a specialist in general internal medicine, who has been working in the Internal Medicine Department of Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital from the past 16 years, stressed on a limited use of cooking oil in food and said cooking oil should not be fried repeatedly.

He said repeatedly frying of food was not fair practice because it produced trans fats which are not healthy.

He said: “Trans fats can lead to conditions such as heart attacks by increasing bad cholesterol in the blood.”

Dr. Faizullah Kakar, a psychiatrist who also has a master’s degree in epidemiology, previously told Pajhwok Afghan News that liquid oil was more beneficial than solid oil. But foods fried in liquid oil can cause cancer, heart stock and brain inflammation.

He said research showed majority of liquid oils were not resistant to heat and became free radicals during frying.

He said free radicals attack destroy proteins in the human body, which results in destruction of cells and creates favorable environment for cancer.

Kakar added the entry of radicals into human body causes the deterioration of cholesterol and its deposition in the arteries, which can ultimately cause heart attacks.

Dr. Faizullah Kakar said the entry of radicals into the human brain causes brain inflammation and weakens memory.

“Unfortunately, as far as I know, our people do not use these oils properly and repeatedly fry potatoes, onions, meat, etc in liquid oils, which is very dangerous to health.”

He recommends people do not fry food in liquid oil because fried foods, especially onions, are harmful to the stomach and can cause stomach ulcers.

According to Kakar, if someone wants to fry food in oil he should use solid oil with low trans-fat acid because the amount of transfat acid is very low in solid oils that are very hard.

He also pointed out to avoid keeping liquid oil containers open and leaving them in front of sunlight because oxygen and sunlight change the oil characteristics

According to him, spoiled oils have a pungent smell and should not be used.

He also recommends that when buying oil, pay attention to the production date of the oil and refrain from buying oil that is outside the store under the sun rays.

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