HYDERABAD: Be it hot samosas or pakodas, street food is irresistible to many of us. Though many of know the harmful health effects of consuming food fried in reheated oil, doctors are stressing on the extent of damage it can cause. The toxic compounds found in reheated oils can cause heart diseases and cancer, say experts.
Oils extracted from sunflower seeds and safflower seeds contain 60 and 75 per cent of Omega-6 Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) respectively. “When these oils are reheated, PUFA degrades leading to form toxic compounds, accumulation of which can lead to chronic diseases including heart ailments,” says Dr. S Ahamed Ibrahim, head of the lipid chemistry division at National Institute of Nutrition. Dr. Ahamed recommends that cooking oil used once be discarded. He also says that adding fresh oil to reheated oil is equally bad. “It leads to faster degradation of the fresh oil,” he says. He added that studies proved that consumption of repeatedly heated vegetable oils can increase blood pressure, cholesterol levels and inflammation, which are major risk factors for heart diseases.
Senior consultant interventional cardiologist at Yashoda Hospitals Dr Ashwin Tumkur says reheating of oils lead to an increase in levels of trans fatty acids. “Trans fatty acids increase cholestrol levels in arteries leading to heart attacks and other organs can get affected too. All junk foods contain these trans fatty acids,” Dr Ashwin said.
NIN puts up banner boards
The National Institute of Nutrition has taken an initiative to put up educative banner boards containing informative messages on the importance of fatty acids, vitamins and ways to improve iron content. Institute’s director Dr R Hemalatha said the initiative has been undertaken to spread awareness on unhealthy foods and its impact on hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Though current banners are in Hindi and English, the Institute plans to have Telugu ones too, soon. A book containing these information will be designed and distributed in villages.