Many have heard about the common advice of eating your vegetables and avoid fried foods in order to stay healthy. But a new study seems to suggest that frying your vegetables may actually be healthy. A study published in the journal Food Chemistry indicates that deep frying vegetables in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) makes them healthier.
The study looked into the condition of the vegetables before and after frying in EVOO, closely focusing on fat, phenols and antioxidant capacity. The researchers discovered that the phenols found in olive oil transferred into the fried vegetables, enriching it with nutrients. Moreover, the researchers also discovered that the fried vegetables contained phenols not identified in their raw states. The antioxidant capacity of the vegetables increased when they were prepared in oil.
Compared to preparing the vegetables in other ways such as boiling them in water, the nutrient content of the vegetables remained higher compared to boiled ones, which even decreased the nutrient content as some of the compounds dissolved in the boiling water. All the cooking methods used increased or preserved the antioxidant capacity of the vegetables.
This discovery may change the perception that frying food in oil is bad. In this case, deep frying vegetables on olive oil can make them a healthier option. And with the increase in antioxidants, these vegetables may play a significant role in reducing cancer as well as type 2 diabetes risk.
Source: AOL
Tags: deep fry vegetables, Diabetes News, diabetes risk, frying in olive oil, frying vegetables