Reheated Oil, a Poison to Health

Due to a scandal in my country with the fast food signature KFC, I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity to remind you of how harmful using reheated oil to prepare your food can be.  To save a few pennies, you could expose yourself to contracting diseases as serious as cancer and other chronic conditions, like gastritis.

If you are home, use measured oil to fry food or for dressings you need to make, and avoid having leftovers.  In extreme cases, I consider the maximum number of times you can reuse oil is twice, to prevent any harm.

Unfortunately, these measures that you can take at home are completely out of your control whenever you leaves to eat out.  That’s what happened a few days ago in Saint Michael, a district in Lima in my country.  Municipal authorities detected, in an inspection, that the famous establishment, Kentucky Fried Chicken, reused reheated oil for all its fried food.  This has evidently created a high decibel scandal, and the public’s rejection, that will now have more complaints about eating there.

Medical specialists have even warned of the dangers of eating foods cooked in reused oil.  Do you know what you’re exposing yourself to?

Stomach cancer

There is a lot of harm that can be caused, but the most feared is stomach cancer, according to nutritionist Slovenia Ulloa, interviewed by the newspaper “Peruvian Commerce”.  Eating foods fried in these types of oil “accelerate blood’s coagulation process“, causing at the same time “the appearance of toxic molecules, potentially cancer-causing“.

Gastritis-heart problems

But the damages don’t stop there.  There is also a risk of acquiring severe gastritis or even cardiac problems due to the fact that oil that has been reheated more than once produces trans fat.

How to recognize Reheated Oil

Remember that all consumers have the right to demand that food served to use be prepared with all caution, not only in cleanliness within the building, but this also implies the manipulation of consumable goods.

Ideally, we would choose to eat in establishments that have a visible kitchen, especially if you are going to eat something fried.  You will then be able to see what state the oil is in.

If you see that it no longer looks lightly golden, but rather looks dark brown with small black particles, it’s best that you stop eating in that place.  Those particles are nitrates and benzenes that form in used oil and that, in spite of their inoffensive appearance, are truly dangerous and highly carcinogenic.

Olive oil

If you are going to fry anything, ideally you should do this with olive oil, which is good for more than just seasoning salads.  This is one of the healthiest oils around, and consuming it will help prevent harmful cholesterol and provides vitamin E.  Likewise, it is an antioxidant.  That being said, never fry it at high heat, this can burn the oil and ruin its benefits.

Fruits and vegetables

It is important that you include fruits and vegetables in your daily diet that provide nutrients and antioxidants that your body needs.  You will thereby prevent illnesses that could be caused by eating too much fast food and fried food; you will also add to cellular regeneration, as seen in the article about antioxidants.

Avoid this

Remember that if you want to have a healthy life, you must not only stop habits, like consuming excessive amounts of fat, fried food, flour and sugar, but that enemies to health are also alcohol, tobacco, lack of physical exercise and unsafe sex.  Let’s protect ourselves from them and start the year 2015 healthy, for ourselves and for our family.  I send you wishes of peace, love, and unity for all readers.  Cheers!

Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 12/30/2017

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