Here’s more proof that fried foods are bad for you, as study suggests they can cause stroke

Who doesn’t like noshing on some samosas or pakodas? These deep-fried treats are an absolute delight for our taste buds. Unfortunately, though, they also pose a major risk to your heart health.  

If you didn’t know already, then let us reiterate it here: fried food intake promotes the risk of major heart attack and stroke. And we’re not the only ones saying this! This finding is a result of a new pooled analysis of the available research data, published online in the journal Heart. 

The analysis suggests that your risk of cardiac disease increases with additional 114 grams of weekly intake of such food items. Fried foods or oily foods contain large amounts of fat. If the amount of fat increases then the cholesterol level also increases, resulting in the fat molecules to block arteries causing heart attack and stroke.

However, the researchers also noted that no association has been found between deaths due to heart disease and the consumption of fried foods.  This, they say, could be because the numbers are far too low. Researchers also say that it is clear that the Western diet does not promote good cardiovascular health.

These are the findings of the study 

The researchers looked for relevant studies published up to April 2020 for the research database. They then collected data from 17 such studies, including 562,445 participants—of which 36,727 had such cardiovascular events as heart attack or stroke. 

They pooled the data from six studies, involving 754,873 participants and 85,906 deaths over an average monitoring period of 9.5 years, to assess the potential link between fried food consumption and deaths from cardiovascular disease and from any cause.

The analysis revealed that people eating more fried foods had a 28% increased

risk of cardiovascular events, 22% increased risk of coronary heart disease, and 37% heart failure, compared to those who ate less fried foods.

Due to considerable variation in the design of studies, researchers point out that it is not entirely clear how fried foods actually affect the development of heart disease.

Frying also boosts the production of chemical by-products involved in the body’s inflammatory response. Foods, such as fried chicken and French fries, are usually high in added salt, and often accompanied by sugar-sweetened drinks, particularly when served in fast-food restaurants, they say.