NUTRIENT LOSSES AND GAINS DURING FRYING - A REVIEW

Recent consumer interest in 'healthy eating' has raised awareness to l imit the consumption of fat and fatty foods. What are the relative nut ritional advantages and disadvantages of consuming fried foods? Are al l fried foods bad for you? A review on macro-and micronutrients losses and gains during frying is presented here. Frying has little or no im pact on the protein or mineral content of fried food, whereas the diet ary fibre content of potatoes is increased after frying due to the for mation of resistant starch. Moreover, the high temperature and short t ransit time of the frying process cause less loss of heat labile vitam ins than other types of cooking. For example, vitamin C concentrations of French fried potatoes are as high as in raw potatoes, and thiamine is well retained in fried potato products as well as in fried pork me at. The nutritive value of the frying media is also important to take into consideration and therefore losses of nutrients from the frying o il are also discussed. Although some unsaturated fatty acids and antio xidant vitamins are lost due to oxidation, fried foods are generally a good source of vitamin E. It is true that some fat is inevitably take n up by the food being fried, contributing to an increased energy dens ity. However, this also results in highly palatable foods with a high nutritional content. It is concluded that fried foods certainly have a place in our diets.