New research, published today, contradicts the widespread advice to avoid fried foods in order to protect the heart.
Professor Pilar Guallar-Castillon, of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, and her team looked at the risk in 40,757 adults who were followed for about 11 years.
All participants were free of heart disease at the start. During the 11 years, there were 606 diagnoses of coronary heart disease and 1,135 deaths overall.
Those in the highest quarter for fried food consumption had no significant raised risk compared with those in the other quarters.
Reporting in the British Medical Journal, the authors say: "The results did not vary between those who used olive oil for frying and those who used sunflower oil."
They also found no link between fried food consumption and premature death, and conclude: "In a Mediterranean country where olive and sunflower oils are the most commonly used fats for frying, and where large amounts of fried foods are consumed both at and away from home, no association was observed between fried food consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease or death."
Professor Michael Leitzmann of the University of Regensburg in Germany, adds in an editorial that: "Taken together, the myth that frying food is generally bad for the heart is not supported by available evidence. However, this does not mean that frequent meals of fish and chips will have no health consequences."
But Victoria Taylor of the British Heart Foundation commented: "Regardless of the cooking methods used, consuming foods with high fat content means a high calorie intake. This can lead to weight gain and obesity, which is a risk factor for heart disease.
“Before we all reach for the frying pan it’s important to remember that this was a study of a Mediterranean diet, rather than British fish and chips."
Fried foods and the risk of coronary heart disease. Leitzmann, M. and Kurth, T. The British Medical Journal January 25 2012 Volume 344 doi:10.1136/bmj.d8274
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