Scientific Explanation Why Fries Fried With Used Oil Are Better

Photo illustration (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - Some people, including health experts, argue that fried dishes, including fried tofu, bakwan, tempeh and others, taste better when cooked with used oil or repeatedly used. What is the reason? And why is this bad for the health of your body?

"Because with the chemical process that occurs, it (oil) will produce a tastier taste," said a clinical nutrition specialist from the Banten Branch of the Association of Clinical Nutritionists (PDGKI), Juwalita Surapsari in the World Health Day webinar with the University of Indonesia Alumni Association (ILUNI). UI) and Jelantah4Change, Sunday, April 25.

Dishes that tend to be more savory are obtained from the frying process using a lot of oil with an increasingly dark, thick or even bubbly color. This condition occurs as a result of a series of processes, associated with the boiling point dropping from 232 degrees Celsius to 207 degrees Celsius.

The effect is, when the oil is reused, it will break down easily and undergo a long chemical process that produces free radicals. Chemically, the frying process gives rise to oxidation, hydrolysis and polymeration of fatty acids which produce carcinogenic compounds.

"There is such a thing as acrolein, PAH (polycylic aromatic hydrcarbons) which are carcinogenic or cause cancer risk. When fried, this oil is in a temperature of 170-220 degrees Celsius, then hydrolysis occurs first," said Juwalita.

Hydrolysis is the breakdown of triglyceride molecules into free fatty acids with glycerol with the help of water from food. After that, there is an oxidation process that produces aldehyde compounds, PAHs, namely free radicals and changes in the structure of cis-type fatty acids to trans fat.

The trans fat recommendation itself can actually only be consumed under 1 percent of daily food intake.

Impact on health

You can imagine if you repeatedly use the same oil for frying, the higher the trans fat, as well as the three chemical processes. More and more hazardous substances will be produced.

Juwalita said, the effect of the antioxidant effect which is actually contained in oil is decreasing. When in fact this substance is to reduce free radicals.

The impact on health is clear, namely increasing levels of bad cholesterol or LDL, an inflammatory condition in the body and this is not visible.

When inflammation occurs in the blood vessels, plaque appears and then narrows the vessels and ultimately blocks blood flow.

"Because of the habit of consuming trans fats in fast food and eventually it causes plaque in the blood vessels, that's why the complaints that occur are like strokes," said Juwalita who graduated from FKUI.

A study involving experimental animals in 2012 showed that giving palm oil that is heated 5-10 times will cause thickening of the walls of blood vessels within 6 months.

The frying process at 170-220 degrees Celsius produces PAH which can interact with enzymes in the body. This enzyme functions in a series of chemical processes in the body.

PAH can also cause protein breakdown in the body and eventually cause injury to cell membranes. PAH even causes damage to DNA, whereas if there is damage to DNA, the nature of the cell will change. As a result? cancer occurs in them of the breast, colorectal and prostate.

"Regarding this cancer, I found that the age was getting more advanced. In the past I had male colon cancer patients aged over 50 years. Now I often get colon cancer patients starting at the age of 30, even at the end of 20 years," said Juwalita.

On the other hand, consuming too much saturated fat (from oil that is used repeatedly) can also disrupt the good bacteria in the digestive tract, making the condition unhealthy. As a result, it is easy to change the nature of the cells that lead to cancer.

Doctor's solution

The Ministry of Health recommends daily oil intake of no more than 5 tablespoons if your daily calorie consumption is 2000 calories. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum fat intake of 30 percent of total energy intake in a day.

This means that saturated fat is minimized 10 percent of total energy intake, while trans fat is only 1 percent of total energy intake. As one solution, according to Juwalita, you should wisely use oil to process food.

Then, in order to ward off free radicals due to the effects of frying, eat foods high in antioxidants. Foods containing antioxidants such as papaya, guava, spinach, broccoli (contains vitamin C), nuts, avocado (vitamin E), red or yellowish vegetables (containing carotene) such as pumpkin, yellow melon, orange peppers.

This means, you cannot eliminate the intake of vegetables and fruit in your diet. Health experts at the Ministry of Health recommend that you eat vegetables about 150 grams or 1 medium bowl.

As for fruits, you should consume a variety of them so that their antioxidant content is more diverse, with a total of one-third of your dinner plate. For example, 150 grams of papaya is equal to 2 medium slices, 2 medium oranges is equal to 110 grams, or 1 small fruit of Ambon banana is equal to 150 grams.

If you want to eat a fried menu, try to limit the portions and apply usage limits. Juwalita, for example, applies a rule in his family that the use of oil in his house is a maximum of two times.

On the other hand, according to occupational health and nutrition industry practitioners from the University of Indonesia as well as the Founder Health Collaborative Center (HCC) Ray W. Basrowi, who was also present at the event, added that balanced nutrition education needs to be popularized in the community. The simple thing you can start doing, uploading the contents of my plate on your social media pages.

"Education on balanced nutrition must be popularized, as simple as putting information or pictures of my plate contents on the Instagram Story," he said.

* Read other information about HEALTH or read other interesting articles from Detha Arya Tifada.

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