Eating in moderation is the general rule of the thumb. The same thing happens with fried potatoes as well. Potato is the staple food in many parts of the world and is an integral part of much of the world’s food supply. They are packed with fiber, magnesium, potassium and antioxidants. They have no fat, sodium or cholesterol and so, they are not really unhealthy. But, it is the way you cook and consume them that makes all the difference.
According to an eight-yearlong study that was published in the journal American Journal of clinical nutrition, found out that consuming fried potatoes on a regular basis increases the risk of death. But it should be made clear that the increased mortality rate is associated with fried potatoes and not any other potatoes. So, people who consume boiled potatoes or grilled potatoes in any other form, are not in the risky zone and do not face any health risks.
A team of researchers analysed the eating habits of more than 4,400 people in North America aged between 45-79 years. They kept a track of how often the participants ate fried and unfried potatoes during the course of the study. It was noted that 236 people died by the end of the study. Researchers revealed that participants who ate fried potatoes - be it at restaurants or homemade fries or in the form of hash browns, twice a week or more had double the risk of early death than those who did not eat fried potatoes at all.
The study only finds an association between consumption of fried potatoes and an increased risk of death. It does not suggest that they can, by themselves, cause death. There can be many factors at play here such as high consumption of fried foods, the quality of cooking oil used or perhaps the effect of frying on the nutritional value of potatoes. Therefore, more research is required to validate these findings.
