Introduction
Cooking oil is one of the first things you notice in a kitchen. It can be called the lifeline of your kitchen since you can’t do much cooking without it. As a result of its frequent use in a household, many people may decide to reheat or reuse cooking oil.
Even if you intend to use less oil when cooking, you sometimes can’t help but use significantly more oil than usual. Especially when you have a lot of deep frying to do for that deep-fried fish or French fries.
After the frying, there is still a lot of oil in the pan, so you cover it and save it for making your next meal. However, it might not be the healthiest to reuse frying oil.
Reusing cooking oil not only happens in homes but also in hotels, restaurants, roadside stalls, and other food outlets.
Let’s look at a few harmful effects of reusing cooking oil –
Damages the heart
The market’s selection of bhujias and pakodas seems so tempting but remember to avoid them because the majority of them are cooked in Vanaspati to preserve them for a longer period of time and we end up having trans fats as a result
Repeated use of the same oil increases the number of trans fats, which causes cardiovascular diseases. Food prepared in warmed oil increases the body’s LDL levels, or bad cholesterol, which raises the chance of having a heart attack.
Liver damage from reusing frying oil
The liver is a vital organ in our body. It has a significant impact on metabolism and performs a variety of tasks, including drug detoxification, glycogen storage, and plasma protein synthesis.
Reused cooking oil consumption is harmful to the body since it raises the level of blood enzymes, an indication of liver damage.
Reusing cooking oil reduces immunity
Preparing food by using the same cooking oil, again and again, can also increase free radicals in the body, which in turn causes inflammation. High inflammation in the body can reduce your immunity and make you more susceptible to infections. If you are looking for immunity-boosting foods, begin by not consuming food cooked in reused cooking oil.
Increases trans fats
Cooking oils contain trans fatty acids, which increase upon being reheated. Trans fats are worse than saturated fats as they not only increase the levels of bad cholesterol but also decrease the levels of good cholesterol. Trans fats generally raise the risk of Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, and various liver disorders.
Reused cooking oil has an impact on the skin
Free radicals created by leftover oil have an impact on the skin by accelerating the ageing process. Your skin takes longer to repair if you frequently consume fried foods cooked in reused oil.
Final thoughts
There are several situations where dining out is unavoidable. In such cases, meal planning can be helpful. Food can be brought along. This will make it easier for you to avoid eating anything likely cooked in warmed or reused cooking oil.
It might be possible to safely reheat oil, despite the fact that doing so can have a negative impact on your health. However, you must ensure that the oil has been properly stored and that you haven’t overheated it when using it the first time.
Keeping food particles from building up in the reused will help to reduce food contamination because leftover food particles will cause the oil to deteriorate more quickly. Avoid seasoning food with salt before deep-frying it since it lowers the oil’s smoke point and once the oil smokes, it becomes unsafe to use.
Furthermore, you should also undergo preventive health checkups. These health checkups give a complete report about your health, allowing you to take necessary precautionary measures to improve your well-being and keep various ailments at bay.
