Nutrient losses and gains during frying: a review

Recent consumer interest in 'healthy eating' has raised awareness to limit the consumption of fat and fatty foods. What are the relative nutritional advantages and disadvantages of consuming fried foods? Are all fried foods bad for you? A review on macro- and micronutrients losses and gains during frying is presented here. Frying has little or no impact on the protein or mineral content of fried food, whereas the dietary fibre content of potatoes is increased after frying due to the formation of resistant starch. Moreover, the high temperature and short transit time of the frying process cause less loss of heat labile vitamins 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 meat. The nutritive value of the frying media is also important to take into consideration and therefore losses of nutrients from the frying oil are also discussed. Although some unsaturated fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins are lost due to oxidation, fried foods are generally a good source of vitamin E. It is true that some fat is inevitably taken up by the food being fried, contributing to an increased energy density. 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.