Is Eating Fried Food for Breakfast Bad for You?

The image which pops into your head when you think of fried food is likely dictated by your cultural upbringing and environment. If you are from Latin America then you might enjoy some deep fried plantain tostones. If you are from the UK, then the full breakfast might be more in your comfort food zone. Essentially fried food is that which has been cooked using oil and heat on the stove top. This could be deep fried or shallow fried depending on how much oil you use. There is a reason people enjoy eating their food in this way, even fried food for breakfast. It is not only because it is practical and quick, but it can also render food particularly delicious. Fish and chip shops batter and deep fry otherwise healthy fish fillets. They litter street corners across the UK, but finding a healthier poached fish is something harder to come by. This is unless you go to a sit-down restaurant.

Common fried foods for breakfast include eggs, bacon, potato bread, empanadas, donuts, beef hash, kobachi and, of course, pancakes. As breakfast is the dish you eat at the start of the day, it could involve anything. Frying is an option many people choose as it takes little effort when you wake up and are drowsy. Of course, not as little effort as pouring some cereal into a bowl.

There may not always be agreement on what food is best for breakfast. But general consensus tells us eating some food is always recommended. Breakfast is a portmanteau meaning "to break the fast" you undergo during sleep. Your body needs nutrients throughout the day to keep going. Eating breakfast will start your body on the right course to best absorb them. Breakfast is almost like the kindling you need to get the furnace going. Even eating fried food for breakfast is something. If you try to get all these nutrients later in the day, you will already have deprived your body of many essentials. It is likely you will absorb them erratically and not be at your optimum.

Nutrition is a general term for all the necessities our bodies need. Take the plantain tostones we used as an example earlier. Although made from a fruit like a banana, they are prepared more like a vegetable. They are high in carbohydrates, but also high in B vitamins, fiber and potassium. It also has about a third of your recommended vitamin C and vitamin A. It is low in fat, but this is where frying comes in. When you eat fried food for breakfast, the oil you fry in adds to the fat content of the food. In turn, this raises the calorific intake.

Many people think this means it is something which shouldn't be eaten at the beginning of the day. However, research exists saying that eating fatty foods in the morning can help prepare the body to break down fats and carbohydrates. Both of these can be detrimental to your health if not done so in the right way. This is in contrast to eating a carbohydrate rich only breakfast. This will help you to break down more carbohydrates, but not other nutrients. Not to say eating fatty food is healthy. It does mean that if you are going to eat fatty foods at any time of the day, eating fried food for breakfast might be the best option. This is especially true closer to bed time when you will not be able to digest as well thanks to your body activity during rest. Would you think it crazy to eat a KFC for breakfast and have a boiled egg and grapefruit for dinner? There is some thinking which claims this would be better than the other way around.

Generally, you should never eat deep fried food, for breakfast or otherwise. There is more often than not another way to make the dish which is more healthy. Deep frying it adds more and more fat which the body will find difficult to convert into energy. Eating food for breakfast which is high in sugar is also not going to do you much good for the same reason. Donuts and cupcakes (which are all butter and sugar if you do them right) should be out of the question. It is not that you should never eat these things, however. You can still enjoy them as part of a balanced diet. To have a balanced diet you need to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables with little refined sugar and fat. So, if you eat a doughnut in the morning, then you shouldn't have anything too sweet the rest of the day.

If deep frying is overkill, then shallow frying might be the happy medium. Whole grain oatmeal pancakes are technically a fried food for breakfast. They will give you the carbohydrates you need to keep your energy up, the fat you need to keep you going as well as all the goodness of whole grain cereals. Frying an omelette can also be very beneficial as you'll be able to add vegetables to the dish. This provides vitamins and nutrients which many people only eat later in the day. The eggs can provide protein to help give you energy and build muscle strength.

The oil you use to fry is important. Soy oil, corn oil and canola oil are some of the worst oils to use for frying as they contain omega-6 fatty acids which lead to inflammation. Their methods of production can also make their health benefits dubious. Olive oil is one of the best all rounders as it is high antioxidants. It is also thought to help lower risk of heart disease compared to other oils. Peanut oil is another example of a particularly good oil. It has vitamin E benefits and can also help lower cholesterol thanks to the presence of mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

One key thing to remember when eating fried food for breakfast is make sure you don't heat the oil too hot. If you get the oil too hot it will reach its smoke point. You will literally see it smoking and it is believed this can release carcinogenic substances which are not good for you.

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

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