Some questions about health

[MarkAnthony]

Hi

So I've been a vegan for nearly a year now, and despite having a generally fairly healthy diet I think there's much more I could do to be healthier. I'm looking into various things like cutting down on salt (I'm going to start making my own peanut butter and houmous) but there are some aspects of health that I'm unclear on and I was wondering if people knew the answer to.

First off, I've got quite a taste for deep fried food. I've been told in the past that you create cholesterol in food that is deep fried. If I'm slicing up potatoes and deep frying them to make chips, am I going to increase my saturated fat/cholesterol intake, or just my calorie intake? (I'm not too worried about the latter as it can be remedied by simply eating less elsewhere and/or exercise). I also seem to remember reading somewhere that crisps are very high in trans fats due to being sliced so thinly and then deep fried. Does anyone know if the same goes for chips/tofu/anything deep fried?

Second, is it true that coconut milk is the only unprocessed plant food to contain cholesterol?

Third, as I don't have time to make my own bread, does anyone know of any brands of bread available in the UK that constitute a wholefood (ie. are made from wholemeal wheat flour or some other unrefined flour) that don't contain salt?

Fourth, does shallow frying have the same but lesser effect on food as deep frying, that is, increasing cholesterol/saturated fat content?

I think that's it for now, I might add some more questions later if I can think of them!

Thanks in advance.

[herbwormwood]

Coconuts contain saturated fat, but the cholesterol has to be made in the body, as far as I know.
If you cook your chips at home with a fryer they will be healthier than chip shop chips, where the oil is often used again and again.
Our local fire service were offering free electric fryers if people gave them their deep fat fryer!

The animal fats are the most unhealthy fats, so I would not worry about having too much fat in a vegan diet.
Unfortunately shallow frying also turns good fats bad, but there is less of it.
If you eat plenty of fruit and veg, beans, pulses, you will be fine.
Eating a balanced vegan diet is a really healthy way to eat.
As for bread, most bread contains salt, but if you buy it from a wholefood shop or a specialist bakery you will be fine. Do you have a medical reason to avoid salt? Processed foods are high in salt so cut down on those. Also takeaways are high in salt. Don't add salt to food except if a recipe you are cooking requires it, and even then you can experiment with ading less than the recipe says. As you live in Manchester you probably don't sweat a great deal, unless you do a lot of sport or get really hot a lot, or do heavy manual work. Beccause when people sweat a lot, they need more salt than those who don't sweat much.

[MarkAnthony]

I have an electric fryer, so I do actually re-use the oil quite a lot. Is that a problem?

I think the main thing I probably need to do with regard to fat and it being bad for my heart is do more exercise, but I do eat a good variety of fruit and veg as well. I'll bear that in mind about shallow frying as well. Do you happen to know if that applies even if you use olive or rapeseed oils, ie. ones that are supposed to reduce your cholesterol levels?

I'll look into my local healthfood shop's bread and ask them about salt content, cheers for that. I don't actually have a medical reason to avoid salt anymore than the next person, but I do suspect that I have high blood pressure although haven't had this confirmed yet. The only reason I have this suspicion is because I know that I'm what you might call a 'stresshead' and get wound up about things quite easily. I'm going to go for a general health checkup soon though just to see how I'm doing and blood pressure is one of the things I intend to check out. As I say I'm going to start making my own peanut butter and houmous as I haven't found any ready made ones that are salt free.

[Ribbon]

I noticed you lived in Manchester, as do I.I'm guessing you've probably heard of Unicorn (vegan healthfood shop in Chorlton) and i know they definitely do a salt free wholemeal loaf there- it's called "salt free melton loaf". they also sell salt free peanut butter (8th day healthfood shop on oxford road sell that too).

sorry im not really an expert on fats and the like so ill leave others to answer those but just thought those shopping tips might be handy!

[MarkAnthony]

That's great man cheers I'll bear that in mind.

I've tried that salt free peanut butter I think actually, I believe it's just pureed peanuts. I wasn't too keen I have to say I think it was a little too thick, no harm in adding some vegetable oil to peanut butter methinks.

[emmapresley]

Hi..i eat 'meridian foods' smooth wholenut peanut butter and that's pretty much JUST roasted peanuts.

v yummy.

[MarkAnthony]

I'll give that one a go. The one I tried that was pure peanuts was made by Suma, and I wasn't overly keen on the thick texture, but another brand's always worth a go.

[MarkAnthony]

Anyone know more about fat transformation in deep/shallow frying?

[Seaside]

I made a post here about what happens to fats at high temperatures, but it was a long time ago, and I can't find it.

What you should know about the types of vegetable oils used in deep fat frying is that, whether you fry with them or use them unheated, they are rich in Omega 6 fatty acids, which promote prostaglandin production and cellular inflammation. The ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids to Omega 6 fatty acids which is recommended for people's diets has no bearing upon the fact that any amount of Omega 6 fatty acids will lead to inflammation, and they are the building blocks of prostaglandins, hormones involved in increasing pain sensations. The lower you keep your levels of both inflammation and prostaglandins, the fewer aches and pains you will feel from ordinary, day-to-day stress. This may not be a factor for younger people, but it will be as you age. Its also something for women who experience menstrual cramps to consider, as prostaglandins are what actually causes the pain.

Brought to you by a former deep fried food addict.

[Woodsie]

Any oil that is heated to boiling point unfortunately turns into saturated fat. Even cold pressed olive oil! I've read that when using oil for stir fries you should put some water in the wok first, then add the oil, as this keeps the temperature of the oil down. It seems there is no healthy 'deep fried' food, though maybe some not as bad as others (depending on oil used and what is actually being deep fried).... doom and gloom!

[Willynilly]

The animal fats are the most unhealthy fats, so I would not worry about having too much fat in a vegan diet.

I think that Drs McDougall (drmcdougall.com), Ornish (webmd.com) and Barnard (pcrm.org ) would disagree with you!
I went veg in my mid 20's, and have always been a keen cyclist, but still had a heart attack at 50.
It's never too early to start a healthy low fat diet and I don't think it's true to say that you can get away with it because of youth and exercise.
Do you know your cholesterol level, Mark Anthon? It needs to be well below 3 mmol/L (115 mg/dl ) according to Dr Ornish.

[MarkAnthony]

Hmm, it seems there's little hope then!

I'm going to have to get into the habit of frying things a lot less it seems. Does anyone know what the best oils to use for frying are healthwise? I've heard vegetable oil, ie. rapeseed oil (canola in the States) is a particularly healthy one and is what I've been deep/shallow frying in up until now.

Also if I'm reusing the oil in my fryer (I'm not going to get rid of it completely) am I going to make the oil 'worse' every time I reheat it.

I made a post here about what happens to fats at high temperatures, but it was a long time ago, and I can't find it.

What you should know about the types of vegetable oils used in deep fat frying is that, whether you fry with them or use them unheated, they are rich in Omega 6 fatty acids, which promote prostaglandin production and cellular inflammation. The ratio of Omega 3 fatty acids to Omega 6 fatty acids which is recommended for people's diets has no bearing upon the fact that any amount of Omega 6 fatty acids will lead to inflammation, and they are the building blocks of prostaglandins, hormones involved in increasing pain sensations. The lower you keep your levels of both inflammation and prostaglandins, the fewer aches and pains you will feel from ordinary, day-to-day stress. This may not be a factor for younger people, but it will be as you age. Its also something for women who experience menstrual cramps to consider, as prostaglandins are what actually causes the pain.

Brought to you by a former deep fried food addict.

Do you not need Omega fatty acids in your diet though? To keep your brain healthy or something?

[Seaside]

Sorry Mark Anthon! To make things more confusing, there are three types of Omega fatty acids. Omega 3, Omega 6, and Omega 9. Omega 3 are vital to your health, and can be found in flax seeds, flaxseed oil, hemp seeds, hempseed oil, walnuts and a few other foods. Omega 6 and Omega 9 can be found in many plant foods, and do not need supplementation, and some experts like Neal Barnard suggest that vegetable oils should not be added to the diet at all.

[Woodsie]

sorry Mark, you should never re-use cooking oil. I know there are certain oils which tolerate high temperatures more than others but I can recall which ones they are. I think cottonseed oil might be one but don't quote me!

[matt35mm]

Sorry Mark.

I don't know, I'm just jumping on the bandwagon. So just... sorry, Mark.

[herbwormwood]

I went veg in my mid 20's, and have always been a keen cyclist, but still had a heart attack at 50.

Sorry to hear that. Do you mean you went vegan in your mid 20s?
Of course food is not the only factor in heart attacks, as I am sure you know. Stress, smoking, alcohol, and hereditary factors are other examples. I don't know if any of these were relevant in your case but of course no one can escape stress.
Animal fats, including dairy products and eggs, contain the most saturated fat and this is what clogs arteries.

[RedWellies]

Hmm, it seems there's little hope then!

Don't panic! You're only 21! You've got a few years left yet!