There is no doubt that fried food is so tempting and delicious that anyone can get addicted to it. Same goes for the salty and savory food. It’s nearly impossible to keep our hands off the platter when it is in front of us. 

As we feast on these delectable items, do we ever consider how they affect our health? Are they harmful or are they a requirement of a healthy diet? Let’s learn:

Is Oil and Salt Bad for our Health?

It’s a common misconception that oily and salty food are completely bad for our health. It’s not entirely true.

First off, we can’t put all oils in one category. Some oils are healthier than the others. According to research, the kind of oils that can potentially harm your health and hence, better to be avoided include corn, soy, and sunflower seed oil. On the other hand, olive and coconut oil have been proven to be good for our health. Combining oils with healthy fats in it along with vegetables can in fact make a winning combination of nutrients. However, the key here is moderation. As we have been hearing all our lives, excess of anything is bad. The same goes for oil.

Let’s talk about salt now. Cutting out salt completely from your diet can actually lead to health problems. Salt is an important nutrient and our body uses it to maintain the fluids in the blood and to keep the blood pressure at a healthy level. Additionally, salt is also important for nerve and muscle function.

The whole point of this discussion is that oils and salt are not inherently bad. It’s just the choices that we make that determine how they will impact our health. Choose healthy fats and consume oils and salt in moderation (just enough for your body’s requirements) to avoid their negative health impacts.

If you need more convincing in revisiting your dietary habits, take a look at how excessive consumption of fried and salty food can affect our health:

Calorie Surplus

If you are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle with a proper workout and diet, you might need to cut back on fried food and/or switch to olive oil.  Salty and fried food items are usually high in calories. Even more so when they are coated with several layers of corn flour or any premade batter.

To give you a little perspective, consider one baked potato and a bowl of French fries prepared from a similarly sized potato.

The baked potato would have 90 calories in it, without any fat. The latter would contain at least 320 calories and 17 grams of fats.

Upset Stomach

It all begins with a constant upset stomach. In general, our digestive system faces a hard time digesting fat, and fried items have a high amount of it. When we heavily consume fried food, our digestive system slows down the bowel movement as the food takes longer to digest. This leads to constant bloating, stomach pain, and nausea.

If the consumption isn’t limited in due time, it can further lead to issues like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, chronic pancreatitis, diarrhea, and cramping.  

Hypertension

Salt is one of those things that can neither be too little or too much in your food. Eating a moderate amount of salt in your food is good, as it prevents enlarged thyroid, improves symptoms of (PCOS), and keeps the body hydrated.

On the flip side, excessive consumption of salty food can elevate your blood pressure and cholesterol. If not controlled in a timely manner, it can lead to the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries, eventually leading to atherosclerosis. All these factors work to increase your risk of heart diseases.

Fried, salty foods can also worsen the condition of diabetic patients as well as those with chronic kidney disease.

Conclusion

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn’t necessarily mean cutting out completely on certain foods (read fried and salty foods), it means maintaining a balanced diet that fulfills all the nutrient requirements of your body and that includes salt and fat. Make wise dietary choices - go for lean meats, olive oil, and switch frying with baking or grilling – and incorporate physical activity in your daily routine to stay in the best of health.

Most importantly, give your new lifestyle a little support via natural herbal tinctures and capsules. A healthier lifestyle means a little less confused stomach, sore muscles, restless sleep, etc. Use beneficial herbs side by side with your clean diet and enjoy a long and healthy life.