While fried foods might be a guilty pleasure enjoyed every once in a while, eating them on the regular poses a lot of health risks you might want to know about. To help you be more aware of what's going on in your body, here are 20 things that can happen if you eat fried foods regularly.
1. Weight Gain
No, fried foods are sadly not good for you. They can be incredibly high in calories and can often lead to consuming more energy than your body can burn off. This surplus of energy then gets stored as fat, leading to incremental weight gain over time.
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2. Increased Risk of Heart Disease
Fried foods are high in trans fat, and when consumed on a regular basis, can raise your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels while simultaneously lowering your HDL (good) cholesterol levels. This imbalance leads to a buildup of plaque in your arteries, increasing your risk of heart disease and stroke.
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3. High Blood Pressure
Regularly consuming fried foods has been associated with a higher intake of sodium and unhealthy fats, two things which can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure). It can be incredibly dangerous as having high blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
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4. Type 2 Diabetes
As mentioned, eating fried foods on a frequent basis can lead to obesity, which is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. To make things worse, the high glycemic index of fried foods can lead to spikes in blood sugar levels, contributing to insulin resistance over time.
5. Digestive Problems
Have you ever felt not so great in the tummy after eating a whole bunch of fried foods? That's because they're generally really heavy and hard to digest, leading to discomforts like bloating, gas, and stomach pain. Regularly eating fried foods can also contribute to conditions like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) aka acid reflux.
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6. Impaired Brain Function
It's been observed that the trans fat found in fried foods can negatively impact brain health. In fact, studies have shown that people who eat fried foods on a regular basis tend to score lower on learning and memory tests! This is not something to overlook as impairment of these functions can increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.
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7. Skin Problems
The next time you find your skin is breaking out, think back to what you've been eating. That's because fried foods can contribute to acne and other skin conditions. The heavy oils and fats can lead to an imbalance in the body's natural oil production, which is what results in your breakouts and poor skin health.
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8. Liver Disease
Eating fried foods frequently can do a lot of damage to your body, including your liver. Because fried foods are high in unhealthy fats, it can overload your liver and lead to fatty liver disease. And if it gets left unaddressed, the condition can progress to even more serious liver issues.
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9. Increased Risk of Certain Cancers
The frying process of creating these delicious but unhealthy foods has been observed to form something called acrylamide and other potentially harmful compounds that have been linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer, including breast, pancreas, and esophagus.
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10. Poor Nutritional Quality
It shouldn't be news to you to hear that fried foods aren't exactly the most nutritious of foods. In fact, frequently eating them is simply displacing more nutritious food options, leaving you with deficiencies in vital nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. This impacts your overall health and contributes to a weaker immune system.
11. Increased Inflammation
Fried foods contain bad, unhealthy compounds that can trigger inflammation within the body. This is bad news as chronic inflammation is linked to various health issues, including arthritis, heart disease, and certain cancers.
12. Weakened Immune System
As we've briefly mentioned already, having a diet high in fried foods leaves you with plenty of nutritional deficiencies that weakens your immune system. As a result, your body is less capable of fighting off infections and diseases, leaving you more prone to getting sick.
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13. Worsened Asthma Symptoms
For people with asthma, you might want to watch your fried food intake more closely after learning this fact. Consuming a high amount of fried foods has been associated with worsened asthma symptoms because these highly processed foods can make your lung inflammation even worse.
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14. Gallbladder Problems
Another health risk that can be caused due to a diet high in fried foods is gallbladder problems. Fried foods can contribute to the formation of gallstones and other issues due to their high fat content. This can lead to severe pain and will require medical intervention.
15. Impaired Kidney Function
On another negative note, fried foods also have high sodium content which are bad news for your kidneys - it impairs their function. Over time, this can reach an extreme where you might develop kidney disease or kidney stones.
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16. Sleep Disorders
Here's one aspect of an unhealthy diet you might not have considered before: eating fried foods, especially close to bedtime, can disrupt and ruin your sleep. The discomfort you might get from digestion issues, and the effect of unhealthy fats can even lead to insomnia and sleep apnea.
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17. Poor Bone Health
It's been studied that foods high in salt are connected to poor bone health, meaning diets high in fried foods also face this risk. In short, the more salt you eat, the more calcium is removed from your body, leading to weaker bones and an increased risk of osteoporosis.
18. Mood Swings and Depression
Eating fried foods regularly doesn't just affect the physical aspects of your body, but also the mental! The poor nutritional quality of fried foods can affect brain function, leading to mood swings and increasing the risk of depression. It's been studied that nutrient imbalances can significantly impact mental health.
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19. Increased Risk of Stroke
Fried foods can contribute to the formation of blood clots and increase blood pressure, both of which are risk factors for stroke. The unhealthy fats can accelerate the process of atherosclerosis, leading to cerebrovascular accidents.
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20. Hormonal Imbalance
Regular consumption of fried foods can lead to hormonal imbalances due to the unhealthy fats and chemicals involved in the frying process. This can affect everything from mood to metabolism and reproductive health.
