Re: Does frying foods create cholesterol ?

Frying food does not create cholesterol. The cholesterol is added by the oil that one uses in the frying process. As for the "fat-free" oils, I am still a little suspicious of them. "Fat-free" does not mean "cholesterol-free." The best thing you can do is look at the USDA label on the bottle and see how much cholesterol is included in a serving. Personally, I have not seen any product that adds *no* fat and *no* cholesterol, save for some very new "fat substitutes" which still have a few unpleasant side effects.

Now, this is assuming that the "oil" you are using is lard, or some other animal-based oil. If you use Canola oil or corn oil, you should add *no* cholesterol, as vegetable oils do not contain such a thing. You will still add fat, of course.

As an aside, frying food on a griddle actually *does* create small amounts of carcinogenic compounds -- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic amines, etc. -- by pyrolysis of the amino acids in the meat. It's unknown just how much (or how little) the cancer risk in humans is from these compounds, but their presence is a concern.

So in summary: frying chicken gives you fat, or cholesterol, or both, and if you fry it on a griddle instead of deep-fat frying it, it still -> *MAY* <- possibly increase your risk of cancer. Baking chicken, if no oil is used, has no added fat or cholesterol, and does not form appreciable amounts of carcinogenic compounds.

I like baked chicken better, anyway.

Admin note: Cholesterols have a very different chemical structure from fatty acids. In humans, cholesterol comes from the diet (other animals) and from de novo, or "new," synthesis in the liver. It takes quite a few enzymatic steps to synthesize cholesterol from its basic building blocks (called isoprenoids). This process is very different, and produces completely different products, from any chemical reactions occurring in heated oils.

-L. Bry, MadSci Admin