Fats in the fire

I guess I have always been a foodie. When all my cousins spoke of going out, I followed my grandmother, my mother and my attha around the house writing down all my favourite recipes. As I moved to different parts of India, and eventually moved to California, my cooking took on a lot of interesting turns as I learnt to adapt to different lifestyles. From cooking out of a single utensil, to elaborate dishes for parties, from Indian, traditional Hyderabadi food to Indianized versions of Italian food, cooking up recipes has been a passion.

I believe that eating right is the most important lesson I have learnt. I have been a chocolate addict, and a junk food slave through out my student life. It took me a while, but I have figured out on some really cool, healthy ways to satisfy cravings for sweet and spicy snacks. Honey roasted walnuts, spicy garlic almonds, baked potato wedges, crisp oatmeal bars, puffed rice mixture... there are so many ways to eat good food. Hopefully, my dad will read this and make some changes in his diet :)

One other category I hope to eventually add, is nutritional information on Indian foods. I have always found it very easy to find nutritional information on pastas and cakes, but I have yet to find a place where I can search for information the calorific values of Biryani, or parvannam. I was so deceived when I got to know that 10 grams of a popular mixture contains 500 calories, and that means, if we go strictly by that portion, we would have consumed 1/3rd to 1/4th of our daily dietary requirements, and not even have known about it! And lets be honest, how many of us eat only 10 grams of, say, Aloo bhujia???

Food for thought:
Trans fat: All of us know that Trans fats are bad for us. Here's a little information on what they are, and where we can find them. Trans fats are essentially hydrogenated fatty acids. They are mostly responsible for increasing the levels of LDL or bad cholesterol.
Trans fats are found occuring natually in foods like meats and animal products. They are also found in smaller quantities in milk and milk products.
A more common way we ingest trans fats is from hydrogenated oils. Why is oil hydrogenated? Hydrogenation makes oil more stable, and gives it a longer shelf life. It also gives oil a solid or butter like consistency.
Which foods do we encounter trans fats in mostly? Most fried foods, and foods using margarine or shortening contain trans fats. Chips, cakes, candy, chocolates, cookies, mixtures, pakodi's contain trans fats.
How do we reduce consumption of trans fats? Use monounsaturated oils like olive oil and canola oil, or polyunsaturated oils like sunflower oil and corn oil. Most oils from nuts or fish are rich in polyunsaturated fats. Soybean oil is also rich in polyunsaturated fats, but considering the recent controversy on the health benefits of soy, I personally feel its better to choose an alternative oil, especially since we have so many choices available.
Monounsaturated versus polyunsaturated: Though both fats help lower levels of LDL, some studies show that consumption of monounsaturated fats may help increase levels of HDL and hence reduce risk of atherosclerosis. There is also another finding which makes monounsaturated fat a better alternative. Polyunsaturated fat has been said to cause a lowering of both LDL and HDL levels, which may cause increased deposition of cholesterol in arteries. Another interesting article that I read (http//:www.moscowfood.coop/archive/fat_1.html) mentions that polyunsaturated fats may increase the risk for spreading of cancer. I am not very sure about the veracity of this claim, but considering all the other factors mentioned, monounsaturated oil seems to be the healthiest option.

Just found something very interesting about olive oil in the Health magazine and wanted to share the info with everyone. Apparently olive oil has analgesic properties. Replacing your cooking oil with olive oil is claimed to be equivalent to having low dose aspirin everyday!!!