Samosa dominates the 4 o clock tea/snack time.But before you bite into your favorite snack there is something that you should know about it. A samosa contains the worst kind of fat that is double trouble for your heart.
Health, Samosa and Trans Fats
A small size samosa is about 240 calories, loaded with carbs, saturated fats and has no other nutrients in it. But it's not the potato or the maida that’s causing half the harm. It’s the oil that it is being cooked in. The threat is even more when the dishes are eaten from roadside stall, when vendors make use of oil that gets stale due to repeated frying. They also use hydrogenated oil that has trans fatty acid.Read more about trans fat and ways to avoid it.
Trans fats are generated when liquid oils are turned into solid or semi-solid fats through hydrogenation, a process by which hydrogen is added to vegetable oil. This happens when oil is recycled during cooking, or when food is heated over and over again in the same oil it was cooked in.
Hydrogenation increases the shelf life of some items, while also making them tastier: the crispiness of a samosa or biscuit, or the fluffiness of a pastry made with shortening (butter, fat or lard used while baking). The bad news is that it can be deadly for your health.[Full story: Make unhealthy samosa healthy]
Studies have shown over and again that samosas can be very fattening, as much as any other fatty snack. Cholesterol, digestion issues, trans fats, refined flour and the unhygienic conditions under which samosas are made in India are ample reasons for you to stop eating them!
Regular indulgence of foods high in trans fat can lead to abnormal cholesterol levels and increases abdominal fat, besides paving the way to diseases like stroke, diabetes and blood pressure.
The Union Health Ministry is pushing for processed food manufacturers to list the trans fat content on nutrition labels, along with other ingredients. For all packaged food it's still easier to regulate & evaluate the nutrition content but how do you judge the quality of the food like samosa that is being made in small eateries next to your home or office.
You might be eating healthy all through the day but small indulges like this here and there can not only affect your weight but your general health. Excess fat is an obvious indicator of unhealthy eating but samosa can spike your cholesterol levels making you more prone to deadly lifestyle diseases without increasing your weight all that much.
So, we suggest you skip the samosa instead snack on something that is satisfying and healthy like nuts.Get more information on health benefits of nuts and seeds. Healthy snacks will not only help to keep the cholesterol in check but also help cleanse your system of harmful toxins.