Study: Fried Fish Stroke Belt Staple

Fried fish – it’s a common dish found almost anywhere, from fast food restaurants to the swankiest of dining establishments where children under 10 are not allowed. Roman Catholics and members of some other Christian denominations fry theirs on Lent Fridays when they should eat ovo-lacto-pesca-vegetarian (anything except meat, game, or poultry). Long John Silver’s brings it to fame in their fast food chain restaurants. It’s a big staple in fish and chips in Britain.

But the delights of a fish fry come at a distressing price. The calories and fat (mainly saturated and/or trans) dwarf those of baked fish. In case of the latter, a study showed that they contribute to the high rate of stroke in the Stroke Belt, where many strokes occur. This region consists of the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

People who are living in that said region, the researchers noted, are more likely to eat at least two servings of fried fish a week than the rest of the state and black people are more likely to do so than white ones, regardless of residence. The researchers noted that those who lived in eastern North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia are more likely to die from a stroke.

Ironically, the study was conducted at Emory University in Atlanta, a city in the Stroke Belt state of Georgia.

Lead researcher Fadi Nahab adds more to fried fish than excessive calories and fat. Frying it reduces the amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the heart. A previous study conducted at the University of Hawaii suggested that boiling or baking fish with low sodium ingredients makes fish more beneficial because they preserve the acids.

Frying fish is contributing factor to Southern strokes. (Image via Wikipedia)

It’s no surprise that fish in its golden brown, deep fried glory is as big in the South as its high stroke rates. That and other dishes ubiquitous in Strokeland (fried okra, hushpuppies, sweet potato pie with its trans fat crust), combined with skimpy exercise, contributes to obesity, a risk factor of the disease of the belt.

I wish I would like to teach the populace of the region how to fry fish – in the oven. They should dip the fillet in egg substitute or egg whites, coat it with some whole wheat breadcrumbs or low sodium whole wheat crackers, put it in that baking sheet, put it in the oven, and bake until golden brown. I can say that would be easy because I would like to share recipes of oven-fried fillets (even the all-too-common catfish) with everyone who can’t resist fried fillets the region, if not the world.

Nutritionists and personal trainers alike agree that baked beats fried every time, for the sake of heart health and lower stroke risk.