Americans are obsessed with fried food — from Wisconsin's deep-fried cheese curds to Colorado's Rocky Mountain oysters (fried bulls’ testicles). It seems there's nothing Americans won't throw into a pot of hot oil.

Unfortunately, they’re throwing their good health into that pot of trouble too.

A 2021 review of 17 studies showed that people who ate the most fried food had a 28% higher risk of heart attack or stroke.

And data from the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study found that having fried food just once a week substantially increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Now an animal study indicates that foods cooked in reused deep-fry oil (and restaurants definitely reuse it) disrupt liver-gut-brain connections, leading to neurodegenerative disease.

That means the increase in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases we’re seeing could be related to the 40 pounds of French fries the average U.S. adult eats each year.

Reusing oil changes it chemically, increasing acrylamides that boost your cancer risk, as well as exposing you to other chemicals that raise blood lipid levels and increase inflammation.

Alternatives to deep frying include using an air fryer (though it still increases acrylamides, and don't use it for red or processed meats). Healthier cooking techniques include steaming, poaching, and sautéing for proteins and vegetables.

Check out the recipes in "The What to Eat When Cookbook."