Let’s play a game today! Close your eyes and think of India, or more importantly the food in India. What do you see? If you ask us, we can envision hot plates of samosa and chutney, piping hot pakoras with chai, deep fried puris and hot paranthas. And that’s just the Indian side of it, with the rapid boom in fast food eateries and cafes these days, plates of cheesy fries and scrumptious donuts are just as popular. What does our food scene have in common as a whole? It’s obvious isn’t it, it’s OIL. Living in the land of samosas and pakoras, it’s like oil runs in our blood stream, no? It’s almost considered a food group here!

As much as our grandparents want us to believe otherwise, oil isn’t healthy for either us or them! Why, you ask is this food group bad for health? Read on to know why it’s a silent killer and how you can slowly start using it in healthy yet tasty ways.

1. It’s a hundred percent FAT!

Oil as a substance is created by extracting and preserving the fat from seeds, nuts and vegetables alike. Hence, it’s no surprise that the only nutrient present in oil is Fat. With a whopping 120 calories and 14 grams of fat per tablespoon, oil has no other nutritional value. Sure, fats are essential to the body but have you realized just how much oil we consume by adding it to salad dressings, or by just deep frying one single pakora? Nope, our consumption of oil is mostly concealed.

2. Say hello to clogged arteries!

Saturated and trans fat is one of the main culprits behind clogged arteries. And oil contains some of the highest numbers of saturated and trans fats. When you end up deep frying food, the nutrients and vitamins present in the food tend to seep off in the oil, which in turns affects the nutrient density of what you’re making. The extra greasiness, which happens to be a trademark for Indian fast food, sticks to your arteries, thereby clogging them.

Deep fried foods can also cause acidity, heartburn and facilitation of fat tissue storage. Thus, increasing your body’s fat percentage, making you unhealthy. If consumed in excess, it works as a chain reaction and can cause high cholesterol making you susceptible to heart strokes.

3. It is processed!

Vegetables, seeds and nuts undergo various processes in order to be turned in to oil. Which strips away good nutrients like fibers, vitamins and phytochemicals that are already present in plants before it is turned into oil. However, some oils are less processed comparatively and end up retaining a couple of nutrients. These oils are labelled as cold-processed oils and can be found in your supermarket. As the name suggests, cold-processed oils aren’t heated to high temperatures to extract oil, which makes it a healthier option.

Alternative options:

1. Healthy fats over processed fats.

It is essential to make healthy fats a part of your diet in order to ensure your hormones remain stable, thus helping your body function properly. You can incorporate healthy fats in your diet with the help of avocados, cod liver oil, olive oil or coconut oil.

Chop up half an avocado to make delicious guacamole and eat it with DIP multigrain chips!

2. Cooking spray

Yes, we know measuring your oil intake in a teaspoon can be deceiving and almost never accurate. But use one spritz of Cooking spray, and its enough for a pan of sautéed vegetables at less than half the calories!

3. Get Baked!

We’re aware of your love for snacking, which is why we have an alternative. You can either choose to bake your favorite samosas and pakoras or air fry them! You get the same taste at 1/3rd of the fat and calorie intake frying would’ve bought. For on the go snacking you can choose from DIP Baked Chips, DIP Baked Potato Chips or throw your own pani puri party with DIP Baked Pani Puri! So yummy and healthy!

Shop all of these super healthy, delicious, yummy products on our website – www.dipfoods.com!