wellness

It’s been a long time since I was in a kitchen full time. Most of my days now are spent testing recipes, writing articles, planning and teaching cooking classes, serving on a number of non-profit boards, traversing the globe teaching and hosting groups.

I consult with restaurants on healthy vegan menu items. On those occasions…in the kitchen, I miss the action of ‘the line.’ I miss the heat, the stress, the camaraderie of the kitchen crew, the ‘family meal’ before service, the gorgeous plates, the decompress after an 18-hour day…all of it. Back in the day, I loved all of it.

Yes, really.

According to a study published in BMJ (formerly British Medical Journal), frequent consumption of fried foods can lead to a serious outcome: early death. Yup; you read right…early death.

Researchers looked at data from 100,000 women followed since the mid 1990’s. Now between the ages of 50-79, these women’s data has revealed some not so surprising results.

Those who said they consumed 1 serving of fried food each day had an 8% higher chance of early death compared with women who ate little or no fried food.