The Principal Dietician at the Trust Hospital, Wise C. Letsa, has advised Ghanaians to be moderate in their intake of fried fish as it could cause a number of health problems.

He said the continuous eating of deep-fried fish could lead to high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, and depression, among others.

Mr Letsa, who gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra said, frying could increase the amount of fat in one’s fish and negatively affect its ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.  

“Fish is really healthy food and eating it regularly may lower one’s risk of a number of health conditions, however, the mode of deep frying the protein is what makes its consumption unhealthy,” he said.

The Dietician said the process of using high temperature to fry fish changes the chemical structure of fats, making it difficult during digestion, which could ultimately lead to health effects.

Mr. Letsa said; “This process leads to liquid peroxidation that converts the good part of the oil into bad, which leads to an increase in the quantity of saturated fatty acids over unsaturated fats in overheated oils.”

Mr. Letsa said fish was the way to go and should be eaten when smoked, grilled, and steamed rather than frying.

He said in instances where one wishes to engage in deep frying, they should do so by using healthy oils such as coconut, olive and avocado to decrease the health risk factors.

He advised the people to be mindful of the kind of food they eat to avoid diseases.