Does eating fried dough sticks regularly have any negative effects?

The additives and fats used in making fried dough sticks can be harmful to consumers' health, causing problems such as gastritis, intestinal inflammation, memory loss, and osteoporosis.

Additives in fried dough sticks can cause premature aging.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Toan, Head of the Nutrition Department at Friendship Hospital, fried dough sticks (quẩy) are a delicious and convenient breakfast food. When making quẩy, alum is often added as an additive; 50 grams of dough contains about 10-12 mg of aluminum, and alum contains aluminum.

During meals, people consume approximately 10-80mg of aluminum daily, most of which is excreted in feces, with only a small amount accumulating in the testes, kidneys, muscles, thyroid gland, bones, and brain tissue. Aluminum is also an essential trace element for the body, which was previously considered to have little impact on health.

However, in recent years, research on dementia in the elderly has revealed that many elderly people suffering from dementia or other mental abnormalities have aluminum levels in their brains that are 10 to 30 times higher than normal. It is also known that excessively high aluminum content in food can lead to premature aging. Aluminum accumulation in the brain causes memory loss and can even lead to intellectual disability. Aluminum inhibits phosphorus absorption, interferes with the body's calcium metabolism, and can cause bone thinning and fractures.

Furthermore, the oil used to fry dough sticks, due to its long boiling time in the pan at relatively high temperatures and frequent reuse, easily produces toxins. These toxins, when ingested, can alter liver function. During the frying process, the oil comes into contact with air, creating complex thermal oxidation reactions that produce oxidants. These oxidants have a relatively strong irritant effect on the mucous membranes, so eating a lot of dough sticks can easily cause gastritis and enteritis. Therefore, it is not advisable to eat too many or too often, and the elderly should eat even less.

According to Degree+