Column Chronicles: Ask Dr. Wellbottom: grease and health

Ask Dr. Wellbottom: grease and health

Frank Cotolo
March 2, 2017

Once again it's time to confer with the all-knowing Dr. Adrian Wellbottom. The popular physician and author of 56 books on medical matters that matter to the young and the old, the sick and the poor and others, always takes a fresh yet traditional approach to the health of anyone. In this episode, we ask the doctor about eating greasy foods.

Q: I fry chicken in vegetable oil and it makes the skin juicy and tasty. Is that good for me?

Dr.W: Eating is good for you, sure, but the chicken skin is fat and if the fat is soaked in oil that oil gets into your bloodstream, which can cause all sorts of problems, some so hideous I will not describe them here.

Q: What is the best olive oil to use when frying red meat?

Dr.W: Virgin olive oil is the best oil in which to fry anything. Be careful, however, when you buy virgin olive oil because some brands will have labels that read: "Fifty-percent virgin" and as we all know, there is no such thing as a diluted virgin anything.

Q: Is all grease liquid?

Dr.W: No.

Q: I find that baking food also creates grease. This is amazing to me because the juices of meats when baked are indigenous and should not have the same qualities of fried grease. What do you think?

Dr.W: Can you define indigenous?

Q: Is it worse to eat grease that has been saved and used again than when it is first cooked?

Dr.W: There are a few opinions on that but the one I like best is no, it is just as bad to eat fresh grease and it is to eat old grease. You see, I love greasy stuff, even though I know it is a vein clogging substance that if left to accumulate in your bloodstream will eventually stop your heart, which, for all due purposes, will not provoke digestion.

Q: Do you think that drinking grease can warm you up on a wintry day?

Dr.W: Russian women used to drink hot grease from cooked breakfasts before going into the fields so their innards would bake as the ice developed in the fields and the winds began to blow against their bare faces and render their gloves useless, feeling the biting of cold on each finger. So, who really knows?

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.