Samosas are the WORST evening snack ever and here's why you need to quit them now! | The Times of India (2024)

Yes, your favourite samosa is under the scanner this time. Even though the philosophy of what your grandparents ate is healthy still prevails, it is not the same case for your beloved samosa. Samosas are the staple evening snack whenever guests have to visit us or when we have to take a quick filling break from work. Though a tradition going on for generations, samosa can be one of the key reasons for many health complications in your life. Still don’t think how the poor old samosa can hurt you? Here are 8 reasons why!

BECAUSE REFINED FLOUR (MAIDA): Samosas are packed with refined flour. The layer with which samosas are made of contains refined flour. And refined flour has no health benefits whatsoever. In fact, consumption of excess refined flour can lead to metabolic issues, blood sugar level issues, weight gain problems, heart problems etc.

BECAUSE REFINED FLOUR MAY BE BLEACHED: It is very common for the refined flour to be bleached with chemicals like Azodicarbonamide, chlorinegas, benzoyl peroxide, or other bleaches. Maida has also been suspected to contain traces of alloxans, a chemical that gives it the soft, refined texture. Bleaching chemicals that are present in the maida cause much harm to the pancreas, affecting its insulin-production ability. In fact, these bleaching agents are used to make diabetes occur in rodents for laboratory testing. And alloxans are also harmful to pancreas and are responsible for causing insulin-dependent diabetes.

BECAUSE TONNES OF BUTTER: That flaky taste of samosa you get in every bite is due to butter. The outside layer of the samosa is made up of butter or any other fat with refined flour. This is simply done to make the outside layer yummier and is a common practice that's followed. And we know why too much butter is bad right?

BECAUSE TRANS FATS: The biggest enemy of today’s unhealthy times are trans fats. Just like refined flour, they do not offer any health benefit whatsoever and continue to deteriorate our health, one bite at a time. Trans fats not only lead to increase in abdominal fat, an issue most Indians are struggling with, but also ups your chances of getting high blood pressure problems, heart problems etc.

BECAUSE DEEP FRIED: Samosas are re-fried several times just to serve them hot and appetizing for the consumer. When oil is deeply fried, it leads to the generation of trans fats which are cancerous in nature. Ever wondered why samosas fill you up so soon? It’s because of this. There is a reason why your doctor removes deep-fried snacks the first thing when you’re unwell.

BECAUSE HIGH IN SALT: Not only does the dough contain salt but the filling also contains enough salt to make it tasty enough for you to gorge on. Even though your stressful job makes you hungry and restless, but if you’re filling up your tummy with excess salt every time, there are high chances of you getting water retention, soggy eyes, bad sleep, and lifeless skin.

BECAUSE TOO MUCH CARBOHYDRATE: A typical samosa contains refined flour, the biggest carbohydrate culprit in your diet. Secondly, most samosas contain potato fillings. Not that potatoes can harm you but when they are fried with excess butter, salt, refined flour, they are also not the healthiest carb possible. Samosas do not contain healthy carbohydrates that your body needs.

BECAUSE CAN LEAD TO MULTIPLE ISSUES: Even though you may not have a medical history, but by eating samosa every week, you are prone to issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, and weight gain.

BECAUSE CALORIES: Since samosas contain a host of ingredients to make them appetizing enough and are deeply fried, it is a given that they do not contain healthy calories in any aspect. You might feel that one samosa every day or once in two days cannot affect you much but it sure can and you must stand corrected. The unhealthy, hidden calories in samosas lead to the array of health issues we have mentioned above.