Phytosterol containing deep-fried foods and methods with health promoting characteristics

A method for using a deep frying oil composition for making a deep-fried food product having health-promoting attributes, comprising:

• providing a deep frying oil component suitable for deep frying of food products therewithin;
• combining said deep frying oil component with a phytosterol component to provide a deep frying oil composition, said phytosterol component being in the form of one or more phytosterol esters, said combining being such that said deep frying oil composition contains at least about 80 weight percent of said deep frying oil component and between about 8 and about 12 weight percent of said phytosterol component, based on the total weight of the deep frying oil composition;
• deep frying a food product within said deep frying oil composition while transferring within said food product at least about 50 weight percent of said phytosterol component present in said deep frying oil composition;
• and
• ingesting by an individual on a regular consumption basis a deep-fried food product containing a quantity of said phytosterol component that has a health-promoting effect, said health-promoting effect including lowering LDL-cholesterol in the individual.

A deep-fried food product having health-promoting attributes,

• said deep-fried food product having been made by a process comprising:
• (i) providing a deep frying oil component suitable for deep frying of food products therewithin,
• (ii) combining said deep frying oil component with a phytosterol component to provide a deep frying oil composition, said phytosterol component consisting essentially of one or more phytosterol esters, said combining being such that said deep frying oil composition contains at least about 80 weight percent of said deep frying oil component and between about 8 and about 12 weight percent of said phytosterol component, based on the total weight of the deep frying oil composition, and
• (iii) deep frying a food product within said deep frying oil composition while transferring at least about 50 weight percent of said phytosterol component present in said deep frying oil composition to prepare a deep-fried food product;
• said deep-fried food product contains a quantity of said phytosterol component;
• and
• said deep-fried food product has a health-promoting effect, said health-promoting effect including lowering LDL-cholesterol in an individual who follows a diet that includes regular consumption of said deep-fried food product.

A deep-fried food product having health-promoting attributes, comprising:

• a food product that is a deep-tried food product that had been cooked in accordance with deep frying procedures;
• said deep-fried food product having therewithin a phytosterol component that has a health-promoting effect, said health-promoting effect including lowering LDL-cholesterol in an individual who follows a diet that includes regular consumption of said deep-fried food product
• said deep-fried food product having had transferred thereinto during deep frying in a deep frying oil composition at least about 50 weight percent of a phytosterol component that had been present in said deep frying oil composition, the deep frying oil composition comprising at least about 80 weight percent of a deep frying oil component and between about 8 and about 12 weight percent of a phytosterol component, said phytosterol component being in the form of one or more phytosterol esters, based on the total weight of the deep frying oil composition;
• and
• said deep-fried food product contains a quantity of said phytosterol component that has a health-promoting effect, said health-promoting effect including lowering LDL-cholesterol in an individual who follows a diet that includes regular consumption of said deep-fried food product.