Is Frybread Unhealthy?

by Rodney
(San Carlos, Arizona, USA)

I recently saw your website and I must admit, I'm amazed! I didn't know I was destroying my body....

Thanks for the info you posted on your website. It's really encouraging me to eat healthy. My question is, I'm Native American, San Carlos Apache. I have noticed many of the traditional foods are extremely unhealthy. I haven't found much info on the famous native bread "Frybread." I wanted to know if you have any info on that. I know it contains a lot of calories, but I'm not quite sure.

Michelle says: Hi Rodney!

Thanks for your compliments about my site. I'm so happy that you are finding it helpful.

I wasn't sure what frybread was, so I looked it up and found a few recipes for it.

Basically, it's made from white flour, baking powder, salt, water or milk, and lots of oil. They make a similar type of bread in the Caribbean (where my parents are from) using basically the same ingredients. They call them "bakes" or "fried dumplings."

Unfortunately, while frybread may taste really good, it's definitely not a healthy food. The ingredients don't provide you with much nutrition or fiber. And frying the dough, makes it high in calories and even worse for your health - especially if you're using lard.

Some of the recipes that I saw call for lard. It's a saturated fat that's pretty hard on your body. It can clog up your arteries and raise your cholesterol levels.

Virgin coconut oil would be the best substitute for frying since it can tolerate high heat. It's very expensive though, so if using it is not an option, you could also try vegetable oil (e.g., olive, peanut, grapeseed, organic canola, etc.) which is not nearly as good as the coconut oil, but is still a lot better than lard.

You mentioned that frybread is a cultural food, so if you don't want to give it up altogether, you could choose to just eat it only on very special occasions or special cultural gatherings where you're meeting with family and friends. Just don't make it part of your regular everyday diet.

Hope that helps! Feel free to let me know if you've got any other questions about health.

Michelle