Ottumwa family doctor says it’s important to watch what you eat during fair season
September 5, 2024
Guilty pleasures - fairs and carnivals are filled with them, including the carnival over the weekend at Quincy Place Mall in Ottumwa.
Evan Owsley runs a food stand and ride at the carnival, and he listed some of the available foods, “Corn Dogs, Cotton Candy, caramel apples, and the funnel cake trailer the deep-fried Oreos and the funnel cakes are pretty good too.”
My personal favorite: Turkey Legs.
Fried, grilled, and dipped, you can find it all at the fair. Doctor Case Everett from the Ottumwa Medical Clinic says frying is a good way to kill off food bacteria... but that doesn’t mean it’s good for you.
“Frying is a safer method to guarantee food safety, however you are correct, fried foods aren’t always the best,” Everett said.
Doctor Everett says there’s no harm in enjoying fried fair foods sometimes, but he says you should balance it.
“Try and avoid something that has just pure sugar in it so if you can eat something that has a fat or protein with your fried food, it might improve your glycemic index,” said Doctor Everett.
So lay off the super sweet stuff and add some nuts or meats in, too. And what you drink matters a lot.
“Try and not hydrate with the very sugary liquids, try and actually drink real water,” Dr. Everett said. “That’s probably the most calorie saving thing you can do.”
And if you don’t come to the fair for the food, Owsley says there are plenty of rides and games.
“Our most popular ride is probably the freak-out, which comes from Holland. And then of course the normal Ferris wheel, tilt a whirl and the swings and stuff like that,” exclaimed Owsley.
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