Fried foods are not the villains of nutrition that they have been made out to be in the past.

Spanish researchers have found that eating foods fried in healthier oils such as olive or sunflower is not linked to heart disease or premature death.

“We should emphasize that our results were obtained within the context of a healthy diet, the Mediterranean one, and may not be replicated with other types of diets,” researcher Pilar Guallar-Castillon, MD, PhD, MPH, associate professor of preventive medicine at Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, tells WebMD.

Another big difference between Spanish diners and U.S. diners may also play a role. “In our study, most meals were prepared and consumed at home,” Guallar-Castillon says. It’s difficult to know which type of oil you are eating, she says, when you are dining out.

There is agreement that this is not a green light to indulge in high fat foods as a regular part of your diet.

In an editorial that accompanies the study, Michael Leitzmann, MD, of the University of Regensburg in Germany, notes that the body of evidence refutes the myth that frying food is generally bad for the heart. “However,” he writes, “this does not mean that frequent meals of fish and chips will have no health consequences.”