According to many experts, air fryers are a healthier alternative to frying dishes. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of using an air fryer to cook?
Due to a growing awareness of healthfulness and a continuing need for fried meals, air fryers have seen a recent spike in popularity. Americans consume more potatoes than any other vegetable, with frozen products such as french fries accounting for 40% of total consumption.
Air fryer manufacturers promote their product as a way to make and enjoy fried foods without the health risks associated with oil-fried foods. Air-fried foods contain less fat than deep-fried dishes, making them potentially healthier.
However, some people are concerned about the potential health dangers of utilizing this new method of cooking, particularly because of concerns about toxicity and cancer, while others are suspicious of the stated benefits of air-fried foods.
In this post, we examine air fryers to other cooking techniques and examine the health benefits and dangers of using them.
Other cooking methods vs. air fryers
Producers created air fryers to provide a healthier alternative to deep-fried foods, not to replace traditional, healthy food preparation methods like roasting and grilling.
Dishes that are deep-fried have a lot more fat than foods that are cooked in other ways.
Many people enjoy the flavor and texture of fried chicken, despite the fact that 100 grams of fried and battered chicken breast has 13.2 grams of fat, compared to 0.39 grams of fat in an oven-roasted chicken breast.
People can eat a healthier supper with identical flavors and textures because air fryers use a fraction of the oil that deep fryers do.
This is ideal because reducing one’s oil intake can be quite good to one’s health. Intakes of fat from vegetable oil have been related to a number of health issues, including an increased risk of heart disease and greater rates of inflammation, according to researchers.
All of this does not imply that air-fried chicken is healthier than roasted, grilled, slow-cooked, or pan-seared chicken. There are a plethora of additional equipment that can prepare nutritious and delicious meals. They just do not produce the same fried, crunchy feel that air fryers do.
How do air fryers work?
To achieve the same crispiness as traditional fried dishes, air fryers circulate hot air around a food item.
By removing high-fat and high-calorie oils from the cooking process, air fryers are able to achieve this.
A person can achieve identical results to a deep fryer with a fraction of the fat and calories by using just 1 tablespoon of cooking oil instead of numerous cups.
According to studies, air fryers remove moisture from foods by heating air containing fine oil droplets. As a result, the product has qualities comparable to fried dishes, but with substantially reduced fat levels.
Air-frying, like many other cooking processes, causes a chemical reaction called the Maillard effect, which improves the color and flavor of the meal.
Benefits
When used correctly, air fryers provide a slew of health benefits:
Air fryers can help you lose weight
Fried food consumption is directly linked to an increased risk of obesity. This is due to the high fat and calorie content of deep-fried dishes.
Weight loss can be aided by switching from deep-fried to air-fried dishes and eliminating regular intake of unhealthy oils.
Deep fryers aren’t always as safe as air fryers
Deep-frying foods necessitates the use of a big container filled with hot oil. This might be dangerous. While air fryers do get hot, there is no danger of spilling, splashing, or touching boiling oil by accident. To maintain safety, people should use frying machines carefully and follow instructions.
The risk of hazardous acrylamide production is reduced when using an air fryera
Frying food in oil can result in the formation of hazardous chemicals like acrylamide. During high-heat cooking methods, such as deep frying, this chemical develops in some meals.
Acrylamide has been linked to the development of cancers such as endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, breast, and esophageal cancer, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Additional research has revealed a relationship between dietary acrylamide and malignancies of the kidney, endometrium, and ovary, while the data are still inconclusive.
People can reduce their risk of acrylamide contamination in their food by switching to air frying.
Reducing your intake of deep-fried foods lowers your risk of disease
Cooking with oil and eating traditional fried dishes on a regular basis has been linked to a variety of health problems. Deep frying can be replaced with other cooking methods to lessen the risk of these consequences.
Adverse effects of air fryers
While air fryers have their advantages, they also have their own set of drawbacks, which include but are not limited to the following:
Air frying isn’t always a healthy option
While air fryers might provide more nutritious food options than deep fryers, eliminating fried food from one’s diet can have a major impact on one’s health.
Simply substituting air-fried foods for deep-fried ones does not guarantee a healthy diet.
People should eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein for optimal health.
Other hazardous chemicals can be produced by air frying
While air fryers limit the synthesis of acrylamide, other potentially hazardous chemicals may still form.
Air frying can still produce acrylamides, but all high-heat cooking with meat can also produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines.
According to the National Cancer Institute, these substances have links to cancer risk.
Additional research is needed to determine the exact relationship between air frying and these chemicals.
Food cooked in the air is not always healthy
Although air fryers can produce healthier dishes than deep fryers, keep in mind that fried food is still fried food. There will always be health consequences when cooking with a lot of oil.
Conclusion
While there is currently insufficient research on the consequences of air-fried meals, experts typically advise that consumers restrict their intake of fried foods in general.
Food fried in an air fryer is not necessarily healthier than food prepared in a conventional oven. For best health, make sure to incorporate other cooking methods into your usual eating practices.
Oven roasting, grilling, baking, and pan-searing are some of the other cooking methods available. People can get a healthier diet by maintaining a diversity of foods and cooking methods.
Sources
- https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/05058?fgcd=&manu=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=fried+chicken+breast&ds=SR&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
- https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/07933?fgcd=&manu=&format=&count=&max=25&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=roasted+chicken+breast&ds=SR&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
- https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/cooked-meats-fact-sheet
- http://epic.iarc.fr/research/acrylamide.php
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324849
- https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/ag-and-food-statistics-charting-the-essentials/food-availability-and-consumption/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21118617
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25872656
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4745522/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27818336
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25619624
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4164905/
