According to several sites, air fryer foods are a healthier option than fried dishes. Popular dishes such as empanadas, french fries, chicken wings, and fish sticks are said to contain less fat.
An air fryer method might be the next best cooking tool for you. According to a renowned dietitian, air fryer food benefits are higher than the fried food because they don’t have any extra oils. But is an air fryer healthy? Let’s review the evidence to see if the advantages of using an air fryer truly outweigh the concerns.
AN OIL-FREE AIR FRYER
In contrast to the name, an air fryer does not actually fry food. You can consider them as tiny convection ovens. A fan blows hot air around a basket containing your meal in these countertop appliances. As a result, vegetables, fries, and other meals crisp up on the outside while remaining moist on the inside.
To be fair, the texture of French fries fried in a vat of hot grease will not be exactly stimulated by an air fryer. However, it will get you closer to that crispy finish than baking or steaming. So, without using any oil, air-frying gives that perfect crispy texture. Even healthier oils, such as olive and avocado oils, are high in calories. Fats like cooking oils have more than twice the calories of protein or carbs per gram.
When you fry food, the calories can rapidly mount up. Deep-frying consumes a lot of oil, and even pan-frying meat or veggies needs some. Trans fats are also present in deep-fried foods. Partially hydrogenated oils (liquid fats solidified, such as vegetable preserving) can elevate LDL cholesterol (the bad sort) and increase your risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Fried foods that are from restaurants are particularly likely to have been simmered in oils that contain trans fats.
UTILIZING AN AIR FRYER CAN AID IN REDUCING FAT CONTENT
Foods produced by deep-frying have a higher fat content than foods prepared by other methods. For instance, a fried chicken breast contains more fat than roasted chicken of the same size. Some companies claim that utilizing an air fryer can reduce the fat content of fried foods by up to 75%. This is due to the fact that air fryers use a lot less fat than traditional deep fryers.
Many deep-fried recipes ask for up to 3 cups that is 750 ml of oil, whereas air-fried meals only require about 1 tablespoon (15 mL). Deep fryers use up to 50 times more oil than air fryers, and while the food does not absorb all of that oil, utilizing an air fryer can dramatically reduce your food’s overall fat level.
When researchers evaluated the properties of deep-fried versus air-fried french fries, they discovered that air-frying produced a product with far less fat but identical color and moisture content. This can have a significant influence on your health, as consuming more fat from vegetable oils has been linked to an elevated risk of inflammation and heart disease.
SUBSTITUTING AN AIR FRYER IN YOUR DIET MAY HELP IN WEIGHT LOSS
Deep-fried foods are heavy in fat, but they’re also high in calories, which can lead to weight gain. A case study of around 33,542 Spanish folks discovered that eating more fried meals was related to a much higher risk of obesity.
Swapping deep-fried items for air-fried dishes could be an excellent place to start if you’re trying to lose weight. Clocking in at around 9 calories in each fat’s gram, dietary fat has over twice as many calories per gram as other macronutrients like protein and carbs. Switching to an air fryer may be an easy approach to save calories and help you control your weight because air-fried foods have less fat than deep-fried dishes.
AIR FRYERS CAN LESSEN THE FORMATION OF TOXIC COMPOUNDS
Frying food can produce potentially harmful substances like acrylamide, in addition to being richer in fat and calories. Acrylamide is a carbohydrate-rich food component generated during high-heat cooking methods such as frying. Acrylamide is categorized as a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which means that some evidence suggests that it may be associated with cancer formation. According to the EPA, which is the Environmental Protection Agency, Acrylamide is also much more likely to be carcinogenic to human beings.
Using an air fryer instead of a deep fryer can help reduce the amount of acrylamide in your fried foods. In fact, when compared to typical deep-frying, one study revealed that air-frying reduced acrylamide by up to 90%. However, it’s vital to keep in mind that additional potentially dangerous substances can emerge during the air-frying process. Other potentially harmful chemicals created by high-heat cooking include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes and heterocyclic amines, which have been linked to an increased risk of cancer. To find out how air-frying affects the development of these chemicals, more research is needed.
ADVANTAGES AND SIDE EFFECTS OF USING AN AIR FRYER
In several ways, air-fried foods may be healthier than deep-fried foods. They have fewer fat, calories, and even some potentially dangerous substances than conventional fried dishes. Shifting to an air fryer instead of a deep fryer may be a smart option if you are trying to drop weight or lessen your fat intake. Keep in mind, though, that just because it’s a better alternative than deep-frying doesn’t imply it’s the best option for your overall health.
Because air fryer food is comparable to fried or roasted food when cooked with oil, there are hazards associated with consuming it. Eating fried meals has been linked to a variety of detrimental health impacts in several studies. For example, eating more fried meals was linked to a higher risk of heart failure in a study of 15,362 adults.
While research studies on the adverse effects of air-fried food is minimal, therefore, limiting your intake of fried foods can help you live a healthier life. Instead, use healthier cooking methods like stewing, boiling or steaming to help minimize the bad impacts of fried foods. Also, fresh or dried herbs can be used to enhance flavor.
