Last Updated on September 19, 2021 by Sultana Parvin
People were not too aware of healthy eating back in the days, but now almost everyone knows that deep-fried food served at McDonald’s or KFC is terrible for their health. But the taste is also an essential factor. Probably the only reason these places are still up and running right now. In the battle against these deep-fried foods, an air fryer becomes the prominent soldier. But often, people are left wondering, is an air fryer healthy?
Maybe because of the companies’ false marketing and advertisements, which try to sell their deep-fried food, they often boldly claim that air fryers are terrible for your health. Today, in this article, we will debug this myth associated with an air fryer.
Table of Contents
How does Air Fryer Technology Work?
Air fryer, as the name suggests, air fries your food. There are several heating coils inside the air fryer that increase the internal temperature inside the oven. The food is usually suspended in a basket, and the hot air revolves around the food, evenly cooking it from all sides.
This hot air technology practically cooks the food nicely, evenly, and crispy, just the way you like it!
Why is an Air Fryer Good for Healthy Eating?
Before going into why an air fryer is healthy and how does it work without oil, let’s first look into deep frying.
How is an Air Fryer Good for Health?
- Less Oil
An Air Fryer’s major function is cooking with a minimal amount of oil.
- System of Air Fryer
The food is cooked with hot air technology.
The Harms of Deep-Frying:
Deep frying essentially boils the oil, and food items such as French fries cook in that boiling oil. This cooks the food evenly all around and also deep within the layers of the food. But this comes at a prohibitive cost of the massive amounts of oil. All the food that cooks within the oil also absorbs plenty of it, making the food very dense in oil.
The oil used in commercial restaurants has many harmful effects:
- It is very high in calories
- It is high in saturated fatty acids
- It contains trans-fatty acids
- It contains massive amounts of low-density cholesterol (LDL)
- It is cheap and low quality
So, oil, especially the one used commercially, is very harmful to one’s health.
How does an Air Fryer Work without Oil?
As already discussed, the air fryer essentially works by heating the air inside the oven and then revolving that hot air all around the food, so there are no uncooked spots left. Hence, an air fryer’s working mechanics don’t require hefty amounts of oil, like deep-frying cooking. Unlike what the media portrays, the food that is not cooked in oil is entirely tasteless; in reality, the air fryer doesn’t sacrifice the taste one bit. Once you try using the air fryer, there is no going back!
Even without the excess oil, your food becomes crispy, filled with taste, and no harmful oil effects. You can still enjoy the delicious French fries that you always wanted and eat them guilt-free, with no oil in your food.
Is an Air Fryer Healthy or Bad for Health?
Some people have often mistaken the air fryer as virtually “frying” the food. However, as we have discussed, this is not the case at all. Apart from this, there is also another growing myth:
Myth: Air Fryer Releases Radiation.
The credit of this myth goes to false advertisements by giant companies. They say that the air fryer uses radiation technology (releasing radiation energy to cook food). That radiation may cause mutation in your food, that when you eat, can make your cells cancerous.
What is the truth to this? Well, in actuality, there are no radiation waves that heat the food. The food is cooked with hot air technology. So that is an entirely false claim.
Second, yes, electronic items do release radiation, which also includes air fryers. The same amount of radiation is being released by many other household electrical items that you have right now at your home. So, the air fryer alone is not to blame for that.
Third, when starchy foods are cooked at high temperatures, they tend to release a substance known as acrylamide. This substance has been known to be a possible cancer-causing agent. If taken over a certain amount of temperature, every cooking method will eventually lead to the formation of this product from starch compounds. However, with an air fryer, you can control the maximum amount of temperature your food will get to. So, an air fryer is a perfect alternative for reducing the formation of acrylamide.
Lastly, an air fryer works with a minimal amount of oil required. All of us know how harmful oil is for one’s health.
So, air fryers are not at all cancer-causing. It reduces the cancer-causing effects by:
- Cooking food with no oil, hence no free radicals formed.
- Fast cooking meals. So the food is not subjected to a higher temperature for more extended amounts of time.
- Allowing you to preset the temperature your food receives, essentially stopping it from overheating.
FAQs:
Q. How does an air fryer oven work?
Ans. An air fryer oven works by heating the air around the food and then circulating that air. Hence, cooking all the parts of your food, inside and out.
Q. Are air fryers expensive?
Ans. It depends on the brand of the air fryer and the features it offers. But beware of the cheap knock-offs. Also, being expensive is not always right. Please do your research first about different brands, then go for it.
Q. Does an air fryer cause cancer?
Ans. Not at all! It is perfectly safe, as discussed above.
How was my experience of using an air fryer?
If you are someone who thinks, Is an air fryer healthy? Is it safe? Then not to worry at all. An air fryer is perfectly healthy and safe for you to use for your entire family.
It reduces the amount of oil by cooking your food under hot air technology. It also cooks your meal in double-quick time, giving you a fully prepared meal instantaneously. With an air fryer, you can also control the maximum temperature that your food goes to, making it safer for the food to cook.
So, to summarize, an air fryer is an excellent investment for your entire family. It is completely safe, healthy, and makes delicious food to be enjoyed by all!
