One of the biggest diet trends to come out is cooking with an air fryer. They can be found in almost every store that sells kitchen appliances and for good reason. Air fryers are touted as a system that cooks food quickly, without the use of oil, allowing people to eat “fried” food guilt-free. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly true, and here are five reasons to avoid air fryers for your health.
- Air Fryers can make food less healthy
One of the biggest claims about air frying foods is that you can eat fried food that is healthier than other types of frying. However, this isn’t entirely true and can actually be bad for your health if you’re eating these foods too often. The reason why air fryers can make food less healthy is that they require little to no oil – which means the food absorbs more moisture as it cooks. This makes some food items soggier, which actually takes away some of their nutritional value.
- Air Fryers can alter the taste of your food
One often-overlooked fact about air fryers is that they can alter the taste of some foods that you cook in them. This is because oil has a way of not only helping food to absorb heat but also helps to transfer flavor and texture to some foods. If you cook your food without oil, this will alter the way some of your dishes taste and make them blander than they would otherwise be.
- Air Fryers won’t help you lose weight
A common misconception that many people have about air fryers is that they will help you to lose weight. This isn’t entirely accurate and can actually be bad for your health if you’re trying to eat healthier because it has been shown that cooking without oil could make it harder for some foods to shed pounds.
- Other harmful compounds can be produced during air frying.
Another factor to consider when it comes to air fryers is that they can produce harmful compounds during cooking. Air frying still has the risk of producing acrylamides, but all high-heat cooking with meat can produce polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines. These substances have been linked to an increased risk of cancer.
- Air frying isn’t necessarily healthier than deep-frying
Although it is true that air fryers are touted as being healthier than some other types of frying, this isn’t always true. Deep-frying some foods at high temperatures can actually be better for you because the food is submerged in the oil and allows it to absorb some of the fat. Air frying, on the other hand, still has a risk of absorbing these compounds because most foods are only placed on top of the grill, which means they aren’t consistently covered with oil as they cook and can leave some areas undercooked or overcooked.
I hope this blog post has helped clarify the facts about what an air fryer is and whether or not it’s a safe appliance to use at home. If you have any more questions, leave a comment below!