Is Cooking in Air Fryer Healthy ?

We have an air fryer at home. We bought it few months ago.  As the main cook in the house, I find our air fryer   very convenient to use.  It makes my food preparation faster especially for breakfast. I use it to fry beef slices, pork chops or chicken breasts while I poach eggs in our stove. I also use it to toast bread which I find excellent because it toasts our bread just the way I want it. I can adjust the temperature and the duration of cooking easily and I can pull out the cooking basket anytime to check the status of my dish. Also, I can turn it off immediately if necessary. It is really an innovative kitchen gadget. It is very cost-effective for a family of six. The good news is that I checked our electricity bills and I found no significant impact brought by our air fryer.  

Before we bought our air fryer, the primary concern we had was its effects to our health. We checked the underlying technology behind it and we were happy to know that it does not emit any radiation which can cause cancer and other illnesses. An Air Fryer uses the Rapid Air Technology. In a nut shell, Rapid Air Technology releases hot air from the top and circulate it within the enclosed cooking area to cook the food evenly.   We have not yet read any article or information directly claiming that an air fryer is a health hazard.  

Although air fryer does not pose danger to our health (as we know so far), the food we cook in it and the way we prepare it may have negative impact to our wellness. 

Here are my suggestions on how you can use air fryer and remain healthy. 

1. Do not use air fryer all the time or most of the time.  Balance the way you cook. Boiling and steaming are two ways of cooking that I think are healthier than air frying. In boiling nutrients are extracted to the soup which you can sip for nourishment.  In steaming natural oil from meat is extracted into the steamer decreasing its oiliness and making it healthier. Also, steaming and half-cooking vegetables can retain more vitamins and minerals than deep frying it in oil or butter.     

2. Avoid frying processed food. Canned meats, sausages and corned beefs are not healthy food. Serve them on your dining table rarely. 

3. Limit frying and eating fatty foods such as lechon, chicken skin, pork belly and crispy pata(pork leg). Even though there is no oil involved in air frying the natural oil of these food  have negative effect to your body.

4. Instead of frying ready to cook French fries, why not fry fresh potatoes. You get rid of preservatives that the ready to cook French fries may contain. 

5.  It is unhealthy to overcook any food as it loses the nutrients that the food contains more so when it is burned because it will possess carcinogen which causes cancer. 

6. Lessen marinades or avoid marinading. You can just sprinkle some pepper and salt to your pork or chicken then it is ready to fry.  If you want to marinade, choose natural ingredients. For sour taste you can use lemon extract instead of vinegar. For saltiness, salt instead of soy sauce. For other spices use ginger, onion and garlic. You can also use oregano, laurel leaves and other herbs. 

7. Breading is also not good for our health. White flour has very little nutrients and high in carbohydrates and calories.  People with diabetes should stay away from breaded food. Besides, air fryer does not give that crispness that deep fryer can give so we suggest not to fry breaded vegetables and meat in the air fryer. 

Cooking or Frying in an air fryer is convenient and has many benefits.  Oilless cooking is indeed healthier than deep frying but frequent eating of fried food via air fryer is not healthy too.  As we balance our diet, we also need to balance our way of cooking for our body to obtain more nourishments . We ought to give that to our body,

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