We’ve heard of methods of cooking that reduce or even remove the nutrients in our foods. In our day and age, healthy options seem to trump the stores. Whenever a new trend comes, it comes with a new promise. And air fryers are no different, they claim to replicate the wonders of deep-fried foods in a healthier way.
With the air fryer being marketed as the healthier alternative, one would hope that it has the ability to preserve nutrients while cooking. Well, preserving them entirely is certainly not possible. When boiling, steaming or grilling vegetables and meats, they lose about 40% of their key nutrients.
I decided to do some research on the subject to clarify if the process that takes place in the air fryer has a negative effect on nutrients or not.
Do air fryers destroy nutrients? Yes, but at a much lower rate than many other methods of cooking, making it a healthier alternative. No matter how you decide to cook your food, you will see a loss of nutrition. The rate of nutrient depletion is increased in moist environments, which speaks in favor of the air fryer as it circulates dry heat, not moist.
There’s no way around the fact that heat and water combined alter the way nutrients behave in our food. Both water and heat are often present when cooking food, therefore, you can expect a reduction in nutrients of some grade when cooking, no matter the method used.
However, some methods are better than others at nutrient retention. Methods that expose foods to heat and water for short amounts of time seem to be beneficial when it comes to nutrient retention.
Another thing to take note of is the way some vegetables respond to the process of cooking, according to this article, the antioxidants and minerals in vegetables are more accessible to us when cooking them.
This means that the chemical reaction that takes place when food is heated can degrade some nutrients, and at the same time, make other nutrients more accessible
Air frying, along with steaming, grilling, roasting, and baking are the best methods of preparing food to retain nutrients. However, this is only true as long as the food is protected from coming in direct contact with the heat source.
Wrapping foods in foil is one way of protecting them from direct heat. While aluminum foil or tin foil can be used in the air fryer, but it’s more effective on a regular grill where food is exposed to flames with only a grill rack to separate them.
In an air fryer, the basket protects the food from coming in direct contact with the heat source. Combining the method of circulating dry heat with the design of the air fryer’s cooking area which protects the food results in a healthier way of cooking food, and of course, it enables the air fryer to retain more nutrients than many other methods would.
Do Air Fryers Retain More Nutrients Than Other Appliances?
Other methods, such as boiling, poaching or simmering are not as good at retaining nutrients as air frying. The primary reason for that being that these methods cook food in very hot liquids for long periods of time, which depletes the nutrients.
The methods mentioned above are actually some of the worst methods, they seem to deplete nutrients in food quite easily. Nevertheless, when boiling, the nutrients are often released into the water, where they are preserved. If one should decide to make broth or soup with the leftover water, one would
Comparing an air fryer’s ability to retain nutrients to that of a deep fryer tells us that the air fryer is a much healthier option than the deep fryer, not only because it reduces fat content in food, but also because it doesn’t deplete nutrients at the same rate that a deep fryer does.
Frying food in a deep fryer involves submerging food into a bath of hot oil, which depletes food of its nutrients. The oil is absorbed into the food, increasing the saturated fats and calories in it by significant amounts.
Other methods that also retain nutrients to a higher degree
- Steaming
- Grilling (If food is protected)
- Baking.
Do Air Fryers Form Acrylamide?
Acrylamide is a chemical used to make polyacrylamide and acrylamide copolymers, two substances that can be found in food packages, adhesives, tobacco smoke. They are also present in many industrial processes.
Why do people worry about acrylamide?
Studies have shown that exposure to acrylamide increases the risk of multiple types of cancer. Once in our body, acrylamide is converted into a substance called
Where do air fryers come in?
Well, acrylamide can also be produced in some foods, mainly food that contains asparagine, an amino acid.
Nevertheless, acrylamide doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, in order for it to form, the food has to be cooked in high temperatures for a longer period of time. Which, thankfully, rarely happens in an air fryer.
Take potatoes, for example. They are p
They contain asparagine, but in order for the substance to form, the amino acid must be exposed to certain sugars (which carbohydrate-rich foods may contain) in combination with high temperatures for longer periods of time.
This tells me that the method of cooking used can limit the formation of acrylamide substantially. By cutting cooking times, one can decrease the formation of acrylamide. Which speaks in favor of the air fryer and its speedy cooking.
According to this study, the formation of dietary acrylamide is reduced by 90% when cooking in an air fryer.
The ability to tweak time and temperature, use presets made for specific foods, and auto-shut off features ensure that food in the air fryer doesn’t overcook. When overcooked, the risk of cancer may increase.
Therefore, you want to avoid the dark-brown surface of burnt or fried food.
Are Air Fryers Toxic In Any Way?
In comparison to the deep frying, the method of air frying food is a much healthier option, as it reduces fat content and the formation of potentially harmful compounds. However, no matter if food is air-fried or deep-fried, one should always try to keep a balanced diet.
Eating the same thing or preparing it using the same method for a long period of time without variation will most likely lead to a shortage of various minerals and vitamins.
But to answer the question. No, air fryers are not toxic, instead, you’ll find that cooking in an air fryer is a quite healthy alternative in comparison to many other methods.
- Air fryers reduce the formation of acrylamide
- Air fryers reduce fat content in food (While we need fat in our diets, we tend to eat more than we need, which leads to a caloric surplus and weight gain)
- Air fryers retain nutrients better than most methods
- Air fryers come in variations that are free from irritants such as BPA.
- Ceramic and stainless steel variations of the air fryer basket have been made for those who want to avoid Teflon or other non-stick coatings.
Air fryers are not unhealthy or dangerous, they offer a speedy, convenient and healthy solution to solve the side-effects of deep-frying without sacrificing the taste and appearance.
The only thing to consider is the state of the air fryer’s components. When non-stick coating starts to flake from either the basket or pan used in the air fryer, the component should not be used in the air fryer.
When the coating flakes, metal is exposed, and then, when the air fryer is used, the metal may overheat and release harmful fumes.
To prevent the air fryer’s basket from flaking you should clean it after each use. Make sure to do so gently, using a soft sponge and warm water. Using a rough brush will scrape the coating right off the basket.
Related Questions
Is it safe to use an air fryer? Yes, air fryers are, generally, safe to use. When it comes to nutrition and harmful compounds, the air fryer is less harmful than many other methods of preparing food. However, there are documented cases of air
Can air fryers cause cancer? Frying food in an air fryer reduces the risks of developing cancer greatly in comparison to a deep fryer. The formation of the potentially harmful substance acrylamide is reduced by up to 90% in the air fryer. Still, a balanced diet is most likely the healthiest option.
What are the side-effects of air frying? There are no serious side-effects to cooking in an air fryer as long as the food isn’t overcooked. Deep-frying food, on the other hand, is linked to a series of negative health effects, at this stage, one can only speculate if the same effects can be linked to overconsumption of air-fried food.