Weight Loss: Is Air Fryer Healthy? Learn About Its Utility And Benefits From An Expert

Air fryer is a counter top convection oven where it mimics action of frying but does use hot air as medium of cooking, no oil or very little oil is used in the process. Air Fryer has a fryer-style basket where the food is kept and when you switch it on, hot air rushes around the food. It has a heating mechanism, a fan and the hot air circulation makes the food crisp and does the job as good as deep frying but without oil. It has recently become very popular and can be used for roasting vegetables, cook meat, Bake and many similar functions.

Weight loss: Should you opt for air fryers over deep frying?

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Food made in air fryers use no or less oil so of course, food cooked in air fryers is healthier and have less fat content. Results are better than oven frying as air frying generates no fumes and kitchen temperature is also maintained while the food is cooked in fryers.

Here are some other benefits of cooking food in air fryers

1. Helpful for weight loss: As the food cooked in the air fryer is low in calories and low in fat, it helps the persons who are looking forward to shedding kilos. 

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2. Helps in management of cholesterol and other parameters: As the food cooked does not require any oil or in less quantity, so it helps in maintaining lipid profile and controlling the parameters if increased.

3. Decrease formation of harmful compounds: Deep frying also creates and produces dangerous compounds like acrylamide, which is a compound formed in carbohydrate - rich foods during high-heat cooking methods like deep frying. According to a studies, acrylamide is classified as a probable carcinogen and may develop cancer. Also, studies claim that air - frying reduced acrylamide by 90 % compared to traditional deep-frying. Aldehydes, heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also produced during deep frying which is not there in case of air frying

4. A variety of food can be made: A vast variety of foods can be cooked in air fryers, as due to bad effects on health of deep frying we tend to restrict several traditional and new recipes in our food regime, but air frying gives an edge to cook several dishes and have it, but we should always remember moderation is the key.

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5. It does not produce fumes and does not raise the kitchen temperature: As the process occurs within the air fryer basket, in comparison to deep frying it helps to maintain the temperature of surroundings too.

Higher cost and having limited capacity to cook in one batch are a of few of limitations of air fryer. But, one can choose from different models available in market as per budget, and pre-preparations can ease up if something is to be cooked in bulk.

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(Vandita Jain is Delhi-based nutritionist and Diabetes educator)

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