Is using airfryer healthy? Is it good for health? – GOOD SHAPE

I’m always asked if food made in the airfryer is healthy. When we talk about airfryer, we need to analyze some points to then define if it will be the healthier option for your lifestyle, because the individuality factor will weigh a lot and we cannot generalize that everything is good for everyone. I explain:

Airfryer X frying

If you do a lot of deep-frying, the airfryer will be a much healthier option, since you won’t be using soy oil (which is a fat with a high inflammatory potential) and will avoid the frying process, which in itself is already a problem. method that should be avoided, as it makes food heavy both in calories, as well as overloading the digestive system and exposure to free radicals (compounds that accelerate cell aging).

With the air fryer, it is possible to use the food’s own fat and lower temperatures and shorter preparation time to obtain an effect very similar to deep frying, or else, in the case of a vegetable, for example, it is possible to use a little of olive oil (which is an infinitely better fat than soybean oil).

Order delivery X make food with airfryer

If you have little time to prepare meals and the airfryer is a faster alternative for preparing vegetables, proteins and other dishes that you can take out of the freezer and put in the equipment (but don’t confuse the pre-fried potato which is full of oil and additives like a broccoli that you can put frozen even inside the airfryer with a little olive oil and in a few minutes it is ready to eat).

Or, take advantage of some seasoned ground beef in the shape of balls and have succulent homemade meatballs in no time… in which case, you’ll be making a much better swap! Preparing meals at home, avoiding ordering food with little or no nutritional value or resorting to industrialized products due to lack of time.

Airfryer increases the risk of cancer?

If you have the possibility of cooking or roasting food at lower temperatures and even using it with sauces (to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of refractories/pans and forming a crust), then it is worth taking turns using the airfryer, as the A big issue with using this equipment is that, when we use very high temperatures and when we let the food “too much toast”, that “crust” can form acrylamide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (which, basically, are compounds with potential for cell aging and increased risk of cancer, but of course, depending on the health situation of each individual, genetics, lifestyle, frequency of consumption, all potential risk of causing disease should not be analyzed in isolation, but always based on a context).

But it is worth remembering that this formation does not occur exclusively with the airfryer, because if we let the food “toast” too much with other methods (baking, grilling, frying, toasting, etc.), these substances will also be formed.

The “Churrasco” is a preparation that contains even more of these compounds, due to charcoal, which, when burned, releases many types of hydrocarbons, the more roasted the meat, vegetables and other items made in this system, the greater the amount of these compounds, even greater than the amount generated by the airfryer.

So there is no association with air fryers increasing the risk of cancer! Like everything else in life, it’s a question of knowing how to use it, balancing your choices and being aware in different areas of life, since health is not just a single pillar.

When using the airfryer or any other method of cooking/preparation with heat, always prefer:

– Foods to be in yellow/golden tones and not dark brown; – Do not overcook your food and prefer lower temperatures whenever possible; – Alternate the methods of preparation, as each one has its benefits; – Worry about having a healthy lifestyle, focus on what will really make a difference and not limit yourself to just a drop in the ocean, get out of sedentary lifestyle, healthy food choices, opt for organic products that do not contain pesticides, demand that public policies take care with food, with our land, take care of managing emotions… All these factors will allow you to have a healthy longevity, do not transfer this responsibility just to using or avoiding the airfryer. – Be careful not to “generalize” information and always seek professional advice. In the case of cancer, I recommend the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), as it is a super safe and up-to-date source on the subject.

As I tell my patients and students: “the best is the enemy of the good”!

Many people are waiting for the ideal situation to start something, but they forget that the perfect scenario may never exist, we need to act today, now!

So, if you root yourself in the concept that air frying is not the healthiest method and fail to take care of yourself or opt for other even more harmful preparation methods, such as deep frying thinking that it is replacing six for half a dozen, it is to waste the benefits of damage reduction!