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At least once a week, we all crave something deep fried, crispy and juicy. It might be just some basic French fries or some special spicy, crispy, deep-fried chicken, when you can’t get it out of your mind, you have to make it. But is there a way to make these unhealthy junks snack even a little bit healthier? Well, Let’s talk about air fryers which are marketed as a healthy alternative to deep frying, but do they live up to their claims?
What is an Air Fryer and How does it work?
An air fryer is a unique and relatively kitchen appliance that fries food not by submersing it oil but by circulating hot air around it, giving the food the exact texture and taste of as if it’s been fried. It works by using a fan to circulate hot air around the food, and cooking by convection, creating a crispy, crunchy outside that requires little fat, making it a convenient, low-fat way to cook things like French fries and fried chicken but using significantly less oil.

Are Air Fryers Healthy?
The answer is yes, air fryers do tend to be healthier when compared to the traditional method of deep-frying food. They use dramatically less oil and give the same result if you’re craving your favorite fried goodies like doughnuts and crispy fried chicken wings. Of course, when the calories of the food you are eating are lower, it helps weight management, cholesterol management etc thus making it a healthy option for cooking.
Top 3 Health Benefits of Air Frying
Among the many benefits of switching to an air fryer, there is the amazing benefit that you get to enjoy all the junk food you want but healthily, other benefits include:
Less Oil, Less Fat
Air fryers are shown to use very less oil to cook the food inside, when deep frying traditionally, a recipe can use up to 3 cups (750 mL) of oil to fry, air-fryers usually need only about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of oil. Air fryers do this by circulating hot air containing oil droplets around the food. So, it’s definitely a guilt free way to enjoy those French fries.
Other popular air-fryer healthy easy recipes include air-fryer ham, air-fryer hot dogs, air-fryer hamburgers, air-fryer hot wings and air-fryer gnocchi.

Air Fryers are Safer
Air fryers are proven to be actually safer than normal frying. When you traditionally deep fry a food, you use a pot of boiling oil that splash, spill or catch fire. When compared to an air fryer, which one used to the instructions, seems to be a relatively safer option.
Lower Acrylamide Levels
In recent studies, there is evidence to show that air-frying lowers the level of a carcinogenic compound called acrylamide by 90 percent. This toxic substance is produced when starch containing foods are fried at very high temperatures. Compared to deep fat frying, airfryer healthy meals also preserve certain nutrients present in the food like vitamin C.
Is an Air Fryer Better than an Oven?
When you compare an air-fryer and oven, there are a lot of things to consider. Both of them are different appliances and have different functions and cooking methods. Sure, an air fryer is easy to clean when compared to an oven and works on less electricity but, both of them are for cooking different sorts of things. You can’t make fried chicken in a oven just as you can’t bake a cake in the air fryer. Baking and frying are two different forms of cooking, but if you are looking for a healthy way to eat fried food every day, then the air fryer is definitely a good option!