With air fryers becoming one of the trendiest kitchen appliances today, many are asking: Can they deliver the taste, texture, and golden-brown crunch of deep-fried foods but with fewer calories?
This Ramadan, if you’re mindful of your calorie intake, it’s worth taking a closer look at how foods like French fries or fried chicken affect your health. Studies link excessive consumption of fried foods to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even certain types of cancer, mainly due to the oils used in traditional frying.
Air fryers offer a potential solution, promising the same crispy texture and golden appearance while using significantly less oil. But are they truly healthier? Let’s break it down.
Foods You Can Cook in an Air Fryer
Air fryers are incredibly versatile kitchen appliances that allow you to cook a wide variety of foods with little to no oil. You can easily prepare chicken in many forms, such as whole chickens, wings, nuggets, or fingers, all with a crispy exterior and juicy interior. Fish fillets cook quickly and evenly, while classic sides like French fries and potato wedges come out golden and crisp.
Snack favorites like onion rings, cheese sticks, and even donuts can also be made in an air fryer, offering a healthier twist on traditional fried treats. Beyond these, air fryers can handle countless other meals and snacks, making them a convenient and efficient option for quick, delicious cooking.
Are Air Fryers Healthy?
According to Megan Wroe, manager and registered dietitian at the Wellness Center at Providence St. Jude Medical Center, “Air fryers come up in conversation all the time. People seem to be more interested in the convenience aspect of it first, with potential health benefits as a nice side effect.”
Lower Calories and Fat
Air frying can reduce the calories in traditionally fried foods by up to 80% due to using significantly less oil.
Reduced Harmful Compounds
Deep frying can produce acrylamide, a chemical formed when amino acids react with starch at high temperatures, a process called the Maillard reaction. Acrylamide is classified as a probable carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Air frying reduces acrylamide levels in fried potatoes by up to 90%.
Safer Cooking
Using less oil means fewer oxidized fats, making air frying generally safer than traditional deep frying.
While air fryers are a healthier alternative, the real health impact depends on what and how you cook. Over-browning, over-processing, or cooking ultra-processed foods in an air fryer can still be unhealthy. The device itself is not a “magic” health solution—it’s how you use it that matters.
