Can air fryers cause cancer? The truth is here.
author: Elaine
2024-01-18
Of course not, labeling an air fryer as carcinogenic is completely unnecessary.
Let's learn about this knowledge together.
An air fryer is an oven with a fan, which uses hot air instead of oil to achieve the effect of deep frying. When the air fryer is working, the heating tube emits heat, and the fan blows vigorously, creating a high-speed circulation of hot air inside the air fryer. By frying food with its fat, the food will gradually dehydrate and become cooked under the action of hot air. Due to the Maillard reaction and caramelization reaction, many ingredients have a golden and crispy surface, which looks a bit like fried food.
Compared to traditional ovens, air fryers for the same type of food take less time, consume less energy, and use less oil/even without oil.
Air fryers use high temperatures to heat food, as most carbohydrates can form acrylamide when cooked at temperatures higher than 120 ℃. Acrylamide has been classified as a Class 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization. These carcinogens are mainly based on carcinogenic data from experimental animals, but they are likely to be carcinogenic to humans as well.
Acrylamide is one of the byproducts of the Maillard reaction. If food contains both carbohydrates and amino acids, it will undergo a Maillard reaction after being cooked at high temperatures above 120 ℃, such as frying, frying, cooking, and frying. Therefore, acrylamide is not unique to air fryer cooking. As long as there is a Maillard reaction, there may be acrylamide, and it can even be said that most delicious foods contain acrylamide to some extent. No matter what kind of pot, excessive heating of food can produce carcinogens. However, whether it is an air fryer, oven, or an iron pan used for stir-frying, as long as used correctly, it will not produce excessive carcinogens. So the key issue lies in the relationship between food and temperature, which has little to do with cooking utensils. It is completely unnecessary to label an air fryer as carcinogenic.
In short, people can objectively and rationally view air fryers. While food cooked with air fryers is indeed healthier than traditional deep frying, it does not mean that one can eat food made with air fryers without any worries.
How to use an air fryer with confidence?
Don't eat too much. Fried foods often have a high-fat content and belong to high-energy foods. Eating too much can easily lead to excessive energy intake, in simple terms - gaining weight.
Control duration and temperature. When using an air fryer, it is important to note that the temperature should not be set too high (preferably within 120 ℃) and the production time should not be too long (about 10 minutes) to avoid generating too many potentially harmful ingredients.
Cook less starchy foods. Whether an air fryer is healthier depends on the specific cooking. If you want to reduce the intake of acrylamide, it is recommended to fry less starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, deep-fried dough sticks, etc. Relatively speaking, air fryers are suitable for cooking foods with more fat or moisture, such as meat and vegetables.
Not as the main cooking method. Although air fryers are convenient to use and there are many related recipes online, it is not recommended to make air fryers the primary cooking method. In daily life, it is advisable to use cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, stewing, and blanching to preserve the nutritional content of food and reduce the production of harmful substances.
Compared to traditional deep frying, the fat content (especially saturated fat content) of food cooked in an air fryer is indeed lower, but after all, it belongs to high-temperature heating, which can produce acrylamide, causing oxidation loss of vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Occasionally using an air fryer to enjoy delicious food is possible, but don't be greedy!
Don't eat too much. Fried foods often have a high-fat content and belong to high-energy foods. Eating too much can easily lead to excessive energy intake, in simple terms - gaining weight.
Control duration and temperature. When using an air fryer, it is important to note that the temperature should not be set too high (preferably within 120 ℃) and the production time should not be too long (about 10 minutes) to avoid generating too many potentially harmful ingredients.
Cook less starchy foods. Whether an air fryer is healthier depends on the specific cooking. If you want to reduce the intake of acrylamide, it is recommended to fry less starchy foods, such as potatoes, bread, deep-fried dough sticks, etc. Relatively speaking, air fryers are suitable for cooking foods with more fat or moisture, such as meat and vegetables.
Not as the main cooking method. Although air fryers are convenient to use and there are many related recipes online, it is not recommended to make air fryers the primary cooking method. In daily life, it is advisable to use cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, stewing, and blanching to preserve the nutritional content of food and reduce the production of harmful substances.
Compared to traditional deep frying, the fat content (especially saturated fat content) of food cooked in an air fryer is indeed lower, but after all, it belongs to high-temperature heating, which can produce acrylamide, causing oxidation loss of vitamins and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Occasionally using an air fryer to enjoy delicious food is possible, but don't be greedy!
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