#230 Airfryers. Are they Toxic? With Dr Rupy Aujla and Sakina Okoko

I personally love my airfryer, I’ve been using it at home and in the Doctor’s Kitchen studio since the start of the year, but can they be considered a ‘healthier’ cooking method? This is a question I’m often posed online so we did some research and looked at a few studies.  Air fryers aren’t a new invention, in fact they’ve been around for a number of years but the popularity of them has soared over the last 2 years. The way air fryers cook foods is by circulating hot hair containing tiny droplets of oil around the foods. It actually mimics the effect of submerging food in hot oil but using significantly less oil. So, it allows quick and even cooking and creates crispy coatings on the outside of the food, with less calories, hence the reputation for being a ‘healthier alternative’ to frying. On todays episode we looked at the pros and cons of airfrying across a number of domains including:

Cost and conveniencePreservation of nutrientsThe detrimental impact of excessive heat on the oils and fat usedHow they compare with other methods including oven roasting and sauteing The environmental impact considering the materials they are made from

Plus our overall take on how I’m now using my airfryer and newer gadgets to look out for!