Is Air Fried Food Good For Weight Loss?

The world has finally woken up to the increasing health risks associated with excess oil consumption and is looking for ways to reduce its consumption. Since deep frying requires a lot of oil, health-conscious individuals who want their food crispy without the excess oil bring home premium air fryers. In the United States alone, the sale of air fryers increased by 76%! Air frying is believed to be a healthier alternative to deep frying because it helps reduce the health risks associated with fried foods. In India too, from pakoras to samosas, everything that goes through air-frying is classified as “healthy”. Air frying gives the same texture as fried foods without the added oil. But is air fried food good for weight loss and should you put all your weight loss hopes in the air fryer basket? Let’s find out:

Why is deep frying not good for health and weight loss?

1. Even the healthiest of oils, olive oil is calorie dense, and can contain up to 124 calories per tablespoon! Other oils commonly used in deep frying foods such as seed oils and vegetable oils lead to infections, increase inflammation in the body, increase oxidative stress, cause cell damage, and lead to weight gain as a result.
2. A compound called acrylamide, which is formed as a result of a reaction between certain amino acids and sugars (starchy foods rich in asparagine such as potatoes), when cooked at high temperatures such as deep frying, is believed to increase the risk of some cancers. High levels of acrylamide have been found in fried potato products and air fried fries have been found to be low in calories, fat and acrylamide as well. Also read: “5 Real Reasons You Crave French Fries!”
3. Partially hydrogenated oils such as the vegetable oils used in some restaurants and fast food joints for deep frying may contain a significant amount of trans fat. Studies have shown that too much trans fat in the diet may cause obesity and insulin resistance. Choosing healthy oils like olive oil and switching to alternative cooking methods like grilling, steaming, air-frying, etc., should help eliminate trans fats from your diet.

How does an air fryer work?

Air fryers are appliances that produce crispy results similar to traditional fried foods. An air fryer is a kitchen appliance that cooks food by circulating hot air around it using a convection mechanism. Despite its name, an air fryer doesn’t actually fry food in the traditional sense of immersing it in hot oil. Instead, it uses rapid air technology to produce crispy, evenly cooked results, similar to fried foods, but with significantly less oil. The main components of an air fryer include a heating element and a powerful fan. The heating element generates heat, which is then circulated by the fan throughout the cooking chamber. The hot air quickly surrounds the food, creating a crunchy outer layer while the interior cooks. Therefore, the air fryer uses rapid air technology to give you crispy and crunchy food, similar to foods that are deep fried in a small amount of oil. The hot air circulating in an air fryer eliminates the need to use multiple cups of oil, and most of the time only a tablespoon of oil is required.

Benefits of air frying:

1. Less Oil Required: One of the advantages of using an air fryer is that it requires much less oil compared to deep frying. In traditional deep frying, the entire food is immersed in the hot oil, which results in higher absorption of the oil and can make even ordinary food calorie-dense. Air frying will only need 1 tablespoon of oil in comparison, and here you can save a lot of calories.
2. No need to reuse the oil: Every time the oil is heated for cooking, it undergoes chemical changes and deterioration. Repeated heating and cooling cycles can lead to the formation of harmful compounds, such as free radicals and oxidized lipids. Regular consumption of these degraded or oxidized fats may have negative health effects and may contribute to weight gain. Certain oils that are high in saturated or trans fats, when reused several times, can have an adverse effect on health and contribute to weight gain.
3. Reduces acrylamide content: Air fryers typically cook food at lower temperatures compared to deep frying. They also remove excess moisture from foods and the dry environment of air frying can help reduce conditions favorable for acrylamide formation.
4. Helps get rid of trans fats: Researchers say that diets high in trans fats lead to a redistribution of fatty tissue around the abdominal area, resulting in belly fat! Cooking oils are the usual suspect when it comes to trans fats, and reducing your oil consumption can help eliminate trans fats from your diet.
6. Preserves Nutrients Better: Air frying can help retain more nutrients in the food compared to deep frying.

How to maximize the benefits of air frying:

1. Use Cooking Spray – Cooking sprays create a flat coating of oil, allowing you to use less oil overall. By using cooking spray instead of pouring or spreading oil directly on food, you can significantly reduce the calorie content of your fried dishes. This can contribute to weight loss by lowering your total calorie intake.
2. Use healthy oils like olive oil – As mentioned above, some cooking oils can increase inflammation in the body, so substitute olive oil, which helps fight inflammation.
3. Avoid air frying such as samosas, pakoras and french fries – especially if you are trying to lose weight and want to reduce calories. Even an air fryer can’t turn samosas and french fries into weight loss friendly stuff.
4. Use vegetables such as cabbage, zucchini, carrots, beets, and even radishes to make healthy chips. You can even make chips out of apple slices!
Make even chand apple chips.
6. Saute low-calorie veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes and make them guilt-free.
7. Avoid air frying highly processed chicken nuggets and other highly processed foods. Ultra-processed chicken pieces often contain unhealthy additives, preservatives, and ingredients, which may not provide optimal nutritional value. Also read: “10 Instant Foods to Reduce Weight and Lose Weight”.

In short, air frying is a better alternative to deep frying, depending on the food you choose to cook with. To a large extent, whether or not air frying is healthy depends on what you’re cooking in it. If your goal is to lose weight, you’ll have to do more than put all of your eggs in the air fry basket. You must eat the right kind of food, in the right amount, and be physically active to reach a calorie deficit to burn off excess fat. diet plans on Ratty Beauty Diet It can help you lose weight without crash dieting. A fancy kitchen air fryer is not a surefire way to reach your target weight or washable abs. There’s also the misconception that “any” food when it comes out of the air fryer is “healthy” – it’s not! Air frying can be used to cook healthy foods like vegetables, tofu, paneer, fish and chicken. But save the air fryer for a rainy day, to make delicious pakora with a cup of tea!

5 real reasons why you crave French fries!
10 foods to instantly reduce weight and lose weight