Study reveals surprising health benefit to using an air fryer

Air fryers are already known to be cheaper and more effective than traditional ovens.  

And now a study has revealed a surprising health benefit to using the trendy cookers in your kitchen. 

Researchers from the University of Birmingham say that air fryers produce a tiny fraction of the indoor air pollution emitted by other cooking methods. 

In their study, the team cooked a chicken breast using five popular methods, including boiling, air-frying, and pan-frying. 

Their analysis revealed that air-frying produced the least particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) of all five methods. 

Previous research has shown that indoor air pollutants can increase your risk of several health conditions. 

'People spend, on average, more than 80% of their time indoors, with cooking emissions contributing significantly to indoor air pollution,' the researchers wrote in their study. 

'Exposure to indoor pollutants may induce various health effects of acute symptoms and chronic diseases, such as heart failure; cardiovascular diseases; cerebrovascular diseases; neurodegenerative diseases; lung diseases including emphysema and bronchitis; irritations in the respiratory system and eyes; respiratory infections and asthma attacks; and increased risks of cancer and mortality, especially in vulnerable people.' 

Cooking is known to be a key source of indoor air pollution. 

However, until now, there has been little research on the indoor air pollution produced by air-frying. 

In their new study, published in Indoor Air, the team set out to finally set the record straight. 

The researchers cooked a chicken breast in a well-controlled research kitchen using five different methods - pan frying, stir-frying, deep-fat frying, boiling, and air frying. 

Throughout the cooking process, the researchers monitored the levels of two indoor air pollutants in the surrounding air - particulate matter and VOCs. 

Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can be inhaled. 

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), meanwhile, are emitted as gases and include a variety of harmful chemicals. 

Their analysis revealed that pan-frying was the most polluting cooking method, with 92.9 micrograms of PM per cubic metre of air and 260 parts per billion of VOCs released. 

Deep-frying wasn't much better in terms of VOCs, with 230 parts ber billion released, alongside 7.7 micrograms of PM per cubic metre of air. 

Stir-frying was the second worst in terms of PM, with 26.7 micrograms per cubic metre of air released, along with 110 parts per billion of VOCs. 

And while you might think that boiling would be the least polluting method, the researchers found that this wasn't the case for either PM or VOCs. 

Boiling produced 0.7 micrograms of PM per cubic metre of air and 30 parts per billion of VOCs. 

However, air-frying produced just 0.6 micrograms of PM per cubic metre of air and 20 parts per billion of VOCs.

Professor Christian Pfrang, senior author of the study, said: 'There are a number of factors that will affect the levels of pollution from cooking alongside the method used, including the amount of oil used, and the temperature of the stove.

'What we can say with certainty, however, is that improving the ventilation in kitchens by opening windows or using extractor fans, will help to disperse polluting particles and reduce personal exposure.'

As part of the study, the researchers continued to measure pollution after the cooking process had finished. 

This revealed that the pollutants lingered in the kitchen for well over an hour after the food had been cooked - despite the cooking itself taking only 10 minutes. 

'It's also really important to understand that particles will remain in the air for quite some time after you have finished cooking,' Professor Pfrang added. 

'So continuing to ventilate, or keeping extractor fans turned on for a period of time will really help to avoid the build-up of this indoor pollution and reduce the potential for the pollutants to be transported and distributed throughout the house with the associated higher personal exposures.'

Not only are air fryers the least polluting, but research by Which? has shown that they're also three times cheaper than a conventional oven. 

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Emily Seymour, Which? Energy Editor, said: 'Energy bills are a real concern for millions of households across the country, especially when many are already feeling the pressures of the cost of living crisis, and cooking is one of the everyday costs that really mount up over time.

'There has been a surge of interest in air fryers and smaller cooking appliances in recent months, and our research shows that the hype could be justified in some cases, as we've found these products cost less to cook certain foods than conventional ovens.

'The cost savings will soon be lost if you have to cook more than one batch though, so it's still better to use your oven if you're cooking large quantities.

'But for quick, small meals, we've found that it's worth trying out the alternatives.'