A TV doctor has stepped into the debate over the health risks of air fryers. NHS doctor Amir Khan, spoke out on Lorraine amid some people raising potential worries over ‘forever chemicals’ – and said it was important that people don’t ‘scratch or damage it in any way’.
Dr Khan who is also a regular on Good Morning Britain emphasised that they were probably mis-named also as they don’t actually fry the food. Speaking on the health concerns host Lorraine Kelly said: “Do you think there are any drawbacks to the the air fryer, any potential health problems to this?“
Dr Khan replied: “I think people sometimes worry about it because a lot of air fryers are nonstick and they worry about the forever chemicals in, in the nonstick stuff, but as long as you look after your air fryer and don’t scratch it or damage it in any way, those non-stick chemicals should stay in the air fryer. So what I would say, I know you can put it in the dishwasher, but I would say wash it by hand, so you’re less likely to damage it, rather than use abrasive sponges, use a nice soft cloth with washing, washing up liquid. And when you are taking food out, use wooden utensils or silicone utensils.
“You know, scratch the surface and potentially release some of those forever chemicals. Liners are excellent. You can get disposable ones or reusable ones, but if you are worried about that kind of nonstick chemicals, you can get ceramic and stainless steel air fryers as well.”
In short Dr Khan’s rules to keep air fryers safe are:
- Don’t damage or scratch it
- Don’t put it in the dishwasher and instead hand wash
- Don’t use an abrasive sponge
- Use wooden or silicone utensils
However, Dr Khan is a great fan of air fryers, although he said they weren’t a magic wand to make food healthier. He said: “They don’t fry food, they just send hot air around that basket and give you that lovely crispy outside and that softer inside of, of the food. They’re about as healthy as the food that you put into them at that age, so they’re not magically going to get rid of the saturated fat of a rush of bacon if you’ve got bacon in there and they won’t get rid of the trans fats of processed chicken wings and that kind of things if you stick them in there.”
He explained food cooked in them could be a lot less fattening: “There’s significantly less calories than if you were shallow frying or even deep frying your food, and they are cheaper than running a conventional oven and in a cost of living crisis, that’s a good thing.
“But if you want to get the best in terms of your health, opt for veggies in your air fryer and lean meats.”