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26th December 2023
10:15am GMT
It's a well known fact that anyone over the age of 26 is now legally obligated to not only own an air fryer, but to tell everyone about how great it is.
Oven chips in 15 minutes!
Chicken tenders in 8 minutes!
Cook a steak from frozen in less than 20 minutes!
We get it...
Recently though, many air fryer owners have started to wonder if these godsend machines could be affecting their health.
One TikTok user posted a recent video stating that the “forever chemicals” in their makeup can stress out your body.
This prompted Dr. Karan Raj to get involved.
For those of you that don't know, Dr. Raj is kind of like TikTok's go-to health guru.
He debunks myths and gets real about health matters on the app.
Here's what he had to say about using air fryers...
Well let's all just calm down for a minute.
People are claiming that the non-stick coating surrounding the basket of the air fryer could be transferring microplastics into your body.
You might have heard some people talk about BPAs and PFOAs.
Both of these can be found in the chemical make-up of modern day fryers.
The concern is these will stick to your food, and alter your DNA forever once inside the body.
However, as you heard in the video, Dr. Karan Raj believes this is “fear-mongering,” adding that “every time you eat, micro-plastics float down from the air and land in your food, or are already part of your food”.
Yay?
It might not be the most comforting news, but at least non-stick coatings (like the one in your air fryer) are generally considered as safe as the rest of your environment.
Dr. Raj makes the very important point in the video that air fryers can be more of a hazard if the machine is chipped or damaged in use.
Cleaning your machine thoroughly with wooden utensils can help this.
Also remember to use air fryer liners where possible, and be quick to replace any chipped or cracked pieces.
