Air-Frying vs Deep Frying 

When we look at the difference between deep frying and air-frying, there’s a clear winner (hint: its air frying!). The main reason air frying is preferred to deep frying is related to the amount of oil used. The deep fryer requires a few liters of oil, and the air fryer requires none!

Air frying significantly decreases the amount of oil absorbed into foods compared with the deep frying. This is a “pro” for the air fryer because less oil generally leads to less calories, which can reduce risk for weight gain and obesity. It’s not that you can’t eat fat—the Dietary Guidelines recommends fat make up 20-35% of your diet. But eating too many fried foods is an easy way to overdo it on fat, and in turn, calories.

Further, when cooking oil is heated, it can produce increased concentrations of inflammatory compounds, which can actually be absorbed into food. In this case, less oil retention equals fewer inflammatory compounds in the food we are eating. This translates to a reduced risk for development of chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease. Depending on the type of oil being used, less oil could also mean a decreased intake of saturated fat, which would also contribute to decreased risk for development of cardiovascular disease.

The air fryer may be particularly helpful when cooking starchy foods like potatoes. Foods generally take a longer time to be air fried than deep fried, and the starch tends to break down less in this setting. What does this mean? The starch may be more digestible, and could potentially have a slightly lower impact on blood sugar (you still need to be mindful of carbohydrates in your air fried foods).

Is air-frying healthy? 

So, let’s take a step back and answer the final question—is the air fryer “healthy?” The answer is, it depends on what we mean by “healthy” and what other cooking methods we are comparing it to.

Generally, when compared to deep frying, the air fryer is a healthier option because it has less calories, and can result in less inflammation, potentially decreasing the risk for chronic disease down the line.

When comparing the air fryer to the oven, the answer is less clear, but is probably that it doesn’t really matter.

However, when we are looking at the question “what is healthy” the real driver is the kind of foods you are eating and putting in the air fryer. Nutrient dense foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, fatty fish and lean meats are generally just as nutritious in the air fryer as the oven.

However, the air fryer isn’t a “free pass” to eat unlimited amounts of higher calorie foods just because it’s better than deep frying. It’s also important to remember that the main benefit of air-frying over deep frying is the lack of oil, so if you begin adding significant amounts of oil to air-fried foods, the benefits may not be quite as drastic.

Eating Well, https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7898639/is-air-frying-healthy-heres-what-a-dietitian-says/