The kitchen-top gadget is a very small cooker that uses roughly half the energy of a regular cooker, making it a bit of a money-saving hack too.
And despite its name, it doesn’t fry food at all.
What it does do is recreate the crispiness of fried food, just without the fat.
The research around the popular fryers is still very limited.
Previous research has found frying food in oil can cause dangerous compounds to develop, such as acrylamide.
This compound forms in certain foods during high-heat cooking methods, such as deep frying.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, acrylamide may have links to the development of some cancers, including endometrial, ovarian, pancreatic, breast, and oesophageal cancer.
By switching to air frying, people can lower the risk of having acrylamide in their food.
But experts warn, there could be downsides to these magical devices.
Air frying food can potentially create harmful compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines, according to the National Cancer Institute.
These compounds have been associated with a cancer, the body explained.
However, medics believe the popular devices could do a lot of good – if used correctly.
Dr Rachel Ward a GP from Woodlands Medical Centre, Didcot, said one of her “main concerns” at the moment was that patients cannot afford to heat their homes and feed themselves well due to the cost of living crisis.
