If you haven’t got an air fryer by now, then you’re probably Patrick Star, or at least rooming with him.

Whether you live on the set of Spongebob or not, you will have heard of the air fryer even if you haven’t used or bought one yourself, but experts have now confirmed there is a safety risk with them while cooking certain foods.

Ladies and gentlemen, the air fryer. (Getty Images)

So what are these countertop cookers?

While convection ovens, to give them their proper name, have been in wide use since 1945, it wasn’t until 2006 that a French company created an appliance under the Actifry brand – which circulates hot air around the food while continuously stirring it.

In 2010, UK-based Philips introduced the air fryer brand of convection oven, and by 2018, the term ‘air fryer’ was starting to be used generically.

But for the US, the air fryer boomed when it came to the market in 2017 and further boomed during the pandemic when viral food videos on TikTok saw them in popular demand.

Over the year from 2021 to 2022, sales surpassed more than $1 billion – a whopping 20 percent increase on the year before, while its reported that as of 2023, nearly 60 percent of American households own them at home, according to Nestle’s Adam Graves.

A whole roast chicken cooked in the oven – something experts advised against. (Getty Images)

The advice of what you should be wary of cooking comes from experts at Which?, a UK-based company that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products.

So, what should you avoid cooking in the air fryer?

Which? has said that cooking a whole chicken in the air fryer is a no go – but why? Because there simply isn’t enough room to allow the hot air to circulate, and the middle will still be raw – unless your countertop is packing a huge one.

It said: “Cooking whole roasts, such as roast chicken can be problematic, so joint your bird first before frying.”

Pasta, rice and even some fresh greens are advised against being used in the air fryer.

Which? said: “An air fryer isn’t a go-to appliance for boiling and steaming – you’re better off sticking to a slow cooker or a pot on the hob.

“You can use an air fryer to reheat pasta and sauce that’s already been cooked, but the microwave is a more efficient way to do this.”

But why fresh greens? Well, spinach, lettuce and kale are all so light that they will just be blown away in your convection oven, so it’s best to avoid the mess.

While arguably the nation’s favourite snack popcorn is also ill-advised because the air-fryer might not even be able to cook it!

“Cooking popcorn in your air fryer might not even work because most air fryers don’t reach a high enough temperature to pop the kernels. The good old microwave will do a much better job”, the experts warned.

It added that it would avoid putting fresh cheese in and toast – not so much for health reasons though!

Miley Cyrus has revealed why her voice sounds raspy, and despite it being treatable, she refuses to undergo surgery on it.

The 32-year-old ‘Wrecking Ball’ singer has opened up about the ‘really precious and really private’ medical condition that takes a ‘physical’ toll on her throughout the course of a day.

The Tennessee-born musician can hit a wide-range of pitches that most of us can only dream of, but the reason as to why she is able to hit those notes could be down to her vocal cord disorder, Reinke’s edema.

According to Cleveland Clinic, it is a non-cancerous condition that is common among people with a long-term smoking history – although in Cyrus’ case, she was simply born with it.

However, she’s not let it hold her back, and even credited it towards making her voice the ‘unique’ tone that millions of fans enjoy.

Miley Cyrus has shared how she lives with a vocal cord disorder, as she describes perfomances with the condition as being ‘like running a marathon with ankle weights on’ (John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Why is Miley Cryus’ voice ‘raspy’?

As mentioned earlier, it is due to Reinke’s edema. While being interviewed by New Zealand DJ Zane Lowe for Apple Music, she explained: “I had [have] the Reinke’s edema which is something that is called… it’s abuse of the vocal cords.

“And you know being 21 and staying up and drinking, and smoking, and partying after every show does not help – but also in my case it does not cause it.

“So my voice always sounded like this so it’s a part of my, you know, unique anatomy – this is what I look like, so I have this very large, you know, polyp on my vocal cord, which is giving me a lot of the tone and the texture that has made me who I am.”

What are the causes and symptoms of Reinke’s edema?

Again, as shared earlier, Reinke’s edema is typically developed following a life of heavy smoking, which causes your vocal cords to swell. In some cases, like Cyrus’s, people living with the condition will have non-cancerous growths known as polyps appear inside the vocal box.

Cleveland Clinic writes: “Hallmark symptoms are hoarseness and a noticeably deeper voice. Quitting smoking may improve mild cases, but most people need surgery.”

What has Miley Cyrus said about her voice?

Touching on her condition and her voice, Cyrus told Lowe: “It’s extremely difficult to perform with because it’s like running a marathon with ankle weights on, so even when I’m talking sometimes at the end of the day you know I’ll call my mom and she’ll go ‘Oh you sound like you’re talking through a radio’.

“And that’s how you know I’m really tired, because it creates that like ultimate vocal fry.

“Yeah, and so I do have this blessing of a condition.”

The singer has stated that she does not intend to seek any treatment for the condition though, as she believes that it’s what makes her voice so ‘unique’.

“My voice is super unique because of it, but I do have this Reinke’s edema and I have this large polyp on my cords, and I’m not willing to sever it ever, because the chance of waking up from a surgery and not sounding like myself is a probability,” she said.

“I really had it on my heart that I don’t speak and don’t really care to talk about this thing that’s really precious and really private to me,” she added. “But it is a real thing.”

A doctor has spoken out about the subtle sign of cancer that could mean a person is bleeding internally.

One in two men and one in three women in the US will develop cancer in their lifetime, while one in five men and one in six for women will die of the disease.

That’s according to the American Cancer Society; so it’s important to be able to identify signs of cancer, which Dr Robin Clark has done for us – revealing the subtle sign of cancer that could mean you are bleeding internally.

One in 67 women and one in 61 men die of colon/rectum cancer, according to the American Cancer Society (Getty Stock Image)

So, without further ado, let’s get into what the medical director at Bupa Health Insurance has said.

He spoke to Express.co.uk in a bid to raise awareness of bowel cancer, which is sadly on the rise amongst young people.

“Weight loss is less common than some of the other symptoms, but bowel cancer can prevent you from being able to absorb all the nutrients from your food,” Dr Clark shared.

“You might not feel like eating if you feel sick, bloated or if you just don’t feel hungry.”

The medical professional also described how bowel cancer causes changes to your stool, even early on.

“Changes in the color, shape, and texture of your poo that last longer than a few days can reveal signs of infection, digestive issues or more serious problems, such as cancer,” he explained.

Bowel cancer can cause changes to your eating habits (Getty Stock Image)

“Although persistent constipation can be a sign of bowel cancer – having looser stools or feeling the need to go to the toilet more frequently is a more common symptom.

“Other symptoms can include boating, abdominal pain or mucus in the poo.”

Dr Clark contined: “Though your toilet habits might make you feel uncomfortable, being in tune with your bowels could be a life saver.

“The most common things to look out for are changes to your toilet habits or poo.

“If you have black or dark red poo, or bloody diarrhoea, you should see your GP [general practitioner, which is a PCP in the US] urgently.”

Patients suffering with bowel cancer might also experience anemia, which is when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen around the body to its tissues. This is because they may be bleeding internally from the tumor.

Bowel cancer is one of the most common types of cancer (Getty Stock Image)

He revealed: “There are several more subtle symptoms to look out for. A diagnosis of anaemia may be a sign that you’re bleeding internally, even if you haven’t noticed blood in your poo.

“The lack of iron in the body can leave you feeling tired.”

Dr Clark added: “Bowel cancer is one of the most common cancers, so it’s vital to speak to a medical professional if you notice symptoms.

“If anything doesn’t look or feel right, or you’ve noticed an unexplained change of some sort, it’s crucial that you seek medical help immediately, no matter what your age.”

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.

A doctor has detailed one key symptom that led him to self-diagnose his own cancer.

Dr Muneeb Shah was just 31 years old when he was diagnosed with a common form of skin cancer in 2021.

The doctor and dermatologist shares his health advice to over 18 million followers on TikTok with short videos on the most discussed issues.

Dr Shah had some health issues of his own recently after being diagnosed with basal cell skin cancer – something he was able to self-diagnose.

The health expert spoke to Refinery29 about when he knew something wasn’t quite right.

It was in fact when Dr Shah was completing his dermatology training that he noticed a spot on his chest, and during this stage of his career, the doctor was learning how to spot skin cancer on patients.

The doctor was diagnosed with skin cancer (TikTok/@dermdoctor)

Well, it just so happened to be the doctor was displaying a common symptom of the disease.

“It didn’t look scary – it was simply a pink, itchy bump that could be mistaken for a pimple or an ingrown hair,” he said.

“I kept an eye on it, and one day when I happened to scratch it, the surface came off easily and it started to bleed.”

He continued: “I tried to look at it with my phone and my dermatoscope, a tool that helps to magnify the blood vessels within the lesion. That’s when I started to think, maybe this is skin cancer.”

Dr Shah had it examined via a biopsy two months after he first spotted it on his chest, with the health professional having his assumptions on what it may have been.

“My top suspicion was that this was going to be a basal cell skin cancer or squamous cell skin cancer,” he explained.

The doctor had a common skin cancer symptom (Getty Stock Photo)

“I tend to give counselling to the patient before I know the diagnosis, so I was doing that to myself in a way. It took three days for the results to come back and it was as I had suspected: a basal cell skin cancer.”

After his diagnosis, Dr Shah opted for Mohs surgery, which is described as a ‘controlled surgery’ to removed skin cancer.

“I wanted Mohs surgery so that it was completely gone, because I knew the worst case scenario,” he said.

Now post-op, Dr Shah is encouraging folks to get themselves checked if something doesn’t look or feel right.

“For men, the most common site for skin cancer is the back and for women it’s the legs. These areas are more challenging to see, so it’s always important to check your body,” he added.