What to Look For When Choosing Potato Chips

by Shereen Jegtvig

Even though most of us know potato chips aren’t so good for us, we really enjoy the flavor. And there are so many kinds available. You can find crispy paper-thin potato chips or thicker potato chips suitable for scooping up your favorite chip dip. You can also choose baked potato chips and potato crisps that stack neatly in a pile. There are many varieties of flavored potato chips, too. Sour cream and onion, ranch or barbeque are a few familiar flavors, although you can find unusual flavors such as dill pickle, ketchup or sea-salt and vinegar. The best part about eating flavored chips is that you don’t even need any messy dip.

If you’re really lucky, you might find a chocolate shop that sells chocolate covered potato chips.

Potato chips are popular, but they usually aren’t tops of any healthy snack list. A typical potato chip is high in fat (sometimes very unhealthy fat), sodium and may contain tiny bits of acrylamide, a compound that isn’t so good for you. And since potato chips are perfect for mindless munching, it’s easy to eat way too many and pack in the extra calories. Potato chips are often highly processed and may contain additives and allergens that you don’t expect like gluten or MSG. Looks like there’s a lot of evil lurking behind the delicious flavor.

I know it sounds bad, but don’t worry. You don’t have to give potato chips up completely (although it is best to keep an eye on the amount of any snack you eat), just be sure to read the packaging labels when you shop. You can choose low-fat baked potato chips or potato chips with less salt. Look for potato chips that are fried in vegetable oils and not in animal fats that are high in saturated fats. Also, be sure there are no trans fats. You might be tempted to buy potato chips that are fried in Olestra, a fat substitute that your body can’t absorb. Unfortunately it has some unpleasant side effects and can actually prevent you from absorbing some important nutrients.

If you’re concerned about allergens and additives, you can read use our Foodessentials database to search for potato chips and other additives, like MSG

You’re probably familiar with the most common brands of potato chips you see in every grocery store, but if you stop into a health food store you might find some interesting organic potato chips like Organic Kettle chipotle chili barbecue or Genisoy’s Ranch flavored chips made with potato, rice and soy .

FoodEssentials Lists to Help You Choose Potato Chips

Flavored Potato Chips Containing Gluten

High Fat Potato Chips

Low Fat Potato Chips

Potato Chips With MSG

Resources for potato chips:

Diet Bites: This article compares the nutritional values for several different types of potato chips. Especially helpful are the suggestions on how to enjoy potato chips without ruining your diet.

Michigan Department of Agriculture:  Did you ever wonder how potato chips are made? This article describes the process that potatoes have to go through in order to become potato chips.

WebMD:  Potato chips may potentially contain tiny amounts of acrylamide. This article describes this chemical and examines the correlation between dietary acrylamide intake and the risk of certain cancers.

Center for Science in the Public Interest:  Olestra is a type of fat that your body can’t absorb so when you eat potato chips fried in Olestra, the fats pass through your digestive system. Sounds good, but this article describes problems that may occur.

When eating potato chips, how do you control your portion sizes?

Shereen Jegtvig has a masters degree in human nutrition and 16 years clinical experience in nutritional counseling. She writes about nutrition for About.com and TypeAMom.net. She is also the co-author of the upcoming book, Superfoods For Dummies.

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