Nutrition-Wise, How Do Your
Potato Chips Stack Up?
Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites
Potato Chip Nutritional Values
Yeah, yeah, yeah - so potato chips aren't the healthiest food on the planet. However, they remain one of the most-favorite foods in the daily diet - particularly the American Daily Diet.
Without potato chips, a perfectly good sandwich can look totally abandoned. A yummy dip can do a fatal flip without its familiar sidekick, Mister Potato Chip.
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Yet - too much of a good thing can result in panic-stricken numbers on the weight scales - whether it's potato chips or yummy dips.
While a serving of potato chips may contain a considerable stash of fat and sodium, the potato chip is not totally striped of nutritional value. We've researched the nutritional values and plugged them into the nifty chart below.
Tips for Trimming Calories in Potato Chips
To accompany our nutritional comparison, whenever you are smitten by the Potato Chip Fairy, the following tips may be of help:
Count when gambling with potato chips.
The label on the potato chip bag or can sets forth the number of chips which equal a serving size. It's too easy to grab 20 chips only later to discover that the recommended serving size was 10 chips.
Now one is dealing with double the calories, double the fat and so forth.
Placing the chips on a paper towel or napkin can help absorb a few fat calories.
When pairing potato chips with dips, opt for light versions of dip.
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Do a little dusting with your finger to remove salt which is notoriously connected to water retention.
Nutritional values, particularly calories are close so enjoy the potato chip of your choice. (We've put an 'Olestra' note in our summary.)
Opting for reduced fat varieties of potato chips won't save many calories, but it can cut the fat grams in half.
And of course, our favorite tip - eat those potato chips slowly.
POTATO CHIP NUTRITIONAL COMPARISONData Based on 1 Ounce |
||||||||||
|
Variety |
BBQ |
Cheese |
Fat Free |
'Olestra' Based |
Shoe |
Dried |
Plain |
Low Fat |
Sour Cream & Onion |
Baked |
|
Calories |
139 |
141 |
107 |
72 |
148 |
158 |
155 |
134 |
151 |
159 |
|
Protein g |
2.18 |
2.41 |
2.73 |
1.64 |
1.90 |
1.67 |
1.86 |
2.01 |
2.30 |
1.70 |
|
Fat g |
9.19 |
7.71 |
0.17 |
0.24 |
9.75 |
10.89 |
10.62 |
5.90 |
9.61 |
6.19 |
|
Carbs g |
14.97 |
16.36 |
23.75 |
15.88 |
15.11 |
14.46 |
14.10 |
18.97 |
14.60 |
24.28 |
|
Fiber g |
1.2 |
1.5 |
2.1 |
1.8 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
1.2 |
1.7 |
1.5 |
1.6 |
|
Calcium mg |
14 |
20 |
10 |
8 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
20 |
42 |
|
Iron mg |
0.55 |
0.52 |
1.01 |
0.35 |
0.64 |
0.43 |
0.46 |
0.38 |
0.45 |
0.27 |
|
Sodium mg |
213 |
225 |
182 |
157 |
71 |
186 |
149 |
139 |
177 |
312 |
|
Cholesterol mg |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
In Summary
When it comes to potato chip calories, they are almost too close to measure - with the 'Olestra' based potato chip aside. Because Olestra based products tend to trigger digestive upset in some individuals, as well as influence the taste of the product, they may not be one's first choice.
So if you're going to enjoy a serving of potato chips, grab the bag or can that you enjoy. And don't forget to - count those calories.
Finally, common sense alerts us that a baked potato is a much wiser choice than a serving of potato chips - but as mentioned above, when the Potato Chip Fairy glides through your craving center and nothing but potato chips will do - then do them as wisely as possible.
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