[Article updated on 19/09/2023]
The French consume 1.4 kg of chips per year!
Before reading on
I’m not an expert in this field, but I am passionate about nutrition and health.
The articles you’ll find on my site are the result of in-depth research that I’d like to share with you. However, I would like to stress that I am not a health professional and that my advice should in no way replace that of a qualified physician. I’m here to guide you, but it’s important that you consult a professional for specific questions or medical concerns. Your well-being is important. So be sure to consult the appropriate experts and take the best possible care of yourself.
And this figure has almost doubled in ten years. Although they are popular with children and parents, they are not, however, popular among dieticians-nutritionists and the medical world.
Too fatty, too salty, too high in calories… so many faults which punish them. But what do you really think?
What are chips?
A chip is a thin slice of fried and seasoned potato.
This cooking method results in the water in the potato being replaced by oil, and this represents approximately 25 to 30% of its weight. As a result, it takes 300% more calories!
So yes, she is very energetic.
And then, you should know that a 150g packet of chips provides on average 3g of salt while the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends a maximum consumption of 5 grams per day. So it can go very quickly!
If we only consume it very exceptionally and without more than a handful of chips, we shouldn’t even talk about it…except that:
- on the one hand, the salt it contains and the pleasure it provides makes it “addictive”
- on the other hand, it sometimes occupies a place that does not belong to it at all when it is served as a snack, a snack or, and even sometimes, as an accompaniment to a meal!
So, yes, a chip is fatty, it’s salty, it’s high in calories.
15 chips = 150 kcal = 10g of fat = 1 individual scoop of butter
Aren’t some chips better than others?
So, fortunately, manufacturers have made great efforts to reduce lipid intake.
They therefore replaced palm oil with sunflower oil, better due to its different composition of good fatty acids.
Some manufacturers are also increasingly opting for baking to prevent the harmful effect of frying, but this does not change the high salt content and high calorie intake.
I tell you about it in this video:
And vegetable chips, right?
Vegetable chips are tempting, obviously they make you feel better.
But it’s a bad idea!
But in most cases, they are root vegetables such as sweet potato, beetroot, carrot, blue potato which absorb as much oil and do not change the nutritional quality.
In addition, due to frying, the vitamins are largely destroyed.
And to taste, they are generally sweeter because glucose syrup is often added.
My tip: The homemade version will always be better.
We cut them into thin slices, sprinkle them with a dash of olive oil and bake them in the oven.
And also know that there are now salt-free chips, for those who want to be careful.
TO SUM UP
- Chips are fatty, salty and high in calories
- Chips should be eaten occasionally
- Vegetable chips are no better than potato chips
- There are chips without salt