We love snacks. They’re a great way to tide yourself over until lunch or dinner. When you think of your favorite snacks you probably think of cookies, candy, or potato chips. Potato chips feel great to eat because they’re super light and airy but chips are actually packed with unhealthy ingredients like processed carbs and trans fats—not great for when you’re trying to lose weight.
We talked to health experts Catherine Gervacio, a registered Dietician and nutrition writer for Living.Fit, and Lisa Richards, nutritionist and creator of The Candida Diet about why you should stop using potato chips as your go-to snack.
Potato Chips
Like fries, potato chips are a carb with loads of sodium and they tend to be fried in vegetable oil. The combination of carbs, sodium, and the already inflammatory vegetable oil is the trifecta for bodily inflammation.
Your body reacts differently to processed foods like potato chips than natural foods. Richards says, the gluten in potato chips "can lead to bloating and weight gain" for many people. Natural foods like whole grains and berries are a lot more anti-inflammatory and better for dieting.
Inflammation is super bad for your health in the long run. While eating potato chips may feel great in the moment, it can lead to a plethora of symptoms like chronic fatigue, joint and muscle pain, gastrointestinal diseases, such as acid reflux, and more. Inflammatory foods like chips are also horrible at converting into energy.
"This [snack] is one of the worst for your metabolism because it contains a significant amount of calories and fat along with the inflammatory nature of the ingredients," Richards says. Potato chips are just empty calories with no nutritional benefits which is not ideal for weight loss.
Healthy alternatives to potato chips
If you’re like us and can’t even imagine giving up on potato chips, you can try making your own chips at home with fresh potatoes in the air fryer. Frying food in the air fryer is so much healthier than the super-processed chips from the store because instead of frying with oils, air fryers use (as the name implies) air!
"Bake your own potatoes and make them crispy. Air fryers can also be considered to lessen fat intake," Gervacio says. If you’re looking for a recipe to try, check out this one from TasteofHome.
Besides potato chips, there are a bunch of other go-to snacks to look out for like french fries, cookies, crackers, pastries, and more. Richards says fried foods are "simply unnecessary and can be avoided." You should instead try healthy snacks like hummus, and Greek yogurt, or try the healthy potato chip substitute, kale chips!
You can keep inflammation down by loading up on anti-inflammatory foods like veggies and minimizing your intake of inflammatory foods, like potato chips. Workout techniques like yoga or cardio also really help reduce inflammation.
