Chips-harm or benefit?

Vol. 25, Issue 18, 10 March 2023

Chips are a snack consisting of thin slices of potatoes, less often – other root vegetables or various fruits, fried, as a rule, in oil (deep-fried). Few people know that chips were created completely by accident in 1853. Cornelius Vanderbilt is an American businessman who decided to have dinner at a New York hotel after ordering French fries. He did not like the dish, so the fastidious millionaire asked the waiter to bring him new potatoes, cut more thinly. Then Chef George Crum sliced the potatoes too thinly and fried them in oil until crisp. Vanderbilt liked the unusual dish very much, and the businessman, one might say, became a regular at the restaurant of the Moon Lake House hotel.

The dish was appreciated by other visitors, and in 1860 George Cram opened his restaurant where chips were cooked. Soon this dish began to be included in the menu of all American restaurants. Classic potato chips are the most popular snack among the population: 63% of consumers choose them, while other snacks (crackers, bread, grain chips) – 25% of consumers, snacks with sauce – 6%, snacks made of corn, wheat or rice flour – 4%, whole grain chips – 2%, salted popcorn – 1%. For 85% of consumers, the main role is played by the taste of chips, 77% pay attention to the brand. Other criteria, such as packaging and cost, are not so important for buyers.

And now we will find out the main fears of consumers of chips, the most important question is whether chips are harmful or beneficial.

The main fears of consumers:

 • Chips are very harmful. In the process of powerful processing, which the potato undergoes in the production of chips, it loses all its useful properties.

 • Chips are fried in the same oil several times.

 • Chips are fried not in healthy vegetable oil, but in technical fat. Such fats contribute to an increase in cholesterol levels in the blood and increase the risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, strokes, and cancer.

 • Due to the high content of starch (carbohydrates) and fat, chips are very high in calories.

 • Chips made not from whole potatoes, but from potato flour are especially harmful.

 • GMOs, dyes, flavorings, and preservatives are used in the manufacture of chips.

 • Chips are full of different flavor enhancers.

 • Chips contain acrylamide, which can cause cancer.

 • Chips have a very high salt content.

Eating chips does not bring any benefit to the body. It is an explosive mixture of fats, carbohydrates, glucogens, and other types of food additives. It is almost impossible to meet chips made from natural potatoes. In most cases, manufacturers use a mixture of starches and even genetically modified soy to make them.

Eating chips lead to obesity and an increase in cholesterol levels in the blood. Can chips be useful?

Rice, buckwheat, and chickpeas can be good alternatives to the usual potato. It is important that, as we have already said, there is little flour in the composition. Perhaps the most useful option is nori chips. They are dried nori leaves (this is the thing that sushi is wrapped in) with spices. What are the benefits of apple chips? Apple chips are rich in pectin, fructose, malic acid, fiber, and vitamins. Their use will help to improve the work of the cardiovascular system, strengthen the immune system and remove toxic substances from the body. Apple chips contain more than 10 different minerals and trace elements, including potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, sodium, and zinc.

Facts about chips:

In the USA, they love chips so much that they even opened a special institute whose task is to develop new recipes for chips and all kinds of flavorings. The average American eats 6 kg of chips a year. Observations of scientists from the University of Bristol. They observed two groups of 3-4-year-old children for a long time. The first group abused chips, and the second categorically rejected this miracle product. In the first group, memory, attention, behavior, and intelligence in general deteriorated, while the second group did not suffer from such a disease. Scientists blame saturated fats, which are almost a kilometer in chips.