Carrots, parsnips, chickpeas, and beetroot: Somehow, non-potato chips are marketed as healthier than fried potatoes, with claims like “more protein” or “less fat than potato chips” frequently appearing on the packaging.
However, research shows that while opening a bag of bean or veggie snacks might seem like a healthy option, it’s everything but.
Product testers at the state consumer protection agency of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (Verbraucherzentrale NRW) evaluated twelve distinct snacks consisting of lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, parsnips, and beets.
One observation was that producers of chips derived from pulses, such as lentils and chickpeas, frequently touted their products’ noticeably lower fat content than that of potato chips.
However, aficionados of this snack food should not anticipate to save on many calories.
Lentil or chickpea-based chips provide about 450 calories per 100 grammes on average.
There are 540 kilocals in an equivalent number of potato chips.
This suggests that switching to chips made from pulses might help you cut back on calories.
Despite the items’ healthy appeal, the average save is just 17%, which is less than many customers may anticipate.
And what about vegetable-based chips?
With 510 kilocals per 100g on average, they are even more similar to potato chips in terms of calories.
Furthermore, the product testers found that many vegetable kinds had even higher fat content than potato chips.
In addition, compared to potato chips, vegetable chips do not reduce salt content.
This study is not the first of its kind to conclude that eating better food cannot be equated with moving from potato chips to other types of chips.
The findings of the most recent study serve as a helpful reminder to customers who want to eat a healthier diet that they should examine the product’s salt and fat content in addition to believing what is said on the container.
Consumerzentrale NRW nutrition expert Katrin Böttner said, “Although the alternative chips add flavour variety to the snack shelf, they are not suitable for optimising your own diet.”
Because of this, it’s ideal to handle veggie chips similarly to how we handle potato chips: moderation is key.
Putting the bag aside out of sight and filling a dish with food instead of eating straight from the bag is one method to start eating in moderation.
