Frito Lay recently sponsored a conference focused on healthy living, which raised some eyebrows. While it promoted balance, it was an odd pairing. Read about my opinions & what I learned on the Frito Lay factory tour here. It opened up my eyes to some surprising things. Perhaps the obvious healthier choices like Baked Lays & Sun Chips weren’t such a clear cut choice.
What is healthier to you?
A. Fewer ingredients? or B. Cooking method?
How about:
A. Heart healthy fats? or B. Low fat?
Here are your choices:
Classic vs Baked
The choice is obvious right?
Baked Lays are the clear “healthy” choice.
But are they?
Looking at the options at the top- let’s say your personal health goals are the (A) choices: few ingredients & a source of heart healthy fats. In that case, the “Classic” might actually be your own personal preference.
Let’s look at the labels:
Classic Baked
A Closer Look
Calories
Classic: 150 per serving
Baked: 120 per serving
Fat
Classic: 10g —> 8g unsaturated fats (aka good) vs 2g saturated (bad)
Baked: 2g —> 1.5g unsaturated fats (aka good) vs 1g saturated fat (bad)
Carbohydrate
Classic: 15g —> 1g fiber, 0g sugar
Baked: 23g —> 2g fiber, 2g sugar
Sodium
Classic: 180mg
Baked: 180mg
Ingredients
Classic: 3 ingredients; potatoes, oil, salt
Baked: 8 ingredients; dehydrated potatoes, modified food starch, sugar, soy lecithin, etc.
What Does This Tell Us?
1. Read labels. Don’t assume anything; packaging & wording can be misleading. (Ultimately packaging & labels are marketing tools.)
2. Don’t worry so much. If you want chips for a snack, have chips for a snack. It’s important to look at the big picture, not each individual food. Foods shouldn’t be labeled “good” or “bad”, instead look at your diet as a whole.
3. Know your goal. Decide what’s best for you. What fits best into your picture of “health”? What’s important to you? Number or type of ingredients? Nutrient content? Sugar? The decision can be different for everyone.
What factors do you consider when deciding if something is healthy? Do you read labels?
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