Summer is the period of long outdoor days, aperitifs and, often, of a greater consumption of french fries. However, those who want to pay attention to the line are looking for less caloric snacks and, at least apparently, healthier. In recent years, the market has responded with different alternatives: vegetables chips, legumes such as soy and chickpeas, algae, rice and other ingredients to replace the classic salty snack. But are they really healthier than the traditional chips?
To find out, the experts of the magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs They conducted a test, analyzing 12 typical products of the French market (but some chips can also be available in Italy, especially through online purchases).
Beyond the brands and individual products, the investigation remains interesting, however, because it makes us understand how they are still of ultra -prompt foods, difficult to consider truly healthy, sometimes rich in additives and with significant quantities of salt, sugars or fats.
But let’s see specifically what French experts discovered.
Less fat (but not always)
The main claim that manufacturers apply in plain sight on the packs of alternative vegetable chips to french fries is “less fat“And in most cases, the promise is kept: the average fat content of the” healthy “snacks is 17 g per 100 g, against 33 g of classic chips. Even saturated fatty acids, the most harmful to health, are lower: 1.77 g against 2.75 g.
However, there are exceptions: the Bretz buckwheat fries and carnefour and the Tyrrells vegetable chips also contain more fats than traditional versions, with values ranging from 36 to 38 g per 100 g. These products use oil as the first ingredient.
Despite the general reduction of fat, these snacks are still rich in calories. An sachet can provide between 19 and 37% of the daily energy supply for a woman and between 7 and 30% for a man. In addition, the problem of “hyperpalate” – extremely tasty but not very satisfied products – remains: even healthy snacks can make us feel hungry shortly after consuming them.
And what to say about the high protein chips? The French consumers magazine explains that, for some time, foods with high protein content have been multiplying on the shelves of supermarkets. After yogurt, cheeses, snacks, breakfast products and more, protein chips are making their appearance, sold mainly online for the moment. But are they used for something? “Not exactly“Commented Benjamin Allès, researcher at the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (Eren):
Even if the protein content can be increased, a pack of chips will never be a good source of protein for those trying to increase their intake.
Attention to additives
Some “vegetable” snacks have very few ingredients and do not contain additives, such as Bretz or Carrefour buckwheat chips, beets chips and carrot alnatura or nüri algae chips, but other products contain different ones and have long lists of ingredients, such as the chips of Lentil Vico (as many as 22 ingredients) or the suffered pea peas (6 Ingredients with additives).
They may also seem like a less ultra -prompt product than the classic chips but this is not always true either. Overall, vegetable chips still contain fats, salt and, in several cases, additives as acidifying, emulsifiers and antioxidants, which in the long term can have negative health effects.
In short, they are always foods to be consumed in moderation and reading the label to identify the best products remains in any case a good idea.
Price, another factor to consider
Vegetable chips have an average price per kilo of 35.30, about four times that of traditional chips (9.80 euros). In essence, the test shows that these alternatives often cost much more without offering a significant nutritional advantage than classic versions.
If the goal is to reduce fat and additives, some alternatives may be interesting but most of the “healthy” snacks remains a product full of calories and expensive. Better to always read the labels carefully and not be fooled by the claims that are on the packaging, the only healthy snacks are the truly natural ones such as fresh and dry fruit.
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