Chips: health benefits and contraindications

Traditionally, chips are a dish of potatoes, sliced thinly and fried in a lot of oil. At first glance, real, without chemical additives food products can not be harmful to the body. After all, this is essentially the same fried potatoes that almost everyone loves. However, this is not the case.

What are the health benefits of chips for the body

Probably not everyone knows that for the manufacture of chips is used not only potatoes, but also other vegetables, as well as, fruits. These are food products made from carrots, beets, corn and even seaweed. Fruit ones are apple, banana, and coconut. They can be considered quite useful, if during their preparation is not used the technology of rapid frying in oil, and drying in an oven or baking, but without fat. Such chips, which have low calories and do not contain fatty components, may well benefit the human body.

It should be said right away that no chips, no matter how they are prepared, can be used as a main course for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Only for a snack and to quickly satisfy the feeling of hunger. Fruit and vegetable chips, especially those made at home, in this case are more useful than sausage sandwiches. They can be cooked at home and offered to children, who certainly will not refuse something crunchy and tasty.

Potato

Classic potato chips, cooked at home, are considered to be not as harmful as the purchased ones. After all, according to most, they are no different than fried potatoes. But, this opinion is wrong. Potatoes contain a large amount of starch, which when cooked forms carcinogens, acrylamides and acroleins. These are decomposition products that contribute to the formation of malignant tumors, a negative and irritating effect on the heart, kidneys and liver. Acrolein is one of the most dangerous substances for the human body. On the plus side, there is an excess of fat, a high energy value of the product. And this is what concerns natural potato chips. But today it is almost impossible to find them on sale. Potato chip manufacturers replace potatoes with modified products, which does not make them healthier.

They use unhealthy starch, rice crumbs or corn flour to make traditional chips. Low quality oil is used for frying, in order to minimize production costs. None of the ingredients carry a single gram of benefit to the human body. They are added with a large amount of salt, sodium glutamate, and preservatives. What good can we talk about here?

Corn

Deep-fried corn chips have a huge caloric value. It can be reduced only by replacing the product with a baked one. The snack contains a lot of vitamins, minerals, as well as fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Corn chips are not a dietary product. But they contain much less trans fats and starches than potato chips.

Consumption of corn chips can quickly restore vitality, get rid of fatigue, normalize blood pressure, stabilize heart rate. They are indispensable for people who are underweight. But, those who need to get rid of extra pounds, it is not recommended to consume such a snack. Purchased products contain quite a lot of salt and pepper, which is contraindicated for kidney disease, peptic ulcer, chronic gastritis, gout. To exclude the harmful effects on the body, it is worth preparing corn chips yourself at home.

From seaweed

For the preparation of these chips use Pacific seaweed, which allows you to get a natural and light snack. These are very thin plates of green or brownish color, which depends on the type of seaweed used. They are subjected to minimal heat treatment to preserve their beneficial properties. Seaweed chips improve the thyroid gland activity, are easily assimilated by the body and are an excellent prevention of iodine deficiency. Regular intake of a light snack can improve performance, activate brain activity, strengthen the immune system. Also kelp and its systematic consumption reduces the risk of malignant tumors.

However, you should know that seaweed accumulates in itself salts of heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides. Therefore, when buying chips, you should look at the place where they grow. It should be away from large industrial facilities.

Coconut

Chips, or otherwise coconut flakes, are an exotic product for our country. The lack of knowledge about the product determines a low demand for it, therefore it is possible to buy the fruit delicacy only in specialized stores selling coconut products.

Get chips by drying coconut pulp. It is worth saying that manufacturers do not use flavor additives and chemicals to enhance the flavor of the product. After all, coconut itself has a bright rich flavor and incomparable aroma. Therefore, it is quite possible to talk about the benefits of coconut chips. The product contains a large amount of fiber, which stimulates the muscular activity of the intestine and its natural cleansing occurs. The flakes also contain iron, calcium, phosphorus, copper and manganese.

There are also saturated fatty acids in coconut, which help strengthen the immune system. Lauric acid is essential for nursing mothers and pregnant women. There are no contraindications to the use of coconut chips. The exception is an individual intolerance to the fruit.

Banana

Banana chips are thin slices of fruit fried in deep fryer. During heat treatment, the fruit retains all the useful substances that are inherent in the fresh ones. The only disadvantage is a fairly large amount of oil, which is absorbed into the slices during frying. Reducing the fat content, and hence the overall caloric content of the food product allows you to bake in the oven without oil.

In general, banana chips contain vitamin A, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and iron. Dietary fiber, which improves intestinal peristalsis, is also retained in heat-treated slices. Bananas themselves have a high energy value, which increases even more when deep-fried. Therefore, it is not recommended to use even for snacking fruit treats for people who want to lose excess weight. But useful slices are indispensable for athletes, because they allow you to quickly increase muscle mass and make up for the lack of energy after intense exercise. If you consume banana chips once a week, after a while fatigue, lethargy, apathy, dizziness and nausea caused by a lack of potassium in the body will completely disappear.

Apple

Dietary, light apple chips, cooked at home, can be safely attributed to the most useful in its field. The product contains fiber, malic acid, pectin, fructose, glucose, vitamins and trace elements. Apple snack products can boost immunity, stabilize the cardiovascular organs, remove toxins and heavy metal salts from the body, and normalize metabolic processes. In addition, the chips contribute to proper development and growth, which is relevant for young children.

They are prepared by freezing, which is a vacuum drying. This cooking technology allows foodstuffs to retain all the nutrients and properties inherent in fresh fruit. Therefore, good apple chips are dried, natural, thin slices that have retained their natural sweetness and flavor. No additives are used here, which allows us to talk about the unconditional usefulness of the snack. They can be eaten not only in the traditional way, but also added to porridges, milk, which makes it possible to vitaminize dishes without increasing their energy value.

The harm and contraindications of chips

Popular, especially among young people, a delicacy called chips carries significant harm if consumed systematically. This is especially true for purchased potato products, of which there are many kinds on sale. A large amount of salt leads to a retention of water in the body, impaired metabolism, inhibition of the normal growth of bone tissue and malfunctioning of the cardiovascular organs. This all leads to obesity and the development of related diseases.

On a par with hamburgers and nuggets, chips are a fast food that, when consumed frequently, leads to increased cholesterol levels, gastrointestinal diseases, impaired calcium metabolism in tissues, reduced immunity, impaired mental performance and decreased reproductive function in both men and women. Also, the systematic dainty chips leads to the formation of malignant tumors. Completely contraindicated this food product when:

• chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal organs;
• kidney failure;
• allergic reactions;
• obesity;
• During pregnancy and lactation.

In other cases, the amount of snacks consumed should be reduced to a minimum.

How to choose less harmful chips

If we talk about traditional potato chips, then with the right choice can somehow reduce the harm to health. It is worth choosing a product:

1. Without the presence of synthetic monosodium glutamate, which causes appetite and makes people eat more than they would like.
2. With natural, not artificial, additives and flavorings - dill, honey, sesame.
3. Passed through the stages of drying and baking, not deep-frying.

Perfectly even slices come only from mashed or paste products, indicating they are artificially shaped. From natural products to cut even and equal slices of the same size will not work.

Is it possible to eat chips during pregnancy?

Changing tastes in women in an interesting position causes the need to eat salty or spicy food. Often, when pregnant, she wants to eat chips. In very rare cases, she can afford to eat banned products, well aware that it is not beneficial to either her or her future baby. If a pregnant woman will systematically abuse potato chips, especially store-bought, it is very likely that her baby will be born with a weakened immune system or with a tendency to allergies.

At the same time, the constant consumption of snacks in food will cause swelling in pregnant women, increasing blood pressure and the development of kidney disease. Against the background of a heavy load on the body caused by carrying a child, the abuse of such a harmful product threatens serious consequences. This applies both to the woman herself, and to the unborn baby. If you really want something to crunch on, it is worth paying attention to healthier products. These are chips of fruit, sea kale.

Can I eat chips while breastfeeding?

For breastfeeding mothers, there are products recommended for use, not recommended and prohibited. It is to the latter include traditional chips. Flavorings, emulsifiers, flavor enhancers, dyes, and other chemicals will in any case cause an allergic reaction in a child. There is also a high probability of intestinal colic. Breastfeeding women should keep in mind that there are cases where the baby develops severe allergies, up to and including angioedema, after eating chips mom. Therefore, for this category of people, a harmful "delicacy" is contraindicated, at least when a child is 5-6 months.

If really badly want to eat and crunch chips, it is quite possible to cook them at home. At least the product will not have chemical compounds. You can eat them no more than 1 time a week in very small amounts. The portion is no more than 100 grams.

Can children eat chips?

Until a child of 4 years of age chips are definitely not allowed. They are completely contraindicated even in older children, if there are problems with the stomach or liver. Also, snacks should not be given to kids who are prone to allergic reactions. With the daily consumption of such a product, children lose their sense of taste, so later healthy food becomes tasteless for them. At the same time, eating chips, the growing body requires them more and more. But there is no benefit in them at all, since there are no vitamins and minerals.

Even perfectly healthy baby can be given potato chips no more than 1 time in 2 weeks. The portion should be minimal - no more than 100 grams. At the same time, in no case be allowed to replace a mandatory meal with potato chips. You can use them, as a last resort, only for a snack. If a child requires this product, because absolutely all children like chips, it is better to make them at home. Below are recipes for homemade snacks that are quite possible to make for children.

How to cook healthy homemade potato chips

To homemade potato product was harmless, and children, pregnant and lactating women could enjoy them, it is worth minimizing the amount of spices and salt. Spices can be used in small quantities. It is recommended to bake the chips in the oven, rather than deep-fry. As spices you can use black pepper, paprika, and regular salt can be replaced with sea salt.

With potatoes

To prepare the prepared potatoes cut as thinly as possible. A special grater, vegetable slicer, a food processor with a specific attachment will do well. The sliced slices should be placed in water for a few hours, which will get rid of excess starch. After that, they are placed on a baking tray covered with parchment, sprinkled with salt and spices, sprinkled with high quality oil and placed in a preheated oven at maximum temperature. Bake the dainty dish for 15-20 minutes.

Apples

You can also make healthy, tasty apple chips at home for kids. To do this, the fruits are washed, get rid of the core and cut into thin slices. Their thickness should not be more than 3 mm. Place the slices on a baking tray lined with parchment, sprinkle with vanilla, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Dry the chips in the oven for 90 minutes at a temperature not exceeding 100 degrees. This cooking method preserves all the useful substances in the apples.

From bananas

Just like apple chips, banana chips are also prepared. In order to ensure that they do not dry out too much in the cooking process, it is worth covering the slices with food foil. You can sprinkle the slices with lemon juice beforehand. This will give an extra dose of vitamins and endow the product with a light, pleasant citrus flavor. The chips can be baked at 90 degrees for 1 to 3 hours. The longer the baking time, the crispier the slices will be. When the bananas have reached a semi-cooked state, it's worth flipping them to the other side. This will allow the slices to fry more evenly. Banana chips can also be cooked in an electric dryer. You get a dry, ready to be stored for a long time product, which can be used for snacking. All the useful properties of the fruit in such cooking are preserved in full.