Why are the chips unhealthy?

Chips contain a lot of salt, trans fats and carcinogenic acrylamide. They are unhealthy and very calorific. We all know about it, but it does not bother us in munching. Because who can resist chips? It turns out that the favorite snack of many Poles not only badly affects health, but can be addictive.

People, even children, know that the chips are unhealthy. They have a bad effect on body weight and cardiovascular system. Why is this happening? What in the composition of chips causes that for our body are a big threat? And why, in principle, we are not able to eat a few chips, and end only when the crumbs remain at the bottom of the package?
What's in the chips?
It would seem that it is just a good potato. Let's look at the composition of green onion chips: "potatoes, palm vegetable oil, sunflower vegetable oil, flavoring preparation with a green onion flavor [onion powder, whey powder (from milk), lactose powder (from milk), sugar , milk powder, flavor enhancers (monosodium glutamate, disodium 5'-ribonucleotides), flavors, powdered cheese (from milk), acidity regulators (citric acid, malic acid), dyes (annatto, pepper extract), garlic powder , soybean oil, maltodextrin], salt ".
potatoes
The basic ingredient of chips is of course potatoes. Potato is not dangerous in itself. The average serving of boiled potatoes (150 g) provides approx. 130 kcal, a lot of potassium and half of the daily requirement for vitamin C. Often, however, potato chips are not used for the production of crisps, and potato pulp or flakes that are molded into a suitable shape , e.g., so that they fit perfectly into the tube. The more processing processes, the less nutritional value remains in the final product.
Oil - the source of unhealthy trans fats
Oil is already in the second place in the composition, which means that the product is very much. Chips usually contain more than 30% of oil. To a large extent, it is the fat that affects the huge calorie content of the chips (500-550 kcal / 100 g).
Zmień na polskiNot too big package delivers as much calories as a good two-course dinner. And soon after eating it, we're hungry again. Uncontrolled eating chips very easily leads to overweight. Fats used for frying chips are cheap hardened vegetable oils, e.g. palm oil. At room temperature they have a solid consistency, which is why crisps pleasantly crisp, they last longer and oil does not flow out. The hardening (hydrogenation) process results in the production of very harmful trans fats in oils. Their consumption causes the formation of atherosclerotic plaque and increases the risk of atherosclerosis, infarction and other diseases of the cardiovascular system. Trans fats raise total cholesterol, "bad" LDL cholesterol and lower the concentration of "good" HDL cholesterol in the blood. They are responsible for maintaining chronic inflammatory processes in the body and reducing immunity.
Salt and spices
The daily recommended amount of salt in the diet is 5 g. This applies to both salt contained in food products and added to prepared dishes. However, the average Polish diet provides 15 g of salt. That's a lot, the more so because we often do not know how much sodium is in the food and we carelessly add it. The amount of salt in the chips is alarming. 100 g of this snack provides about 2 grams of salt, or as much as 40% of the daily requirement. Excess sodium chloride in the diet is the cause of fluid retention in the body and the associated swelling and heaviness, it can lead to kidney problems and hypertension. Importantly, problems with hypertension do not only affect people of a mature age. They affect children more and more often. An essential component of the seasoning mixture in chips is monosodium glutamate, a taste enhancer. It is not entirely clear what quantities can have a negative effect on the human body, but this ingredient is a very common additive and care must be taken not to overdo it. As for spices, they are rarely natural ingredients. The more sophisticated the flavor, the longer and the "more interesting" the composition of the flavoring. While salted chips do not have suspicious mixes, getting a taste of kebab, bacon or yogurt requires a lot of chemist's involvement.