Nutrition

Questions & Answers

American Institute for Cancer Research

Vegetable Chips Versus Potato Chips

By Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN

American Institute for

Cancer Research

Q: Are veggie chips a better choice than potato chips?

A: Not necessarily. The amount of vegetables in most veggie chips are only enough to simply color the chips. Spinach and tomato pasta are similar products. These chips are not slices of veggies. You can verify this by looking at their Nutrition Facts panel. An asterisk next to Vitamin A and Vitamin C indicates that the food is not a significant source of those nutrients. If there are asterisks, you know the chips contain few vegetables, usually spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes or squash, that are concentrated in nutrients. If you’re just looking for a snack lower in fat or calories than potato chips, check individual packages. The use of fat in making veggie chips varies. Remember that being cooked in no cholesterol oil does not mean low in saturated or trans fat. Again, check the nutrition label or ingredient list to determine the kind and amount of fat. Some brands are made with a relatively healthy choice like non-hydrogenated canola oil, but these snacks don’t come close to slices of carrots, peppers, zucchini and other delicious raw veggies for high nutrient or low calorie content.

Q: If a weight loss supplement says it’s "ephedra-free," it should be safe, right?

A: You are making a dangerous as-sumption. Although the FDA now bans supplements with ephedra because of links to heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure and death among both young and middle-aged people, new "ephedra-free" products for weight loss are turning up. Many of the ingredients in these products are not well studied, so you can’t assume they’re safe just because they don’t contain ephedra. Some products contain "bitter orange" (synephrine), which studies show to cause high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and interactions with certain medications. Guarana is sometimes portrayed as an herbal, and safer, version of caffeine, but it actually poses the same risks for anxiety, nervousness, headache, difficulty sleeping and high blood pressure. Likewise, DMAE can also raise blood pressure and cause insomnia. Instead of buying weight-loss supplements, you should exercise regularly and eat health-fully to control your weight. The eating style described in the American Institute for Cancer Research’s program,"The New American Plate," (www.aicr.org/publications/nap/nap2.lasso) can help you control portion size and choose balanced meals.

Q: Is there any reason for people without high blood pressure to limit sodium?

A: Yes. While only some of us have blood pressure that is "salt-sensitive," generally you don’t know which group you are in until after you develop blood pressure problems. If you are sensitive to salt, a diet high in sodium might lead to high blood pressure. The American Institute for Cancer Re-search also recommends limiting sodium because of the link seen between high sodium consumption and an in-creased risk of stomach cancer. To prevent both of these health concerns, you can be less strict about sodium than people with certain heart and kidney diseases. But all the processed foods at home and in restaurants make eating extremely high amounts of sodium easy if you don’t pay attention.

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