Chips are a snack, ideally very thin slices of potatoes or other root vegetables that are then fried in boiling oil, but in reality, chips are often made from a powder that is high in starch and MSG. Even real potato chips cannot be called a healthy product, and a product with flavor enhancers and a suspicious composition has a detrimental effect on the body.
The harm of chips to the body
According to legend, the chips were invented by an Indian chef George Crum, who worked in an American resort in the middle of the 60th century and because of a complaint from a wealthy restaurant visitor about too thick slices of French fries, he cut the potatoes as thick as paper and fried them. To his surprise, the rich man and his friends enjoyed such a snack. Soon, chips became the signature dish of this establishment, and later spread throughout America. In the XNUMXs of the XX century, chips first appeared in the USSR, but the domestic snack did not take root well among the population, and with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the appearance of foreign brands of chips, they began to enjoy success. Today, chips are very popular in many countries of the world, they are used as a snack for beer or as fast food when you need a quick bite.
Even the highest quality chips made from whole potatoes without the addition of flavors, starch and other substances are harmful to the body due to the large amount of carcinogens that are formed when frying in boiling oil. The main carcinogen found in chips is acrylamide, which is often used extensively and can lead to cancer.
The most detrimental effect of acrylamide on the female reproductive organs, causing the appearance of tumors
So real potato chips are just as bad as donuts, fries, and other deep-fried foods. And if you cook chips at home in the oven or microwave, the harm from them is significantly reduced, but they will hardly bring any benefits. Therefore, it is advisable to replace the chips with brown bread croutons, dried on their own in the oven.
But chips made on an industrial scale have a very different preparation technology. Firstly, most manufacturers prefer to use ordinary flour mixed with starch rather than potatoes. Moreover, starch, as a rule, is taken modified, made from soybeans. Its danger to humans has not yet been precisely proven, but there are many suspicions about the harm of this product. Such starch can lead to diabetes and obesity. The flour mixture with starch is mixed with synthetic components – various preservatives and flavoring additives, among which monosodium glutamate is the leader.
The harm of monosodium glutamate has not been proven. But thanks to its ability to significantly improve the taste of foods, people begin to eat more junk food, which leads to various diseases.
Then the chips are fried in cheap oil – not in high-quality, rich in vitamins, but in poorly refined palm oil, which leads to an increase in blood cholesterol levels and increases the likelihood of heart disease. And finally, during frying, the oil changes very rarely, so carcinogens accumulate in it in large quantities. All these harmful effects are especially dangerous for children in whom the body is just forming.