Is there anything better than sitting down to watch a movie, while cramming handfuls of hot, buttery popcorn in your mouth? No. No there is not. But is popcorn really a healthy snack? Or does it depend on how you make it – and what you add to it?
We’ve dug deep into the popcorn bowl to get the facts straight…
In its natural state
Ok, let’s look at basic air-popped popcorn. That’s the corn, sans oil or salt, cooked as naturally as possible. There’s no denying it’s a ‘healthy’ snack – with only around 30 calories per cup of popcorn. Best of all, it has zero fat!
Plus, natural popcorn has a small dose of B vitamins for energy, as well as the minerals manganese, iron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorus.
Just add oil…
But what happens if you pop your corn in oil? Well, olive oil comes in at around 250 calories per 2 tablespoons. That’s quite a mouthful, adding significantly to your daily intake…and not exactly keeping popcorn as natural or healthy as it is when air-popped.
Then comes the salt and sugar…
We’re not done yet. Somebody’s gotta give that popcorn a little flavour! Time to shake some salt and sugar into that bowl to get it really popping. Unfortunately, while those toppings sure do taste good, they quickly turn popcorn into a treat and not a healthy snack.
And beware that almost all manufacturers load their popcorn with these hidden guys – sugar, salt, as well as flavours, preservatives, and colourings. That’s a chemical concoction that can’t be good.
Let’s take cinema popcorn, for example. There’s a reason you can’t stop stuffing your face with it! It’s loaded with around 1200 calories and 40 grams of sugar (that’s 10 teaspoons – as much as in a can of cola!) They often have around 3 grams of salt too, which is around half of the recommended daily intake. Oops.
How to make popcorn healthy
If you love popcorn, ask your dietician or nutritionist for their tips on stripping it down to a healthy snack. For instance, a handful or two of air-popped popcorn with a sprinkle of sugar, salt, or nutritional yeast is perfectly fine. Or add some chilli powder for a healthy punch. Just avoid the movie munchies, and steer clear of questionable microwave popcorns.
Originally published on Oct 28, 2016
