Calorie Quantity in Chips - Is It Worth Buying Them?
Tomasz Jankowski
2026-03-21
3 min. read
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Chips are one of the most popular snacks and there are increasingly more varieties of this product available in stores. Is it worth contemplating their purchase?
Widespread heavily processed food products
Chips, manufactured using potatoes, vegetable oil, and salt, are available in stores in a diverse range of flavors. This type of product generally features a comprehensive list of ingredients, including sugar, fructose, butter powder, dried vegetables, smoked tobacco aroma, yeast extract, citric acid, whey powder, and flavor enhancers.
An enormous allocation of energy
Crispy chips are known for providing a significant amount of kilocalories - they contain up to 572 kcal in 100 g. For comparison, the standard pack of chips weighs exactly 100 g. A handful of chips weighs about 15 g, and the nutritional value of this portion is as follows: energy value: 85.8 kcal, protein: 0.8 g, fat: 6.1 g, including saturated fatty acids: 1,6 g, monounsaturated fatty acids: 3.1 g, omega-6 polyunsaturated fats: 1,3 g, total carbohydrates: 7.5 g, dietary fiber: 1.2 g.
An insignificant source of vitamins and minerals
Owing to their scant nutritional content, chips do not constitute a source of any vitamins or minerals. The product portion (15 g) contains only: 0.3 mg Vitamin B3, 0.1 mg Vitamin B6, 3.3 μg folic acid, 2.5 mg Vitamin C, 1.2 mg Vitamin E, 0.1 mg zinc, 0.3 mg iron, 2.7 mg calcium, 120.2 mg potassium, 13.4 mg phosphorus, 103.5 mg sodium.
Sodium source in food
The product contains around 1.5 g of salt per 100 g. The recommended daily intake of this compound is 5 g (flat spoon), which covers the salt added to dishes as well as the salt contained in food products. Regular consumption of high-sodium foods, such as chips, can lead to excessive salt intake. An excessive amount of sodium chloride in the diet can increase the risk of developing various diseases, including hypertension, heart failure, stomach cancer, kidney stones, and osteoporosis.
The origin of acrylamide - processing and effects on the body
Acrylamide is a compound that forms when heating foodstuffs with a high carbohydrate content (e.g., frying or baking). It is used in industry for water purification and as an ingredient in cement, wallpaper, dyes, adhesives, and sealing materials. In the food industry, it is chips that contain the most acrylamide - from 50 to up to 3500 μg/kg. This substance may potentially have carcinogenic properties, be mutagenic, and be toxic to the human nervous system. Knowledge of the effects of acrylamide on the body is limited, as research in this field has only been conducted for 17 years.
