Crisp and Present Danger

The Wonderful World of Potato Chips

Potato chips have evolved from bland to salted to all sorts of tastes and flavors of the world: all-American favorites include barbecue, ranch, sour cream and onion, salt and vinegar, nacho and cheddar cheese. Just to name a few.  Canadians enjoy ketchup, dill pickle, bacon and curry seasoned chips. The UK enjoys chips in smoky bacon, ham and mustard, barbecue and Worcester sauce flavors. It seems the potato chip certainly is universal.  Coupled with its deep fried cousin, the French fry.                         

The All-Time Favorite Snack Attacks

It’s no secret that most of that savory goodness is a not so fair trade-off for the high fat and high calorie content of chips. Needless to say, chips are not popular with the health conscious due the lack of whole food vitamins, minerals and other nutritive values. Just recently, chips and other deep fried foods just garnered yet another reason to “just say no” to deep fried and other nutrient  poor processed foods.

In 2002, a group of keen Swedish scientists discovered a hazardous chemical lurking in plain sight in that innocent looking bag of chips.  The cancer-causing compound acrylamide was present in potato chips, French fries, breakfast cereals and crackers. It was found that all starchy deep fried foods tested positive for acrylamide content.

Lawsuit Charged Against Big Potato Chip Players

The potato chip scare is not to be taken lightly.  Public Health Attorneys of the state of California filed a lawsuit charging mainstream potato chip makers for the lack of prominent acrylamide health hazard warnings on their product packages. The State of California took a firm stand in reprimanding processed food giants such as Lay’s, Heinz, Kettle Chips, Pringles and Cape Cod among others for this negligence.

Frito Lay, one of the leading potato chip manufacturers, dished out 1.5 million dollars in damages for omitting this important public health warning. French fry moguls McDonald’s, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Wendy’s were likewise not spared from federal sanctions. Chips and fries manufacturers have either agreed to post acrylamide warnings on their labels or lower the acrylamide content all together.

Acrylamide and its Potential Effects

All the fuss about this toxic compound is backed up by studies which have shown that acrylamide produces cancer and permanent nerve damage in laboratory animals. This industrial chemical used in wastewater treatment and dye manufacturing has been a known carcinogen since 1994, but was discovered in deep fried and processed food only during this decade.

Further research has associated acrylamide with human uterine and ovarian cancers.

Taming the Potato Chip Monster into the Green Consumer

Healthy and green living has taken more limelight now than ever given that processed food has revealed even more potential health risks. Grab the carrots and zucchini and enjoy a healthy crunch, instead of a deadly crunch.   Skip the deep fried fatty foods.   Boil, broil or steam your dishes. And of course, eat raw foods rich in phytonutrients as often as possible. It goes without saying that a diet comprised of fresh whole foods abundant in natural vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other naturally according co factors can go a long way in helping one to maintain a state of optimal health. If choosing supplements to help augment an already healthful diet, choose phytonutrients rich whole foods such as organic aloe vera juice. Pass the broccoli please.