Most often an accessory to movie theaters, popcorn may be
harboring a secret that makes it a healthy snack. A new study reports that
popcorn is a good source of fiber and antioxidants.
Hold the Butter…
Popcorn is only as good for you as the stuff you add to it.
If it is loaded with butter and salt, it becomes increasingly unhealthy. Most
microwaveable popcorn contains butter and salt additives to make it taste good,
and that makes it bad for you. In this case, the cons outweigh the pros. If you
pick microwaveable popcorn that has minimal additives to it, it is considered a
healthy of fiber.
Movie theater popcorn is no better for you either. Consider
that a combination of bacon, eggs, a big mac, fries, and steak dinner contains
less fat than a medium-sized butter popcorn from a typical movie theater. Regal
Cinema Group, the largest theater chain in the United States, makes a small
popcorn that contains a whopping 29g of saturated
fat. This is equal to a day-and-a-half of the recommended daily intake of
saturated fat and approximately three big macs.
Popcorn Can Be
Healthy
The antioxidants in popcorn are protected from the sun in the
drying process. A minute amount of antioxidants are lost when it is popped and
the fiber from the whole grain is not removed. The healthiest popcorn is
air-popped with a minimal amount of salt.
Popcorn is one snack that is filling, but takes longer to eat
a voluminous amount. The fiber content in popcorn helps you to get fuller in
the same amount of time that it would take to consume many more calories in
chips.
Some Obstacles
Unfortunately, plain popcorn is bland and is often
referenced as having a cardboard-like taste. In order to combat that, companies
add food additives to make it taste better, which makes finding healthy options for popcorn
difficult unless you air-pop the kernels at home.
It doesn't seem like popcorn manufacturers have made a decent
effort to create a healthy-yet-tasty version of popcorn. There are 100-calorie
versions aimed at people paying attention to their midsection, but they are
just altered portion sizes.
Do you enjoy lightly or unsalted popcorn? Do you think that
the taste of plain popcorn is feasible enough to obtain the health benefits
from it?
Resources:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=8356993
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popcorn
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