to think that having a packet of crisps a day is not healthy

[Badgerwife]

or am I being precious?

I was having this discussion after watching Britain's Favourite Supermarket Foods on tv with some friends yesterday, who all thought that having a packet a crisp a day was totally fine and clearly thought I was weird to think that it was totally unhealthy. I'll admit I was appalled surprised but this may be because I was brought up in France where you don't really eat crisps unless you're having a picnic, in fact, I'm not even sure you can buy individual packets. So it was a bit of a culture shock when I first moved to England when I realised it's a staple snack/lunch item.

Even now, I never have crisps in the house - unless I'm pregnant like now and I crave the salt content like crazy and they are moreish and delicious plus it's cheaper than my other craving which is McDonalds and way more shameful to admit to but then I worry about my cholesterol going up and clogged arteries with all the fat.

So AIBU?

Ifancyashandy But potatoes and vegetable oil are also naturally found - and as you note oat cakes take considerably more processing to be eaten, unlike potatoes raw un-rolled oats contain no nutrition you can get at all so require extensive processing.

There's nothing wrong with chopping up a potato and deep-frying it.

If yogurt is a treat, then what is milk, given that yogurt is just milk but with more nutrients available?

I don't like crisps, I think they are a choking hazard. Neither of my children are allowed potato crisps.

verylittlecarrot so presumably we can just eat what the hell we like?

Some people find it hard to know what a healthy diet is. We are so bombarded with advertising and a huge wealth of products that people don't always make the right choices: this much is obvious from the huge increase in people suffering from diabetes.

Yes, it SHOULD be easy to eat healthily. It SHOULD be easy for children to learn to read, for people to have healthy relationships, for people to not over-spend. However, most people are going to struggle with at least one area of their life. Just because you personally find it easy to eat a balanced diet doesn't mean everyone does.

verylittlecarrot Well said. The number of human groups thriving on very high fat, or very high carb diets or varied ones of all sorts shows that. The modern problem is simply too many calories of all sorts. But going low-carb or low-fat or something may help with limit excess calorie intake for some and because it doesn't matter how you get your non-protein calories it's better than over-eating! (as long as you're getting sufficient essential fat and enough fat for the fat soluable vitamins)

YABU to think so strictly about things being "healthy" or "unhealthy".

It is possible to have a healthy diet that includes a packet of crisps every day. It is also possible to have an unhealthy diet that does not include any crisps at all.

Fred agree about the oat cakes. Don't really eat them myself so not sure of the nutritional value.

And deep frying food can retain some nutritional value if you do it correctly (oil as hot as possible, 'healthy' oil etc). But it's still not recommended to eat deep fried food everyday

Trills - your last paragraph is true in theory, but probably pretty rare in practice.

A packet of crisps is defo unhealthy.You need at least two or three packets daily for optimal health.

I only like crisps in the pub with a pint of beer. Guess this combo wouldn't be healthy every day.

If yogurt is a treat, then what is milk, given that yogurt is just milk but with more nutrients available?

Do you know how much sugar is in most yogurts? If only people ate natural unsweetened live yogurt but do you think they do?

at littlewhitebag - I agree with you entirely!!!

Frube - the "healthy" staple in most children's lunch box:

RED BERRIES: Fromage Frais ? Sugar 13.5% - Red Berries puree from concentrate 5% (Blackberry, Strawberry, Raspberry) - Modified maize starch - Flavourings - Stabiliser: Guar gum - Fruit Preservative: Potassium Sorbate - Acidity regulators: Sodium Citrates, Citric acid - Vitamin D.
Contains milk

Nice.

of course it's possible to have an unhealthy diet that does not include crisps! Someone could start the day with eggs, beans, bacon, sausages, then have a chocolate bar mid-morning, then a burger for lunch and curry for supper...

But why would you give those things as a treat MarianneM anyway? 'cos yes I thought most people ate natural yogurts flavoured with a bit of sugar

What hab=ve crisps got to do with yogurt? (confused)

Sorry had some lots of wine tonight. I am rubbish at being healthy. On the plus side my kids are 15 and 20 and seem quite normal.

I wouldn't give them at all, but I know a lot of people do.

Do you think most people give their children Yeo Valley live yogurts - I very much doubt it.

hab=ve

Was that a hickup?

I envy the wine - am trying to drink less after Christmas excesses!

It was indeed. I am not having a dry January - just a slightly damp one. The wine is lovely.

I'd have thought so, Badgerwife. Mind you, try telling that to dh. (Goodness knows, he wouldn't listen to me, so feel free!) The dc used to get a packet on Fridays, but now they have a school dinner on Fridays, so not anymore. I drop all my own rules at weekends, though.

We make our own bread and have adapted the recipe so it contains less salt and sugar but dd eats quite a lot of ham and drinks a lot of fruit juice so I imagine all my crisp-curbing work is undone.

Crisps have nothing in them that are good for you?

Are you shitting me? They are made from potatos. Potatos are very very good for you, they are ridiculously maligned. They are high in Vit C and Bg, fibre rich, full of potassium and a good source of kukoamine. They are rich in oron and copper, mangnesium, phosphorus and niacin.

These things don't disappear just because you fry them in oil.

Get over yourselves and go eat some spuds.

So, add a boilt potato to your diet then, if you really want the nutrition it offers.

Crisps?

I dont eat deep fried blueberries, because blueberries are healthy. I eat blueberries. Deep friying them will of course not take away anything from the nutritional value (I think?) but the oil adds something I dont want.

As for the potato? Not risking it more than now and then, not as long as they have found the same protein structures you find in potatoes, as waste products in the brain biopsies of people with dementia, from populations with a potato heavy diet.

You're not risking a potato? Are the entire population of Ireland demented? Don't be so ridiculous.