How healthy is popcorn? - Nutritional information for the healthy snack

How healthy is popcorn? - Nutritional information for the healthy snack

Healthy eaters in the US are constantly turning to popcorn as a healthy replacement for the salty snacks that typically break a diet. Instead of snacks like potato chips, nuts, or pretzels, which can be high in calories, salt, or fat, popcorn offers the bite-sized lightness of other snacks while providing vitamins, minerals, and fiber, but not a lot of fat! Here are some facts about the snack and the best way to eat it to get the most nutritious value.

Nutritional information for popcorn

* Popcorn contains more than 40 different nutrients.

*It has more iron than eggs, peanuts or spinach.

* In popcorn kernels you can find B complex vitamins, vitamin E, riboflavin and thiamine.

* Popcorn contains the most protein of all cereal grains.

* In the core of the nucleus you will find iron, phosphorus and protein.

* Popcorn has more fiber than potato chips or pretzels.

Additionally, popcorn is the recommended snack of many health and research organizations in the United States. The American Dental Association recommends it as a good sugar-free, fat-free snack for children. The National Cancer Institute notes that fiber in your diet protects you against cancer and recommends popcorn as an excellent way to add fiber to your diet. The American Diabetes Association allows popcorn as a starchy snack for weight control diets. The Feingold diet for hyperactive children also allows popcorn as a snack because it can be prepared without additives or sugar.

The best way to eat popcorn

The best way to prepare popcorn if you want it to be a healthy, low-calorie snack is to pop it out of the air. Adding butter, salt, or other toppings can reduce the nutritional impact of eating popcorn as a snack. 1 cup of air popped popcorn has approximately 30 calories, 1 gram of fiber and 1 gram of protein per serving. It contains no saturated fat, trans fat or cholesterol. You can also find manganese, folic acid, niacin, vitamin A, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and selenium in popcorn.

Whether you're dieting, trying to get your kids to eat healthy snacks, or simply trying to eat healthier yourself, replacing fatty junk food with freshly popped popcorn is an easy swap. Eating popcorn to satisfy your snack cravings is a health-conscious choice that will help you control your weight and provide nutrition rather than just satisfying your snack urge!