Is Popcorn Healthy, short answer is YES! According to many government agencies and watch groups Plain Popcorn is a healthy Snack.
Microwave popcorn nutrition and Movie popcorn nutrition are similar (although hull-less popcorn loses some of the natural popcorn nutrition as discussed below) but the fat and salt content are not the same in different theatres and manufacturers so the question of "Is Popcorn Healthy" is relative to exactly whose popcorn it is and how it is made!
7 Reasons why Popcorn Is Healthy:
1. Popcorn has more protein than any other cereal grain.
2. Popcorn is naturally sugar-free, fat free and low in calories.
3. The Popcorn hull and outer layers are rich in iron, phosphorous and protein (remember that before shopping for hull less Popcorn)
4. Popcorn has more iron than eggs, peanuts, spinach, or roast beef
5. Popcorn is a whole grain that contains 40 or more nutrients. 40 or more nutrients
6. The "germ" in the popcorn kernel contains all of the B complex vitamins, plus vitamin E,
7. Riboflavin and Thiamine.
Three cups of Plain Popcorn that is unbuttered, no oil, air-popped popcorn, only has about 90 Calories!!
That’s 3 cups of popcorn guys n galls. You could have 6 cups of popcorn and have less fat than just about any candy bar.
So NO! Popcorn IS NOT Fattening and Popcorn IS NOT high in calories!!
NOTE: most people eat way too much popcorn at one time. The average small Movie theater bag has about 6 cups so that has double the calories listed. But still 180 calories with no fat IF ITS AIR POPPED is fine. But most movies pop in coconut oil or other fattening oils.
What about Butter Salt and other Seasonings and toppings!
Color coded to let you know from Green to red what is a Healthy Popcorn Snack and where you cross the line and get into unhealthy popcorn Snacks!
Note the following rules of thumb:
• The maximum amount (Daily Value) of total fat in a 2,000-calorie diet is 65 grams.
• The maximum amount of saturated fat is 20 grams.
• The Maximum salt is About 6 grams a day -which is 2300 mgs of Sodium or about one teaspoon full for a grown up
1. Plain Popcorn, NO SALT NO BUTTER ONLY 90 CALORIES FOR 3 CUPS great!!
2. Reduced-fat microwave popcorn has only 3 grams of fat per serving size.
3. Oil-popped popcorn with butter has around 250 calories per 3 cups – still not bad for so much food with the nutrients listed above!
4. Buttered microwave popcorn has 11 grams of fat for per 3cup serving size,
5. Theatre popcorn a kid-sized popcorn WITHOUT theatre butter added extra contained 20 grams of fat, 14 of them saturated.
6. A large Theatre popcorn had about 80 grams of fat, more than 50 of them bad boys are saturated. That’s about the same as 3 big Macs worth of Fat. About 3 days worth of the recommended fat in one sitting. Yuk
7. A Large Theater Popcorn with added Butter has 130 Grams Of Fat or about the same as 4 or 5 Big Macs WOW!! Worse yet, the cholesterol raising fat soars to almost four day’s worth of fat!
It’s not the Popcorn that’s unhealthy! It’s the butter or Oil it’s cooked in.
Government guidelines recommend that people consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day — about one teaspoon of salt.
Popcorn is usually served salted and has a significant amount of sodium of around 270 to 330 mg of sodium. On top of which many of the popcorn Seasonings such as cheese and bacon salt have salt also.
But compare that too these common servings of other food and Popcorn is way healthier when it comes to salt!
• Canned chicken noodle soup (1 cup): 1,106 milligrams
• Frozen turkey and gravy (5 ounces): 787 milligrams
• Canned cream-style corn (1 cup): 730 milligrams
• Teriyaki sauce (1 tablespoon): 690 milligrams
• Vegetable juice cocktail (1 cup): 653 milligrams
Summary
Is Popcorn Healthy?
Yes it is, as long as you don't cook it in oil and drown it in too much butter and avoid salt! Best to have air popped popcorn without salt, thats just what I'll be doing!
have a great weekend
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