Potato Chips
Why potato chips are inflammatory
Potato chips are inflammatory, and the reason is what deep frying does to a potato. Thin slices go into oil hot enough to drive off nearly all their water, and fat moves in to take its place. A boiled potato carries almost no fat; chips are about a third fat by weight.
The potato itself sits well below chips on our inflammation scale, and the research draws the same line. Across seven large US studies pooled together, eating potatoes was not linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, while eating fried potatoes was. That category was fried potatoes of every kind, not chips alone, so it points at the frying.
High heat also creates acrylamide, which forms when starchy food browns in dry heat. Potato chips are among the foods with the most of it, and darker slices carry more. What acrylamide does at the amounts found in food is still unsettled.
The ingredient list tells you more than the front of the bag. Plain salted versions list potatoes, oil and salt; longer lists add flavourings. Baked and popped chips carry around half the fat, but the potato underneath is still refined starch. Kettle-cooked describes the texture, not the fat.
Tip out the amount you want and put the bag away, because an open bag usually gets finished. Serve them next to a meal, not instead of one.
Potato Chips on the AIP diet
Potato chips are out during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol on two counts. Potato is a nightshade, and nightshades are among the last foods to be reintroduced, so even a plain salted bag stays out for months. The frying oil is usually sunflower or corn, which AIP also removes. Chips made from cassava or plantain and cooked in coconut oil are the compliant version.
Benefits
- The potato underneath still brings potassium and some vitamin C
- Skin-on chips keep a little of the fibre that peeled versions lose
- Plain salted bags have short ingredient lists: potatoes, oil and salt
- Baked and popped versions carry around half the fat
Watch out for
- About a third fat by weight, most of it picked up in the fryer
- Frying creates acrylamide, and chips are among the foods with the most of it
- Salt sits on the surface, which makes a bag easy to keep eating
- Fried potatoes are linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes
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Frequently asked
Are potato chips inflammatory?
Yes. Frying swaps most of the water in a potato slice for fat, salt goes on top, and fried potatoes come out worse in research than potatoes cooked any other way. One bag now and then does very little. Chips most days is the part that adds up.
Are baked potato chips healthier than fried ones?
They carry around half the fat, which is a real difference. The potato underneath is still refined starch that digests fast, and baking browns it, so acrylamide still forms. Better, not good.
Do kettle-cooked chips have less fat?
No. Kettle-cooked means they were fried in small batches, which makes them thicker and harder rather than leaner. The fat is much the same, and some brands come out higher.
Can I eat potato chips on an anti-inflammatory diet?
Occasionally, in a portion you decide before you open the bag. Plain salted with a short ingredient list is the version to pick. The exception is the Autoimmune Protocol, where potato is out because it is a nightshade.
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