Cash In Those Chips Now?

I came across some information recently on potato chips and heart disease that caught my attention. Recently there has been some published research that showed a diet of fried potato chips increases blood markers of inflammation and suggests an increased risk of heart disease.

There is a known side effect of cooking certain starchy foods - like potato chips, french fries and even, to a lesser extent, breads, cookies and pastries. It produces something called acrylamide. Acrylamide is used for making dyes, treating wastewater and in a number of common, everyday products, but cooking starchy food also produces acrylamide.

Acrylamide in the diet is loosely associated with an increased risk of some cancers. However, research in this area is far from conclusive. Now acrylamide may be associated with increased inflammation.

It has been known for a long time that a diet with a lot of fried foods increases the risk of heart disease. The oils in fried foods are believed to increase overall inflammation in the body, which in turn is an important step for the development of heart disease.

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. During a month long test 14 people ate about five regular bags of potato chips per day for a month. This amount of chips was about twice the daily limit recommended for a grown man by the World Health Organization) At this level of dietary acrylamide, there was a significant increase in a number of blood markers of inflammation, including oxidization of "bad" cholesterol (LDL) and an increase in free radical production by white blood cells.

The amount of acrylamide in a regular bag of potato chips easily falls within the daily limit for children and adults and, other than the calories, may not be a problem. The concern is that a daily diet that over indulges potato chip consumption, over time, may promote an inflammatory condition and the risk of heart disease.

Because there are so many foods we commonly eat that may contribute to inflammation and ultimately to many chronic diseases, anything we can do to reduce inflammation is good.
The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, advised “Moderation in all things.” That applies to potato chips also.