How (un)healthy is popcorn, actually?
When you think of the cinema, a tub of popcorn is probably the first thing that pops into your head. Popcorn is the ultimate snack: you just keep reaching for more. It’s delicious, that’s for sure, but is popcorn actually good for you?
The answer: yes, popcorn is healthy. But only if you make it yourself and pay attention to what you add to it.
How (un)healthy popcorn is
As you know, popcorn is made from corn. Sweetcorn, to be precise. According to Het Voedingscentrum, it’s a type of grain that fits perfectly into a healthy diet. Even when you turn it into popcorn. At least, if you pop the corn in a pan with just a little oil or even no oil at all. And if you only add herbs as seasoning, such as smoked paprika, garlic powder or cinnamon. Only then is popcorn a healthy snack for you. It contains quite a lot of fibre and hardly any calories.
This popcorn is best left alone
Are you popping your corn in a knob of butter and then adding lots of salt, sugar or even chocolate? It won’t surprise you, but your tub of popcorn is suddenly not so healthy anymore. So if the health benefits are important to you, you’d better leave the cinema popcorn alone.
The same goes for microwave popcorn. That often contains plenty of added salt, fat and sugar too. (And palm oil, which isn’t exactly popular with the environment either.)
Look, everyone can decide for themselves what they do and don’t snack on. You do you. But I know that when I go to the cinema or have a movie night at home, I want to treat myself, and so that tub of cinema or microwave popcorn still makes an appearance. On this week’s agenda: honey sriracha popcorn. Pop it like it’s hot!
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