Snacks have long been an integral part of our lives. Both children and adults enjoy eating chips, popcorn, pretzels and fruit snacks. However, some of the most popular and delicious snacks have an unappetizing side, which manufacturers usually don’t inform consumers about.
Here are the top 7 “tasteless” facts about snacks that are sold in Russian stores.
7. Cheetos cheat on your brain
These orange finger-like corn chips are deliciously delicious and very old (in terms of first-time sale dates). Classic crispy Cheetos appeared in 1948, and quickly became one of the best appetizer brands.
These chips have become insanely popular for a reason. According to scientist Steven Wheaterley, who specializes in nutrition, Cheetos are an example of "endangered calories." Foods in the mouth fool the brain, which thinks that since there is no food, then there are no calories consumed. And if the brain does not think that the body consumes calories, then it does not send a message to the stomach that you are full. This makes it easy to eat the whole Cheetos package and go for a new one.
6. Pretzels bathe in alkali
The sixth number on the list of “unappetizing” stories about fast food is warm, soft beer pretzels, which are also ideal for a snack on the run. Do you know what gives pretzels a memorable taste and mouth-watering crust? The answer is simple - it is caustic soda, it is caustic soda. The pretzel dough is dipped in a mixture of water and alkali before baking. The alkaline bath gives the pretzels an attractive browned color. Otherwise, the pretzels “come out” of the oven in white. A mixture of hot water and baking soda can also be used as a browning agent, but many bakers believe that the alkaline method gives the best results. Bakers usually use not industrial, but special food alkali.
5. Corned beef can cause cancer
Corned beef is a good choice for those looking for a protein-rich snack. However, the World Health Organization believes that processed meat products increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
About 34 thousand annual cancer-related deaths (worldwide) are the result of a diet with a lot of processed meat. Perhaps this is due to the fact that during the heat treatment of meat, carcinogens are formed in it.
4. There is more to chewing sweets than sugar and spices
Chewing bears, snakes and other sweets are one of the most favorite snacks in children and adults. But there is one unpleasant fact: this product contains residues from the slaughterhouse. Namely - gelatin.
As far back as the Middle Ages, people found that if water and animal skins were boiled in water, then the broth would harden when cooled. Then the manufacturing process of gelatin was very long and took about 6 hours. Only wealthy households with a large number of employees could accomplish this task.
Today, gelatin is commercially produced all over the world. And you do not have to be a wealthy livestock owner to enjoy chewing sticky teddy bears that owe their existence to boiled parts of animals.
3. French fries are tasty, but can be dangerous
French fries (as well as potato chips) cannot be attributed to healthy foods, due to the abundance of sodium and fat. But the greatest danger in these products is acrylamide. This chemical causes cancer in laboratory animals. It is absent in raw potatoes and appears after high-temperature cooking.
- For example, in 120 gr. boiled potatoes contain more than 3 micrograms of acrylamide.
- And in 30 gr. Pringles Potato Chips - 25 mcg of this substance.
- If you take a 180-gram serving of French fries from McDonald, then it contains 72 micrograms of acrylamide.
Frequent use of food with acrylamide in women increases the risk of developing cancer of the ovaries or cervix.
2. Fruit snacks are no healthier than sweets
In second place in the ranking of interesting facts about quick snacks is a product that is positioned as a healthy source of vitamins. Usually there is an inscription on the labels of such snacks that they are made from real fruits and contain the recommended daily amount of vitamin C.
However, the usefulness of a fruit bar cannot be compared to real strawberries or bananas. Although fruit snacks are nutritious, they have more in common with sweets than with real fruits. They are low in fiber, which is rich in fresh fruits.
Some snacks contain the sweetener maltitol, which has a laxative effect (with the caveat, in large doses).
1. Popcorn can cause lung disease
Popcorn is one of the oldest and most famous snacks. According to archaeologists, even South Americans (namely, Peru) regaled it 6700 years ago. Then popcorn was cooked on hot coals, or holding over an open fire. In the modern world, the microwave perfectly copes with this task. Anyone who has ever put a pack of popcorn in a microwave is familiar with the characteristic smell of this snack. But the buttery flavor that gives popcorn such a pleasant aroma contains chemicals and dangerous food additives - trans fats. If you inhale them, you can damage the lungs. Workers in popcorn factories often suffered “lung popcorn” due to regular exposure to chemical fumes. The disease damaged the bronchioles and they became narrower, which made it more difficult for a person to breathe.
However, it is not only employees of popcorn makers who are at risk. Regular consumer Wayne Watson from Colorado fell ill with lung popcorn because he ate two packs of popcorn daily for ten years. As a true American who does not tolerate injustice, Watson decided to sue the producer and seller of popcorn and received $ 7 million from them as compensation.
