Frito-Lay Attempts Potato Chip Alchemy

4-29-2010 @7:47AM Kalvin said... What is the percentage of fat people, not the obese.

4-29-2010 @9:39AM Susan said... I cut my salt intake last fall considerably as an attempt to treat high blood pressure without medication. It worked. By BP was 170/95 in October. It is now 120/70. So yes, eliminating too much salt from the diet can do you some good if you have blood pressure issues.

This is not a "new thing" but has been known as an issue for many years. People with high BP have always been told to lower the amount of salt in their diets. It does not mean to eliminate all salt, just to reduce it. I have been able to do that with every recipe I make and still have them taste good.

Lays already has a "lightly salted" chip that tastes far better than the regular ones anyway. You can actually taste the fact that they are made out of potato instead of getting a mouthful of salt.

4-29-2010 @10:50AM Firehaven said... Susan, What tastes better is always a matter of personal preference, so you cannot categorically say that something tastes better...maybe it will to you...but not necessarily to someone else...

4-29-2010 @11:12AM Eileen Bettenhausen said... If I wanted to taste all that salt I would just shake the salt shaker into my mouth. I want chips with almost no salt, They taste much better.

4-29-2010 @12:35PM Tom said... Why not switch to a product called "No Salt" I believe it has potassium chloride, but no sodium. I use it and use less of it because it tastes more salty

4-29-2010 @1:17PM Al Schrader said... I already invented an even better way to put salt on chips. It's powdered salt, not granulated.
It all dissolves instantly as soon as it hit your tongue....alfredschrader@aol.com

4-29-2010 @3:54PM Harvey said... It is impossible to find "lightly salted or no salt" chips and many other products. I'm totally amazed that the FDA or other agencies haven't forced lowering of salt in food products. It is a known fact, sort of like tobacco causing cancer, that salt is a major contributor to obesity and heart related issues.

Our food industry needs to get involved NOW. Ever have to wait at Burger King for no salt fries? The "king" instructs the french fry area to salt fries, BIG TIME ! Watch them poor it on sometime. I've complained endlessly, but management fails to listen, they'd rather see me wait for 10 minutes for my unsalted fries. Little do people realize that the salt in ketchup is more than enough to meet the salt taste of french fries.

Also many current "Lays" chips are so heavily salted, I can't eat them. Yes, another intervention, but its long overdue in the entire food industry. Tobacco survived, there it was people quitting, this can be easily solved by simply "lightly" salting things and their products will still sell !

4-29-2010 @3:02PM MDK said... Susan,

You say you cut your salt intake and that, to me, is the key of it all. Do we need food producers to cut down on salt for us? No. We are perfectly capable of doing this on our own if we have the willpower and discipline. I think this is what Michael might be trying to say.

The government or whatever institution can try making foods healthier, making it easier to identify healthy or unhealthy foods, and all that, but in the end, its up to us to not eat what we know isn't healthy. I'm in good shape (incl. blood pressure, fat percentage, cholesterol, etc) according to my physician and I. Is this because of diet soda? No. Is it because I'm eating products that shout "No trans fat!"? No. Is it because of products containing less salt? No. It's because I am capable of not eating french fries and hamburgers too often. I'm capable of not dousing my potatoes in salt. I'm capable of eating less chips than are in an entire bag.

Many people nowadays just don't have the willpower or discipline to do what is good for them. Everybody knows that instead of sitting here looking at a computer screen, they could be outside taking a walk, swimming, or working out on the eliptical machine in their bedroom. Everybody knows too much salt is no good, as is too much of anything. It's common sense. And as long as people refuse to listen to their common sense and blame their problems on media, advertising, or whatever, they are going to have high blood pressure, be overweight, or have other similar problems.

As to you, Susan, way to go! Staying away from things can be tough, but you did it and succeeded. That takes strength and you've got it. Props!

4-29-2010 @3:36PM Mary said... I love my salt and will contunue to use it until a docter not the governmet tells me to cut back. And at 65+ I don't figure on doing that any time soon. Next thing the government will tell us what we are allowed and not allowed to eat.

4-30-2010 @9:38AM k said... Yeah, the Wall Street Journal. That's where I'd go to find the latest scientific research. Good choice - if you believe a journalist knows the difference between NaCl and KCl.

4-29-2010 @5:11PM Victor said... I didn't realize until recently, and I don't think many ppl do, there is a difference between "salt" and "sodium" the first thing processed food manufacturers can do and you can do for your salt shaker is switch to Kosher salt, per tbl spoon regular Salt has 590mgs of Sodium while Kosher Salt only has 280 for the same amount, it's the Sodium in Salt that raises your blood pressure, sounds confusing I know but it's a fact, So just switch, and right there your reducing your Sodium intake. Mickey Dees, Burger King etc Kosher Salt as soon as possible!

4-29-2010 @8:22PM Paul said... Susan,

All salts have the same amount of sodium per gram of salt. Kosher and Sea salts SEEM to have less sodium but that is only by VOLUME because the granules are shaped differently. So, yes, measured by volume, kosher salt has less sodium, but by WEIGHT it is the same.

4-29-2010 @7:17AM Rob said... I am a bit nervous to hear about these people playing with the chemical make up of salt.. I try to eat organic and non-GMO foods whenever I can..I am 46 and have definitely learned that my metabolism isn't what it used to be! So my husband and I have changed a few things to help us maintain our weights.. we actually go to Pilates 2 x a week.. that has been great for us...another tip.. cut the meals you eat out! we have been cooking more to help us make better choices.. the problem... the lazy old bag wasn't doing his fair share of the cooking! So I went out and got him a very appropriate (and completely politically incorrect) cookbook... I can't tell you the name.. but if you google "whipped and beaten culinary works" you will find it.. but seriously.. don't go if you get offended easily and you don't have a good sense of humor!

4-29-2010 @7:12AM donachuk said... You are right on the money, I cannot undrstand why people waste there life worrying about dieing? We are all going to die, get over it!

4-29-2010 @8:29AM Teresa said... Exactly! People's bodies weren't designed to last this long! This is whats wrong with the world ... too many of us are living wayyyyy too long now. We cannot feed the people living on this planet now, whats gonna happen as it gets worse ... when we all live to be 125? Where are we gonna live? How are we gonna live when we cut down all the trees to make places to live? WE AREN'T! Live a long, happy, SHORT life and get over all this other unimportant crap! I plan to.

4-29-2010 @9:48AM jlw said... They were also alot more active than most are now, had fewer chemical additives to food, a whole lot less lab altered food, and no fast food available on every corner. Farmers ate bacon, eggs, butter, beef,salt, sugar, but - engaged in some sort of physical activity all day, every day and lived long lives (no, spinning around on your desk chair doesn't count as physical activity).

4-29-2010 @2:08PM thomas carney said... The things I read here are typical of normal, average people who just don't get it. First of all, we are "meant" to eat anything or to live a certain length. Overpopulatiohn is a myth (whole world could fit into texas each with home), and "mother nature" is nothing more than a buzzword. "Messing with nature" is what we do all the time...what do you think steel is? Or cement? Or medicine? All of these things "aren't nature", yet we use them anyway. People are afraid of anything different and scientific, and goes "against nature"-- well there IS no such thing as nature, whatever is, just is. So if thet change the shape of salt, good, thats the shape of salt on the chips. If you really want to keep everything natural, go live in a cave.
@Teresa, the world can support a much longer lifestyle- humans aren't "meant" to live anything, which is why I am a transhumanist and life extensionist- I think technological can radical increase the human lifespan.