“Snack Attack: The Cellular Damage Behind Every Chip”

Who doesn’t like eating the crispy potato chips?

They're considered a universal snack... They seem to be light, tasty, and very affordable.

But behind every satisfying crunch lies a cocktail of compounds and metabolic consequences that a biotechnologist can’t overlook.

Let’s dive and understand what happens at the molecular and cellular levels when you indulge in those golden, oily slices.

When you have a first glance at potato chips, they seem thinly sliced and crispy with some salt and flavour sprinkled on them. You must have an impression that it's a potato deeply fried with some salt and assume it's still fine to consume in a reasonable quantity as a daily snack.

But something that we are missing is when these simple high-starch foods are fried in oil at high temperatures (typically around 170-190°C), they convert these simple compounds to complex products containing:

1. Trans fats

2. Acrylamide

3. Advanced Glycation End products

4. excess sodium and artificial flavour enhancers

After seeing the list , you may think that this food doesn't have any nutritional value, but it may still be okay to consume just for satisfaction.

But lack of detailed information about these complex compounds has hidden the dark side of health risks that these chemicals trigger.

In simple words, eating chips has an equivalent health risk like smoking or drinking alcohol.

Let's break it down and understand each function of the abovementioned complex compound and how it's harmful to health.

Acrylamide:

Potato usually contains high starch, and when this high-starch-content food is fried at high temperatures, it initiates a Maillard reaction between reducing sugars and amino acid resulting in the formation of acrylamide.

Concern: Acrylamide has the ability to interact with DNA and cause mutation, resulting in disruption of genomic stability. Hence, it's classified as a probable human carcinogen (Group 2A by IARC).

Lipid peroxidation and reactive oxygen species (ROS)

There is degradation of unsaturated fats leading to formation of free radicals and ROS. When these molecules are in excess in the bloodstream, they damage the cell membrane, disrupt mitochondrial function and accelerate chronic inflammation.

Sodium:

To be honest , sodium is a taste enhancer, and there is no food tasty without sodium. But when excess sodium is consumed , it gets absorbed in the bloodstream, and it results in disrupting the ion channel and causing imbalance in the cell membrane. They also result in hypertension and cardiovascular risks.

Consuming crispy potatoes regularly can trigger a cascade of harmful processes like chronic inflammation and induce mutation & increased cellular apoptosis.

The intention of this blog is not to say a big no to consuming chips but to take a wise decision on what to consume and when to consume it and what the consequences of your choice are.

So, the next time you reach for that shiny packet, remember: you're not just eating a chip; you're inviting a complex mix of chemical reactions with long-term effects on your body.

References:

Mesías, M., & Delgado-Andrade, C. (2023). Dietary acrylamide exposure and cancer risk: A systematic review. Nutrients, 15(3), 605. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030605