My understanding is even without hydro, you still have oxidation issues, as well as the more processed your food is the greater the insulin response.

High carb , highly processed food should be avoided regardless of oil quality in my opinion

The bodies response to chronic insulin elevation is significantly detrimental to our long term health

Edit: found this great anti-processed explanation :

"Starch digestion is also influenced by how the starch is packed in the food. When food is whole, or in its natural state, marcromolecules are folded together, and starch can be encased in protein or fiber or other large molecules that must be digested before the starch itself becomes available for digestion. The result of this packaging, again, is to slow down the absorption of the individual sugar units from the starch, and to provide extended, sustained energy for a longer-term, moderate rise in blood sugar after a meal. In contrast, processed foods have removed this complex interaction. In processing, the macromolecules are initially pulled apart from each other, then added back separately. The result is starch that is more accessible for quick digestion and absorption, and causes quicker, higher rises in blood sugar, looking more like a disaccharide than a starch. Therefore, people with blood sugar control concerns, such as hypoglycemia, insulin resistance or diabetes can benefit from eating whole foods and avoiding high-starch, processed foods."

The companies that make potato chips keep frying spuds in the same oil over and over until it has all soaked into the chips. They don't throw any of it out.

Nevermind the fact that you shouldn't be frying with mono/poly-unsat oils in the first place, having bubbled oxygen thru them at high temp for that long you can guess how highly oxidized those fats are before they ever even get out of the bag.

So, no. Not harmless.

EDIT: Oxidation increases the load on your body's antioxidant systems and probably leads to cancer in the long run.

So others have dealt with the polyunsaturated fat issue, which is bad news, though there are several brands of chips fried in mostly monounsaturated oils (high oliec sunflower oil) and you can make your own with lard or coconut oil.

For me, the biggest worry is a carcinogen called Acrylamide, which is present in high amounts in fried potatoes.

As cheats go, duck fat fries or avocado oil kettle chips are certainly better than cake, but we can't pretend they are a health food.

I wouldn't trust that oil, period.

If you really want fried potatoes, make 'em yourself at home with beef tallow. They'll be 10 times better than anything you can buy (healthwise and flavorwise) and it's enough work (and makes enough of a mess) that you'll only do it occasionally.

I suggest you make your own fried potato treats. When I do, I cube a potato, microwave the cubes on a paper towel until they are partially cooked, then fry them in some paleo approved fat until they reach desired level of crispiness.

linoleic = omega 6. oleic = mono

I think you might be thinking of high oleic sunflower oil or peanut oil, as some versions of these engineered oils have only 5-7% omega 6 PUFA.

I don't see any omega3/6 info on the link. Neither do I see ingredient listings to allow us to guess those. Besides, I am not looking for a low level of saturated fat. Standard paleo attitude is that saturated fat is probably better for you than most other kinds of fat.

The prob with chips is that not only is unhealthy rancid oil used (as others have stated), and not only does it boost insulin levels with its carbiness, but also it has minimal if any nutrient value. Plus they are addictive for many people so you end up eating a lot of them, calories which take the place of healthier foods. They are basically empty calories taking up space in your diet, spiking your blood sugar and adding poisons to your diet.

I don't think a few chips are likely to be serious threat to most consumers, but a few chips typically lead to a lot of chips. My very trim young female coworker got in the habit of eating chips at work. Over the months, she was eating them every day. She began to experiment with different tasty varieties, different spices, cheetos, etc. She ate less lunch cuz she wasn't hungry. After a while, she was sometimes not even hungry for dinner cuz she was snacking on chips and cookies all day. A number of us who are trying to eat healthy including another paleo eater, occasionally nagged her to lower the intake. She said she tried to stop eating them but she got cravings for them and went back to them. Then she switched to cookies thinking they were healthier. I had to assure her they were just as bad if not worse. Her mother has really bad diabetes but she thinks she will be fine because she is not fat (yet). She assured me she will quit if she starts to get fat. Of course, by then she may be really far along on the way to illness.

IN fact another coworker who is very trim and thin happens to have raging diabetes with unstable and unpredictable swings of high and low blood sugars. She is so bad that several times, she has passed out from hypoglycemia. One time, she fell and knocked out several front teeth. ANother time, she fell and broke her arm. Both of these incidents happened within one year. This same woman snacks all day on 'low sugar' cookies and chips made with tons of flour and fructose because she thinks they are healthy for her diabetes.

These two may be extreme examples, but I think things like that happen to a lot of people. If everyone just ate a few unhealthy things once in a while, then I don't think it would be a big problem, but most people eat a lot of crap, not just a little, and over time, the negative effects on health really build up. -Eva

Not that I am saying it's super paleo but Grandma Utz's Handcooked Potato Chips are fried in Lard. The basic ingredients are Potatoes, Lard and salt.

I think there is a THBQ preservative in there tho as the last and final ingredient which would send most of us to make our own.

Eating potato chips is not a good part of any health and longevity diet, but if you were forced to choose between Doritos and Utz Lard Chips I'd go for the lard chips. (They are also gluten free...)

How about this? http://www.mrsmays.com/product_details_mrsmays.html?indx=16

Sweet potato and taro chips fried in palm oil. YOu can buy it at Costco, Albertson's, Ralphs, etc...

I've seen some variety pack chips at various asian market that are fried in palm or coconut oil. My favorite is jackfruit fried using palm oil. mmmmmhhh

Potato chips spike my blood glucose, which normally stays nicely in the 80-95 range. A handful of chips is all it takes to spike it 25 or more points.

Potatoes are healthy in moderation, but doesn't deep frying denature the proteins and lose most of the vitamins of the potatoes? I would rather eat baked or boiled potatoes with lots of butter than go for chips.

saw these at the store the other day - thoughts?

avocado oil chips

I've been wondering the same thing lately myself, after recently upping my carbs a bit and feeling a lot better because of it. Good quality chips in homemade mayo dip seemed like a delightful snack.

I got some organic olive oil-fried chips on Amazon which seemed like the lesser of the evils, plus there are a variety of chips that Whole Foods sells from http://www.inkacrops.com/inkamarket.htm fried in "palm olein".

We often have homemade potato chips with breakfasts in the morning. While the bacon is cooking, I slice up a potato in the thinnest setting on my vegetable slicer. Take the bacon out, and put a layer of tater slices in the hot bacon grease. Sprinkle a little salt on them, turn over when they start to brown around the edges, and take out when they're done to your liking. Takes 30-60 seconds per batch, and one medium potato usually makes two batches in a 12" cast iron skillet. Just enough to add a crispy treat to breakfast and a few carbs for energy, and there's no bag full of them around to gorge on.

A major weakness of mine has long been Pik-Nik shoestring potatoes. I assumed I'd never be able to eat them again, but they're improving slightly. It appears they come in two types now: regular, or "0 trans fat and gluten free". (Oddly enough, both use sea salt.) The oils in the "0 trans fat" ones are cottonseed oil, palm olein oil, and safflower oil. Clearly not good, but I was surprised to see any palm oil at all in there. Definitely better than all the chips cooked in straight corn or soybean oil.

According to the labels, the better ones have 11g fat per serving, 5g of which is saturated (so I guess there's more palm oil there than just a few drops for appearance's sake). The originals have 10g of fat, 3g saturated and 5g trans fat. Sad thing is, there are probably people buying the originals because they have less total and saturated fat, willingly eating 5g of trans fat to cut saturated by 2g.

Again, I'm not suggesting these are proper food, but it's a move in the right direction. Maybe someday we'll be able to stop at a convenience store and grab a bag of chips fried in nothing but saturated fat, without having to hunt for the health-nut aisle. We'll still have to worry about oils being reused too long and things like that, but they might be acceptable on rare occasions when you're in a pinch.