Bananas are a healthy fruit if eaten in moderation. They're packed with vitamins and anti-oxidants, and one medium, 7-inch to 8-inch banana has about 85 to 100 calories. Banana chips are a different snack, however, and banana chips' calories depend on how they're treated and what is added when turning them into chips.
Determining Calories of Banana Chips
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Banana chips are not all alike. Many are cooked in oil and sweetened with added sugar, which of course adds to their calorie count. To determine the calories in one banana chip, you have to divide the total calories per serving by the number of chips in one serving.
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Some brands list on their packaging the number of chips per serving, which makes the computation easy. For example, Weis store-brand, sweetened banana chips have a serving size of 16 chips with 150 calories per serving. So, for Weis banana chips: 150 calories divided by 16 chips equals 9.4 calories per banana chip.
Bare brand Baked Crunchy Simply Banana Chips have a serving size of 1/2 cup, which has 120 calories. To determine the number of calories in one Bare banana chip, you need to measure 1/2 cup of chips and count how many chips are in it. It turns out to be approximately 30 chips in 1/2 cup. So, for Bare banana chips: 120 calories divided by 30 chips equals four calories per banana chip.
Examining Differences in Banana Chips
Why is there so much difference in the two banana chips? Both ingredients and cooking methods contribute to the difference. Weis banana chips are fried in coconut oil and then sweetened with sugar. Bare banana chips contain only bananas that are baked without oil, and no sugar is added.
It can't be assumed that other brands of banana chips will have the same number of calories, however. While all banana chips that are baked without added oil or sugar should contain the same number of calories per chip, those that are sweetened can vary depending on how much oil is used, how long they are fried and how much sugar is added.
For example, Walmart Great Value Banana Chips have 11 chips per serving and contain 160 calories. So, for Walmart banana chips: 160 calories divided by 11 chips equals 14.5 calories per banana chip.
Digesting Nutrition Facts Per Serving
Sweetened or unsweetened, banana chips' nutrition facts per serving share the same benefits:
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B6
- Potassium
- 3 grams of fiber
- 1 gram of protein
- No trans fats
Bananas are known for being a good source of potassium, which is important in lowering blood pressure. Bananas and banana chips also contain anti-oxidant flavonoids such as catechin, which helps reduce the risk of heart disease. The starch in bananas is mostly resistant starch that passes through the body undigested.
When bananas ripen, their starch turns mostly to sugar. However, due to bananas' resistant starch and significant amount of fiber, bananas have a low glycemic index, meaning they don't spike your blood sugar the way some starches do.
Understanding Disadvantages of Banana Chips
Banana chips on their own without oil or added sugar have no real disadvantages. They're simply baked bananas. The one danger is that they are so tasty that you can easily consume more than one serving, so if you're determined to stick to one serving, measure or count out the number of chips in one serving and put the rest of the banana chips away.
It's when banana chips are fried in oil and sweetened with sugar that they have disadvantages. Nearly half of their calories are fat, and the added sugar adds calories without any nutritional benefit. For healthy banana chips that are naturally sweet, always search for unsweetened, non-fried banana chips.