For several people, popcorn just tastes too good to resist. This may shock you, but of all the snacks out there, popcorn tops the list of healthy snacks. For one thing, it's a whole grain. It is also significantly high in fibre, and here’s the icing on the cake, you don’t have to worry about the calories in popcorn.
Since you know that popcorn is healthy, you may be wondering if it's good to eat during weight loss. On the one hand, we have established that it is high in fiber content and low in calories. Nonetheless, if you smother popcorn with butter (as they do in movie theaters), your health is far from okay! You will get more calories from the butter than the popcorn. On its own, popcorn boosts your energy during a weight-loss programme. Consider that approximately 3 and a half cups of popcorn contain 110 calories at best. You get 3 cups for 100 calories.
The nutrition in popcorn has a lot to do with its individual constituents. After all, if you want to be convinced of its health benefits, you should know what it constitutes. To perk up your plan for losing weight, here are popcorn nutrition facts to pay attention to:
The table below shows the contents of popcorn in a 100 gm serving.
Popcorn Contents |
Content Quantity |
Calories |
387 |
Protein |
13 gm |
Carbohydrates |
78 gm |
Fats |
5 gm |
Vitamin B1 - Thiamin |
7% of the routine daily intake |
Vitamin B6 - Pyridoxine |
8% of the routine daily intake |
Vitamin B3 - Niacin |
12% of the routine daily intake |
Iron |
18% of the routine daily intake |
Phosphorous |
36% of the routine daily intake |
Magnesium |
36% of the routine daily intake |
Potassium |
9% of the routine daily intake |
Zinc |
21% of the routine daily intake |
Copper |
13% of the routine daily intake |
Manganese |
56% of the routine daily intake |
The serving shown above also includes a huge amount of fibre, at 15 gm. When you look at the nutrition in popcorn, you must view the food as plain popcorn. Calories may be added if extra salt/butter/cheese is added. Nowadays, you get different preparations, like caramelized popcorn, etc. While these may make the plain variety more interesting, they also raise the calorie count.
If you think about plain popcorn calories versus butter popcorn calories, you will clearly find that the plain type, while less tasty, is more healthy. For the purpose of losing weight, if you look at popcorn calories, 1 cup has only 31 calories. Furthermore, studies have found that 15 calories of popcorn are as filling as 150 calories found in potato chips.
Popcorn nutritional value can only be felt if you eat it plain. As popcorn is not an ingredient in itself and is eaten as it is, that is, as popped corn kernels, there aren’t really any food items that contain popcorn. However, here is a table of popcorn that is eaten in a variety of ways and the calories each contains (serving size = 3 cups):
Popcorn Variety |
Calories |
Butter Popcorn |
264 calories |
Popcorn popped in Oil |
164 calories |
Parmesan Cheese Popcorn |
264-300 calories |
Air Popped Popcorn |
100 calories and under |
You get many different preparations that deviate from the original plain popcorn. For instance, in caramel popcorn with syrup on top, you get nearly 400 calories in a serving of 100 gm.
The calories in popcorn are only good for you if you consume it healthily. Here are some key health benefits you get when you consume plain air-popped popcorn:
Antioxidants that keep your cells safe from damage caused by free radicals are called polyphenols. Popcorn contains large amounts of these, so it benefits your cells.
Very high in fibre, popcorn can decrease the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Fibre is also responsible for weight loss and the promotion of digestive well being. The daily intake of fibre is 25 gm for women and 35 gm for men. In 100 gm of popcorn, you can get 15 gm of fiber.
Eating popcorn aids in losing weight. You get an energy boost with just a cup, and this has only around 30-32 popcorn calories in it. It also fills you up, so you don’t feel hunger pangs.
Moderation is the key to any food you consume. If you have too much, you may be at risk for a number of diseases in the long run. Although you may be able to gobble a tub of popcorn up at the movies, this is not healthy. About 25 gm of plain popcorn is good to eat on a daily basis.
An effective energy booster with low calories, plain popcorn is your snack buddy. Being aware of a healthy diet is optimal for long-term positive health outcomes. Eating plain popcorn in moderation is a perfect snack to have between meals or if you are on an exercise regimen. In order to maintain an adequate BMI and BMR, you have to have the right foods, in prescribed quantities so that you get the optimal amount of calories. You can find out what this amount is for yourself by using a calorie calculator and structure your dietary habits accordingly. Should you still want to keep yourself protected in the event of any unforeseen illness, a prudent thing to do is to explore health insurance at Finserv MARKETS, where you can avail of some great insurance plans.