Every time you are organizing a movie night or throwing a party, you need to mix up some snacks such as crackers. Their crunchy texture, delicious taste, and relatively low price make them a highly popular snack. But are club crackers healthy? We did some digging and found bits of information you might find interesting.
In case you often buy this snack and have it in your home, chances are everyone in your family has it regularly. This is why it is especially important to figure out whether or not club crackers are healthy, and you can implement them into a regular diet. There is a lot to cover about this subject, so read on if you want to find out more.
Contents
What Is in Club Crackers, and Are They Healthy for You?
Club crackers contain high-fructose corn syrup, vegetable shortenings, thiamin, riboflavin, sugar, soybean oil, enriched flour with niacin, wheat flour, baking soda, and folic acid.
Needless to say, club crackers are definitely not healthy as they contain multiple harmful ingredients in large amounts, so if you are looking for a healthy snack, you might opt for some alternatives.
Nutritional Facts of Club Crackers
To get a better understanding of what club crackers do to your body, it is essential to take a look at the nutritional facts and contents of this food. We are going to take one serving of club crackers as an example. Each serving has four pieces, which are 16 oz, and now, we are going to take a look at their nutritive value.
Fats and Cholesterol
A single serving of club crackers contains 0.5 grams of saturated fats, 1 gram of monounsaturated fats, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fats, and, thankfully, zero trans fats. It is safe to say that this is quite a lot of fats, and it is almost 9 percent of your daily fat requirements if you are on a 2000-calorie diet.
If you consume club crackers regularly and implement them in your diet, your fat intake will dramatically increase, and with it, so will your weight too. It is also important to mention that this snack does not appease your hunger, so you will eat more and more, as is the case with any other unhealthy snack.
Note that overeating with snacks that have a high amount of fat content will eventually result in obesity, will raise your body’s cholesterol level, and increase the risk of various heart diseases.
Carbohydrates
Club crackers are not particularly rich in carbohydrates, as they contain a total of 9 grams. As you probably know, carbohydrates are very important since they are a great source of energy for your body and are necessary for your brain.
If your diet lacks carbohydrates, you will eventually start feeling weak, dizzy, fatigued, nauseated, and will have frequent headaches. Moreover, the lack of carbohydrates in your nutrition increases the concentration of fats, and when you consider how much fats club crackers contain, it is unwise to consume them excessively.
Club crackers also contain high fructose syrup that can cause weight gain and increase the risk of type II diabetes.
Proteins
A single serving of this snack delivers less than 1 gram of protein to your plate, which is pretty low. Protein is an essential nutrient for strengthening your immunity, and it bears huge importance for your mental and physical growth, as well as your body’s energy.
If your regular diet lacks protein, you will grow weaker, and your muscle mass will start declining. Low protein intake can also result in anemia, which means your cells will not get enough oxygen for normal body functions.
Sodium
Each serving of club crackers puts 125 milligrams of sodium on your plate, and given the fact that recommended sodium intake for each day is between 2200 and 2300 milligrams, it is plenty.
This amount of sodium is roughly 5 percent of what should be your daily consumption limit, and it comes from a single serving. As this is a snack that you just keep eating, it is unlikely that you will eat just one serving.
It is also important to note that these crackers probably will not be the only food containing salt throughout the day, so it will be difficult to limit your sodium intake when eating club crackers multiple times a day.
Excessive consumption of sodium can cause heart muscle enlargement and heart failure, as well as increase the risk of kidney stones, high blood pressure, stomach cancer, and sometimes even a stroke.
Vitamins and Minerals
If you are looking to add some essential vitamins and minerals to your nutrition, the club crackers are definitely not a snack for you. These crackers contain neither vitamins nor minerals that are necessary for normal functions of your body.
This is a piece of important information, as your body requires a continuous supply of vitamins and minerals to make metabolism function properly and increase the body’s immunity. Vitamins are also essential for the growth and development of your body cells, and due to a lack of any of them in club crackers, it is best to eat them in moderation or avoid them altogether.
Harmful Effects That Club Crackers Can Bring
Eating foods that are rich in fat and salt is not good for health, and club crackers have plenty of these ingredients. Suffice it to say, they are not healthy and can be highly damaging to your body. Here are the harmful effects that this snack can bring.
Weight Gain
Due to their high fat and salt content without any vitamins and minerals, club crackers can lead to obesity if consumed excessively. A cup of this snack contains around 260 calories and plenty of fat, and eating them every day multiple times will certainly lead to weight gain.
High Blood Pressure
Club crackers are rich in sodium, and as such, they can be extremely harmful to your heart health and can lead to increased blood pressure. Excessive consumption can also lead to health complications such as hypertension and a wide variety of cardiovascular problems.
Club Crackers Can Worsen the Condition of People With Diabetes
This snack contains a lot of calories and can worsen the condition of anyone that is diagnosed with diabetes. Anyone with this diagnosis should avoid such snacks altogether and opt for some healthier option that contains essential nutrients.
Final Words
The bottom line is that club crackers are a snack that everyone should avoid, or at least eat in moderation, as it does not contain enough essential nutrients but do contain plenty of calories, fats, and sodium, which can all be harmful if consumed excessively.
Moreover, eating too much of this snack can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, and a series of cardiovascular problems. It would be best to avoid them altogether, but if you cannot resist, at least try to eat in smaller amounts.
Steve is a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience and he holds a Master’s in Sports Science. Prior to Boston Rock Gym, Steve worked for two years as a personal trainer.