SkinnyPop is a popcorn brand that's marketed as low-calorie and healthy. The company claims it's "made for snacking," and made with "simple ingredients."
But is SkinnyPop actually healthy? What's in it other than corn? Does it contain any unhealthy additives? And how does the healthiness of SkinnyPop compare to traditional popcorn brands and other "healthy" popcorn brands like Popcorners?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in SkinnyPop to give our take on whether or not it's healthy.
We'll give our pick for the healthiest SkinnyPop flavor, and compare the healthiness of SkinnyPop to other popular popcorn brands.
Key takeaways:
- Healthier than mainstream popcorn brands
- Contains two ingredients we think could be improved
- We do not consider SkinnyPop to be healthy
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in SkinnyPop Original Popcorn are shown below:
This is a simple ingredient list which is generally a plus from a health perspective.
Popcorn is the most important ingredient, and is actually healthy.
It's rich in a class of antioxidants called phenolic acids, according to a medical review published in the Antioxidants journal.
Salt is an important electrolyte, but we consider sea salt to be healthier than the table salt in SkinnyPop.
Sea salt is clinically shown to have more favorable effects on blood pressure than regular table salt, as we documented in our article on is Celtic sea salt good for you.
Sunflower oil is a type of seed oil, and evidence on its health effects is mixed based on research reviews we analyzed.
We generally prefer extra virgin olive oil as a cooking oil, and it was shown in a 2004 clinical trial to cause less DNA damage than sunflower oil after consumption.
Overall, we don't consider SkinnyPop to be healthy, but we don't consider it to be unhealthy either. We see it as an average snack from a nutritional perspective.
If the brand replaced salt with sea salt, and sunflower oil with extra virgin olive oil, we would consider it to be healthy.
What's the Healthiest Flavor?
The ingredients in the White Cheddar flavor of SkinnyPop are shown below:
Natural flavor is included twice in this ingredient list.
We're disappointed to see that "natural non-dairy cheddar flavor" is included rather than actual cheddar cheese.
Natural flavor is a broad, categorical description which may include compounds such as solvents and preservatives (source).
The ingredients in SkinnyPop Organic Popcorn are shown below:
This is an improvement to the Original Popcorn ingredients list from a health perspective.
Sea salt is included instead of table sale, and we explained in the Ingredient Analysis section why we consider this to be a favorable change.
We consider organic versions of ingredients to be healthier due to potentially improved nutrient density and lower toxic load, as we discussed in our is angel food cake healthy article.
We consider SkinnyPop Organic Popcorn to be the healthiest product sold by the brand.
SkinnyPop vs. Other Popcorn Brands
Here's how the healthiness of SkinnyPop stacks up against other popular popcorn brands in our opinion:
Smartfood
Arguably the most popular popcorn brand on the market, Smartfood White Cheddar contains vegetable oil (which is clinically shown to be harmful to cardiovascular health when heated).
Also contains natural flavors.
Winner: SkinnyPop
Popcorners
The White Cheddar flavor contains citric acid, which makes it less healthy than SkinnyPop white cheddar, for reasons outlined in our are Popcorners good for you article.
Their healthiest flavor is less healthy than SkinnyPop because it has a similar ingredient list but is not organic.
Winner: SkinnyPop
Double Good
Some flavors contain dietary phosphates and artificial food coloring, making this the worst option of the three from a nutritional perspective (by far).
Winner: SkinnyPop
