There are hundreds of snacks available today to help satiate your snacking desires.
Anything from salty and spicy potato chips like Flamin hot Cheetos or Takis chips to sweet treats like biscuits and chocolates.
There are spicy snacks, sweet snacks, and so much more, meaning you are spoiled for choice when it comes to snacking.
Of course, with snacking comes to the question of whether the food you are consuming is healthy.
You may not always choose the healthiest snack option, but you would like to stick to something that isn’t solely made of harmful preservatives.
The latest addition to the world of snacking is Takis, a favorite among spicy foods lovers.
The question we aim to answer is, are Takis bad for you?
Why are Takis bad for your stomach?
What Are Takis?
You may be wondering what Takis are and why we are so interested in whether or not they are healthy.
Takis differ from other chip snacks because they are tortilla chips made from corn rather than potatoes.
The curiosity behind their healthiness is due to how easy it is for most people to eat more than one bag of these chips in one sitting.
As such, it is important to know if Takis can be included in a well-balanced diet, if they can be eaten in moderation or if they should be avoided altogether.
The Takis snack chips come in various flavors such as crunchy fajitas, Fuego, blue heat, and nitro.
Far more variety than your standard Frito lay Flamin hot Cheetos.
Nevertheless, Taki chips are spicy regardless of the flavor, and the most commonly found flavor is Takis Fuego.
Takis Fuego is sold in a small bag with a distinctly purple color, and people consume them more than the other options.
Of course, whether you buy potato chips or corn chips, the fact remains that they are processed foods and may contain ingredients that can lead to health problems if eaten excessively, especially if they are unhealthy, to begin with.
That is not to say Takis are bad or other chips like Flamin hot are bad, simply that they need to be eaten in moderation.
What Ingredients Are Used In Takis?
You can tell a lot about food through the ingredients used to make it, allowing you to answer questions like if eating Takis is bad for your health.
Suppose the ingredients used in food are of poor quality or against the rules set out by the FDA, then you know to avoid adding such food to your diet.
However, you can rest assured that Takis ingredients fully comply with the drug administration regulations and rules for food.
Which makes it a little harder to judge Takis simply on the basis of ingredients.
Nothing they use is against the rules set out by the higher authority, and so the focus for such food is on the amount of each ingredient used rather than the ingredient itself.
The long-term side effects of adding foods to your diet that contain high levels of ingredients such as sodium or saturated fat can be harmful to your health.
Takis chips contain corn flour, seasonings such as monosodium glutamate (MSG), salt (sodium), saturated fats, sugar, artificial flavor, vegetable oil, and artificial coloring.
When looking at these ingredients, it can be easy to think that Takis can’t be that bad; they contain ingredients that are common in a large variety of foods.
It is not these ingredients that are troublesome rather the quantities used in a single serving of spicy Takis.
The combination of the artificial flavors, sodium, and msg content adds to the addictive quality of Takis.
You may find that people eat more than a singular bag of Takis chips at one time.
This, of course, is not good for your health because moderation is essential when it comes to eating chips and other snack foods.
Ingredient Quantities
In one bag of Takis, the equivalent of one serving size (28 grams), you can find large amounts of sodium, fats, and calories.
A bag of Takis has over twelve hundred milligrams of sodium, which is approximately 16% of your recommended salt intake.
The saturated fat content is 8 grams of fat for a single bag of Takis, 16 grams of carbohydrates, and a total of 140 calories.
While the packaging does state that Takis chips contain calcium and iron, but of which are essential for good health, the amounts are so small that their value is insignificant compared to the other ingredients used in this snack.
Most adults and kids are more likely to eat multiple bags, which then increases the intake of sodium, fat, sugar, and calories.
How Are Spicy Foods Harmful?
Takis are a spicy chip; the seasonings used to provide this spice and can make your stomach hurt.
It is not unheard of to complain of stomach pain after binging on Takis.
This pain is due to stomach irritation which occurs due to an increase in acid production after eating Takis, an after effect from the spices on the chip.
It is the spices on the Takis chip which cause stomach issues such as indigestion and constipation.
Research shows that Takis can lead to stomach cancer. It is not just the spice that can cause cancer, but also the use of artificial colors that make Takis red.
Saturated Fat and Its Affect On Your Health
Fat in foods is not always bad because fat comes in the form of good and bad fat. Unfortunately, for those that eat Takis regularly, this chip brand is packed full of harmful fats.
These fats accumulate in your blood and can cause high cholesterol.
Excessive cholesterol is one of the main causes of heart disease and the reason why high-fat diets are not recommended—another reason not to eat Takis on a regular basis.
The Downsides of Eating Takis: High Sodium and MSG
As we previously established, the amount of sodium in a single packet of Takis is 16% of your daily salt intake.
Combining this sodium content with other foods eaten throughout the day, this sodium intake becomes a big area of concern.
Additionally, while MSG is not, in fact, bad, high levels of MSG become a problem.
Eating large quantities of sodium can result in high blood pressure.
Continuously high blood pressure puts strain on your cardiovascular system and is a cause of heart disease.
Hence, why Takis are harmful as such a level of salt in your diet is incredibly stressful for your blood pressure and your heart.
The MSG in Takis is great for flavor and perfect for keeping you wanting more. However, like everything, MSG is not without its side effects which are numerous.
MSG can cause numerous issues such as dehydration, headaches, kidney failure, and diabetes.
These side effects are enough for you to reconsider how often you eat Takis and whether you should keep them as a part of your diet.
Calories and Carbohydrates
You can not function in life without carbohydrates and calories, and they are vital for energy and for your survival.
Everything we eat has carbohydrates and calories, but the difference lies in their quality.
Certain carbohydrates and calories are empty and do nothing but raise your sugar levels for a short period and leave you feeling unfulfilled.
Takis may contain both calories and carbohydrates, but they are extremely processed and unhealthy. They do nothing to contribute to a healthy diet.
They are more likely to result in cholesterol problems as well as diabetes.
Preservatives
Consider this, if a product has a shelf life that extends well into years, how good could it possibly be good for your health.
The more research that is done into preservatives and their effects, the more we learn how harmful they are for us.
Preservatives can be strong enough to cause DNA damage and form tumors, and as it turns out, Takis are packed full of these carcinogens.
What To Eat Instead?
It can be hard to give up snacking, and you don’t have to; simply reconsider what you are eating. If Takis is something you can not go without opting for a homemade version.
You can easily make corn tortillas at home with your choice of flavorings and dips, a much better option than the store-bought alternative.
Conclusion
It is safe to say that the answer to the question, are Takis bad, is a resounding yes, sorry to all the Takis lovers.
They are packed full of sodium, fats, sugars, and calories.
While there is no harm in having them as a guilty pleasure once in a while, eating them on a regular should definitely be avoided. Takis should in no way become part of your regular diet.