Most experts said that popcorn is actually healthy for you, Time informed.
"Whole grain corn, per se, is a high-fiber, low-calorie, fairly nutritious snack-and that's what you get with air-popped popcorn," Director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center Dr. David Katz said. As a matter of fact, two cups of plain popcorn have 2.3 grams of fiber and just 62 calories.
"Without the added butter and high-fat seasoning, the food is quite a healthy snack," Gregory J. Privitera, associate professor of psychology at St. Bonaventure University in New York, agreed.
One research even showed that popcorn is more satisfying than potato chips conceivably because of its irregular shape and high volume add in more air into it.
"I would give a thumbs up to popcorn, especially to replace other salty snacks that are highly refined and high in calorie density while low in nutrient density," Kathleen Melanson, one of the study's authors and associate professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Rhode Island, said.
However, another study revealed that microwave popcorn emit fine and ultrafine particles which may come with health hazards.
"Our research shows when people microwave popcorn, there are significant amount of ultrafine particles produced," Yifang Zhu, associate professor of the environmental health sciences department in UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, said.
In a study last year, ultrafine particle emissions were up to 560 times greater than the emissions from microwaving just water after three minutes of cooking microwave popcorn bags. The emission rates were utmost for movie-theater-butter-flavored popcorn and nethermost for the fat-free kind. "One certainly doesn't want to breathe the emissions from microwaved popcorn," Yifang said.
Other studies have claimed that people are exposed to ultrafine particles as indoor air pollutants from several everyday sources such as electric mixers, hair dryers, candles and toaster. The United States Environmental Protection Agency is currently scrutinizing ultrafine particles and giving grants to research centers to figure out whether they cause health problems.
Meanwhile, Manager of Wellness Nutrition Services at Cleveland Clinic's Wellness Institute Kristin Kirkpatrick said that the best technique to feel good about your popcorn habit is pop the kernels yourself. She, who is also a registered dietician, said that popcorn prepped on the stove with olive oil or air-popped is so much healthier and even yummier than popcorn from package.
