Let’s Call Superbowl Sunday National Pig-Out Day!

Americans will chow down on a whopping 30 million pounds of snacks while they’re watching the Super Bowl next Sunday, according to the Calorie Control Council.

And guess what? Surprise, surprise, most of what we nosh on are quickie carbs:

  • 11.3 million pounds of potato chips
  • 8.5 million pounds of tortilla chips
  • 4.1 million pounds of pretzels
  • 3.8 million pounds of popcorn

Yikes!

Gee, it’s great to have these figures so we can try to steel ourselves from temptation, right?

Isn’t that benevolent of the Calorie Control Council to alert us to the astounding amount of junk we eat at Super Bowl parties? They even make a couple of good suggestions on healthier fare that hosts can serve, like a vegetable and fruit spread. But their advice doesn’t go far enough. 

Why? Because, despite their seemingly benign name, the Calorie Control Council isn’t an impartial health organization just concerned about our well-being.

That’s right. Tthe Calorie Control Council is a trade group that represents 60 food and beverage makers.

What’s more, the study that come up with that interesting info was co-sponsored by the seemingly innocently named Snack Food Association.

And, sure enough, their supposedly healthy recommendations include low-fat or no-fat potato chips (that’s healthy?), along with various condiments and nonfat yogurt dip, which is often loaded with sugar and who knows what other chemicals?

Why not just ditch the low-caliber carbs altogether and enjoy tasty treats like fresh apple slices covered with almond butter, some unsalted nuts and some unsalted soy chips (if you have to have processed foods) unencumbered by sugary dips?

Thanks to Nubella News for the heads-up on this story and to Jennifer Moore for helping on this entry.