Let's Hear it for Pork Rinds, the 'healthy' junk food now!

[jenna...]

I like mine sprinkled with Franks Hot Sauce... yummm... and that's my opinion.

[24Fan]

Did anyone see the Top Chef episode where one of the chef's made Fried Pork Rinds for a salad? LOL I loved it!

I've never had fresh ones but mmmm would love to try them. No Mexican markets up here that I'm aware of.

My fave way to eat them is plain as a vessel for dips or salsa.

[SashimiMark]

Okay, you guys are making me crave pork rind nachos. Yummo!

[DiamondDeb]

I don't eat pork rinds. The ones I tried years ago were all fat, no protein. Tons of sodium.

[DiamondDeb]

Originally Posted by MountainGirl

I believe it's beneficial to encourage people to read labels and not everyone may think of it.

We are here to help one another.

I'll say it again, some of these pork rinds are full of chemicals and highly processed and thus not healthy for any diet, LC or not.

And that is my opinion.

My opinion, too. I think there are more pork rind products that will fit in the "unhealthy" category than the "healthy" one.

Junk food is junk food regardless of whether it is high carb or low carb.

[MountainGirl]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

My opinion, too. I think there are more pork rind products that will fit in the "unhealthy" category than the "healthy" one.

Junk food is junk food regardless of whether it is high carb or low carb.

Well said. That's what I've been trying to get across.

[Lyonnesse]

well I wish I could eat Pork Rinds but for some reason they make me stall...i love them with Chicken salad, instead of a cracker I put it on pork rinds...my favorite meal but..I never lose on the days I eat them. Love the BBQ ones too...

Vicki

[luckylychee]

For those who are having a hard time finding pork rinds, try to hit up a chinese grocery store. Ask them for fried pork skin, that's where I've been seeing them. They're also plain, no salt, no flavor, so you can do whatever you like with them!

[lowcarb0rbustmypants]

As with any food, pork rinds are a YMMV type thing. When you look at the ingredients on some you will understand why some people wrinkle their nose and why others can't seem to lose weight. As a whole type food, where it's just pig skin fried and lightly salted this is no different than eating bacon or a pork chop. It's parts of a pig. Just as I eat the skin off the chicken when I buy a rotisserie chicken, I eat the skin of a pig. It is all about reading labels and trying to make the healthiest choice possible. For some it's not something they can stomach, agree on it being a healthy choice, or it may cause a stall, but for others it's their "healthier and low carb" potato chip. It's all about choices and opinions and like it's been said many times before.

[fawn]

In the interest of anyone who may suffer heart disease once fried, they are a trans fat.

As with anything deep fried, it is wise to eat these less frequently than more often for your good heart health.

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

My opinion, too. I think there are more pork rind products that will fit in the "unhealthy" category than the "healthy" one.

Junk food is junk food regardless of whether it is high carb or low carb.

[lisabinil]

Originally Posted by fawn

In the interest of anyone who may suffer heart disease once fried, they are a trans fat.

As with anything deep fried, it is wise to eat these less frequently than more often for your good heart health.

Lc or high carb-a transfat is a transfat. Good reminder Fawn!

[lowcarb0rbustmypants]

Moutain Girl: I honestly was not posting what I said towards anyone. I won't apologize for saying it because it was honestly an expression geared toward settling the fact that everyone has the right to their opinion (right or wrong in my own opinionated eyes). I was drawn over and over to this post simple because you kept posting that this was your opinion based on information you had read and others did the same. For some very odd reason you posted that people were chastising you for having an opinion when I for one had seen it as everyone posting their experiences and thoughts. Not in one post did I find anyone chastising you or being ugly towards you. Yet you continued over and over to point out this was your opinion and others didn't have to read it and so on and so forth. You stated

Originally Posted by MountainGirl

You know, it never ceases to amaze me that opinions are welcome as long as they agree with what's posted.

Opinions to the contrary are not.

There are some wonderful, loving, caring people here who can have a discussion about differences in views and there are those who get their backs up, get defensive whenever someone DARES to post their own opinion that challenges the mass thought.

I am entitled to my opinion as much as any of you. I'm sorry if that offends any of you, but that is the bottom line.

If any of you don't like what I post, you are free to IGNORE my posts. You need not agree with me, but there is no need to make it a personal argument. My view is just as valid as anyone else's. Take it or leave it - simple!

Look at my posts, I have stated it's not about fat, but if you choose to ignore what I've said and denigrate me personally, well, that's your choice. I wonder why PORK RINDS are worth calling someone a liar and making a personal issue over a difference in opinion. That's really immature in my opinion. It's about pork rinds, not me.

I have posted some of the horrible ingredients found in some pork rinds and hopefully if ONE person reads the labels and chooses something else, my posts are worthwhile.

this. The funny thing to me is that you posted about yourself. You won't allow others to share their opinions. You have your own agenda and it won't be swayed.

My post was light hearted in point and not meant to hurt anyones feelings, but just like you going off with no reason in the above post you have taken what I have said and decided it was meant for you.

I hope the moderators read my post for the spirit in which it was intended. I can only hope that you learn that opinions are just that opinions. They are a persons beliefs rather right or wrong in another person's eyes.

[SashimiMark]

There will always be someone who complains that they can't voice their opinion without being attacked, when all it's really about is they don't like that others continue to have opinions that go against theirs when they have already quite authoritatively stated the truth as they know it, thank you very much, and how dare you not let their opinion stand as the one and only true voice of reason.

[SashimiMark]

Also, microwave pork rinds do not have trans-fats. So yet again, it depends on the maker of the product, and how it is made.

I just ordered some microwave pork rinds that for a 1 oz serving has 120 calories, 3.5g fat, 370mg of sodium, 23g of protein, and no trans-fats. Doesn't sound bad to me.

[PalmTreeGal]

Originally Posted by fawn

In the interest of anyone who may suffer heart disease once fried, they are a trans fat.

As with anything deep fried, it is wise to eat these less frequently than more often for your good heart health.

Fawn, do all foods contain trans fat after deep frying? Even with healthy fats (lard, CO)?

[fawn]

Mandy, if the oil has a high smoke point in which it does not go rancid then no, it is not a tans fat....such is the case with coconut oil and lard both. so the absolute healthiest pork rinds of all would in fact be deep fried in lard. Coconut oil would be too expensive.

basically, my answer is yes, any deep fried food you purchase out is going to be a trans fat. These are the vegetable oils that are so dangerous and cause inflammation which leads to heart disease.

[lowcarb0rbustmypants]

McDonald's USA - tfa

I have visited McDonalds, Chick-Fil-A, and Burger King. McDonalds and Chick-Fil-A are free of trans fat and Burger King is not.

I unfortunately have to disagree with you fawn. Not every deep fried food purchased out is going to be a trans fat.

There are some companies that are listening to what the general public wants in regards to their health. I'm not saying fast food is the healthiest choice available, but for some it's an unavoidable choice and they should be well informed by reading up on nutrition facts from the restaurants they frequent, just as they would read a food label on a product bought in a grocery store.

Edited to add: I also looked at the bag of pork rinds I have had sitting on my shelf unopened for about 3 months. It did have some not so great chemicals in it, ie MSG, but it was trans fat free according to the food label. Most Mexican food from what I understand is trans fat free and it is fried with lard. Chicharrones are a type of Mexican food and it stands to reason they would be fried in lard. I could be wrong, it won't be the first time.

[MountainGirl]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

My opinion, too. I think there are more pork rind products that will fit in the "unhealthy" category than the "healthy" one.

Junk food is junk food regardless of whether it is high carb or low carb.

Excellent post. It bears repeating.

[fawn]

I could be wrong, it won't be the first time

You and me both baby.....check out what I just found. It doesn't make deep fried food any healthier because you have the rancidity issue on deep frying veggie oils but I just learned something new! Even after all of my studying, referring to Know your Fats weekly this is what I located on my search

Trans Fatty Acids Are Not Formed by Heating Vegetable Oils
By Mary G. Enig, PhD

One of the frequent questions I receive in my email concerns the formation of trans fatty acids in the typical cooking process. I was quite surprised the first time I received this question, for several reasons. I knew that there were several things that were necessary for the formation of the trans fatty acids. One was a tank of hydrogen; second was a closed container, which allowed an adequate vacuum to form; third, an appropriate catalyst was needed; and last, the heat that would allow the chemical changes to occur had to be sufficiently high in conjunction with the other components.

During my many years of analyzing foods for the presence of trans fatty acids, I had found numerous examples of used frying oil that had started out without being partially hydrogenated and did not have any trans fatty acids, and there was still never any trace of trans fatty acids in the used oil unless the oil had been used for frying foods that had been prefried in a partially hydrogenated oil.

I am not sure who started the rumor that frying or even just cooking or heating polyunsaturated oils would produce trans fatty acids in those oils; but it is just that, an untrue rumor. It was likely started by one of the many internet writers hired to fill space or by someone who thought he or she knew the reason that there was trans fat in a particular product.

The idea that cooking with heat damages the oils that are highly polyunsaturated is true and the warning against cooking or frying using fragile oils such as flaxseed oil is valid, but not because trans fats are formed. What is formed under harsh circumstances such as high-temperature cooking and frying is a polymerized oil, and this is because the heat has helped to form free radicals and then various breakdown products. (Flaxseed oil that is still in the ground seed can be heated in baking and it does not become damaged.)

A number of years ago, a dietitian/nutritionist told me about her experience trying to make trans fatty acids in an open pan on top of the stove. She wanted to make a video of the process to use for teaching purposes. She was unsuccessful with this venture, and she had contacted me to ask me why her project had failed. She had not actually known how the trans were formed to begin with and assumed from what she had been told that the raising of the temperature would cause the trans to form. The project had been undertaken in one of the laboratories in a local university, and the analysis was to be done by someone in the same laboratory who knew how to use the instrument for analyzing the oil.

Certain types of trans fatty acids could probably be formed from a highly polyunsaturated oil during deep fat frying in one of the new pressure cooker fryers, but these types of trans fats would be like those formed in high pressure deodorization. They would not be the broad range of trans fats with delta-6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc. So far, none of the groups doing analysis have reported this. Very small amounts of trans fatty acids have been found in corn chip products formed by extrusion cooking. This is due to the high pressure and the presence of a type of alkaline catalyst; but those trans that are formed are reported only in trace amounts from omega-6 or omega-3 oils.

Those fats and oils that are appropriate for cooking or sautéing and will withstand fairly high temperatures are those that have been in use for thousands of years, including olive oil as well as the more stable saturated coconut and palm oils and the animal tallows. An oil such as sesame oil with its special heat-activated antioxidants can be blended with coconut oil and olive oil to form a very stable good cooking oil.

So here it is and thank you for questioning my information! I wouldn't sleep well knowing I possibly gave out false information.

Be well.

[MountainGirl]

Thank you Fawn!

Again, for those who are really reading my posts and keeping score, I said repeatedly that I was not talking about the fat issue.

[lowcarb0rbustmypants]

Interesting article fawn for sure. To be honest though, I don't believe many of the deep fried foods out there other than pork rinds are actually low carb friendly. LOL Most of them are breaded and/or potato in nature. Thanks for doing the research.

[SashimiMark]

What is it we're supposed to be keeping score on? That in your opinion, pork rinds aren't healthy? Yeah, I think we got it.

[lowcarb0rbustmypants]

No Mark. You have it wrong. The point is fat isn't the issue.

[SashimiMark]

All I know is, if I come across any deceased horses that look like they've sustained post mortem trauma, I know exactly who to blame.