Welcome to the Ask a Nutritionist podcast, brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness.

We are thrilled to have you join us today as we discuss the connection between what you eat and how you feel,

and share practical real-life solutions for healthier living through balanced nutrition.

Now let's get started.

Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's new midweek

segment called Ask a Nutritionist. My name is Teresa Wagner. I'm a registered and licensed

dietitian for nutritional weight and wellness. And on today's show, I will be answering

a couple of questions we have received from our Dishing Up Nutrition

listeners. The question we are going to cover today is a question we get pretty often

because this food for so long has been touted as a great snack for people who are looking to lose weight.

The question is, it has been mentioned that we should avoid popcorn.

Does this apply to Air Popcorn?

And if so, why?

And the answer to this question is yes. It does apply to Air Pop popcorn as well.

So the answer to the why is, well, let's just get started with, well, what is popcorn? Popcorn is from corn, which is a carbohydrate. And when we eat carbohydrates, the carbohydrates digest down into sugar, as all carbohydrates do. So it doesn't

make it a bad food. It just means it's a food that contains higher

amounts of sugar, which can increase our blood sugar. If we eat a small portion, say around two

cups of the pop popcorn and balance that out with some protein and some fat, it's probably okay

to eat. But that's not how it's typically eaten. Most of us,

we prefer a big bowl of it, likely while sitting in front of a screen. You know, eating too much

of any carbohydrate will spike our blood sugar, which over time can lead to weight gain or chronic diseases. And when I'm thinking

about the digestion of popcorn, I like to think about it like this. Imagine putting a kernel of

...