New chips offer a surge of caffeine
If those daily 3 p.m. Doritos and Diet Dr. Pepper pick-me-ups stop doing the trick, there's a new caffeine-infused snack chip on the market.
And if industry experts are correct, the trend toward jacked-up junk food is just beginning.
(Jean Lachat/Sun-Times)
They're called Engobi, short for Energy Go Bites, and these feather-weight chips are starting to hit area convenience stores and supermarkets.
In two flavors, "Cinnamon Surge" or "Lemon Lift," these sweet little babies taste light, almost like a softer, lighter not-so-salty pork rind.
That may have something to do with the chipmaker, Ohio-based Rudolph Foods whose Web site proclaims it to be "the largest supplier of Pork Rind products in the world."
Each 1.5-ounce bag contains 140 milligrams of caffeine; that's more than those energy drinks on the shelves, the company brags.
A local nutritionist says "that is quite a buzz," considering a 4- to 6-ounce cup of coffee has anywhere from 90 to 100 milligrams of caffeine.
For most people, moderate doses of caffeine -- 200 to 300 milligrams -- or about two to three cups of brewed coffee a day -- aren't harmful, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Susie Rockway, director of clinical nutrition at Rush University Medical Center, wants to be clear about these snack chips: "It's not a healthy product and they're adding a drug to it."
The drug being caffeine. "Look, I love caffeine, but I want to drink it," she said, noting that it's natural occurring in beverages like tea and coffee.
But when you start adding it to products, then there is a concern that already unhealthy people -- particularly with 60 percent of Americans overweight, something that often leads to hypertension -- may be getting a jolt of caffeine they don't need.
Rockway suggests having some protein, like a nice slice of cheese, as a midday snack. That will keep you going until you have a nice healthy dinner.
Curious about an unusual edible or kitchen tool? Want to share some mysteries in your own cabinets? E-mail the Food Detective at ldonovan@suntimes.com.