By Jayne Hurley & Bonnie Liebman

opcorn’s reputation has had a rough ride in recent years.

How Many Cups? Its image as a healthy, low-calorie, high-fiber snack shat- bers, we won’t tell…but tered in 1994, when we revealed that most movie theaters your bathroom scale may. Our Best Bites have no P more than one gram of pop their corn in heavily saturated coconut oil. STEP 1. Look for “94% saturated fat, 200 mil- Suddenly, the healthy snack packed 400 calories and a day’s fat-free” or “light.” You ligrams of sodium, and worth of saturated fat. And that was only if you got a small with can quickly narrow down four grams (one teaspoon) no butter (see “Movie Madness,” p. 14). A large with butter your search for a good of sugar per serving. microwave by (Honorable Mentions meant 1,600 calories and nearly four days’ worth of sat fat. Even starting out with brands have the same sat fat and fettuccine Alfredo comes with just a two-day supply. that are labeled “light” sugar limits, but can have Fortunately, the popcorn you buy in the supermarket hasn’t (which means they have up to 300 mg of sodium.) half as much fat or a third been anywhere near a coconut. Most companies pop in soybean The trick is that our serv- fewer calories than their ings don’t always match oil (even if the label says “made with real butter”). And freshly “regular” versions), “94% what you’ll see listed on microwaved popcorn has fewer calories because it has more air fat-free,” or “low-fat.” the packages’ Nutrition and less oil than the stuff you pay too much for at the movies. That’s the only way to help Facts labels. keep a five-cup serving But finding a healthy supermarket popcorn is no slam-dunk. The servings on micro- from pushing the sat fat wave popcorn boxes are Many companies use partially hydrogenated oils that supply above one gram. anywhere from three to too much (hidden) trans fat; others use too much salt. And, If a one-gram limit seems eight cups. We used a when you’re looking at a “light” or “94% fat free” microwave harsh, remember that most five-cup serving because companies use partially that’s about what Orville popcorn package, it’s next to impossible to figure out how much hydrogenated oil. So that Redenbacher’s puts in its sat fat you’re eating. That’s because most labels list (often in a one gram may underesti- single serve “mini bags.” tiny footnote) sodium, sat fat, etc., for one cup popped. But the mate the artery-clogging Sounds like a lot? It’s (saturated-plus-trans fat) amount of sat fat in a single cup of popcorn is often less than half roughly a “kid”-size bag at total. But if the popcorn a movie theater. a gram, which manufacturers can round down and list as “0” has only one gram of satu- For the already-popped grams on the label. So when you multiply those “0” grams of sat rated fat, odds are it does- corn you buy in bags, we fat by four, five, or more (depending on how many cups you n’t have more than a gram stuck with a three-cup of trans. That’s manage- eat), you—but not your arteries—still get zero. serving, which is close to able. what most labels say. It That’s where our popcorn guide comes in handy. In contrast, five cups of a makes sense to use a full-fat popcorn have three smaller serving for bagged to five grams of sat fat, and popcorn because it’s more the partially hydrogenated compact than the hot oil could add a few grams popcorn you pour out of a of trans. Newman’s Own freshly microwaved bag. Organics Butter Pop’s Corn We used an even has six grams of sat fat, smaller serving (one cup) thanks to its palm oil. for pre-popped caramel, That’s not exactly movie- kettle, and candy-coated theater-popcorn-bad, but popcorn. All that sugar why waste almost a third and, in some cases, fat of a day’s damaging fat on and nuts should slow a food that tastes great down the average snacker. with far less? If you eat more than our Partially hydrogenated 1 Nick Waring. serving sizes and don’t Count your cups. This label says that each bag makes 12 /2 cups, but we end- oil is less of a problem in multiply the sodium, ed up with only 10 from each of the three bags we popped. Other brands also

Photos: calories, and other num- vary. The only way to know what you’re getting: Count how many cups you ›››› eat and multiply by the numbers for “1 cup popped” that are on the label.

NUTRITION ACTION HEALTHLETTER ■ MARCH 2003 13 BRAND-NAME RATING

already-popped brands. But cheese is. Three cups of Cheez- It White Cheddar, for example, have four grams of sat fat (and 270 calories). What to do? Look for “Lite” on the bag. That should keep the sat fat to one gram or less. But don’t look for “Air Popped.” Brands like Cape Cod make that appealing claim, but most have no less fat than any other full-fat popcorn. Apparently, the corn is air popped before being coated with oil and cheese.

STEP 2. Look for less sodium. Once you’ve got a lower- fat brand, check the sodium. Luckily, only a few lower-fat popcorns have too much for a Best Bite or Honorable Mention. That’s because popcorn tastes just fine unsalted

or lightly salted. More salt than butter. As with other “made with” claims, “made with A few examples: For a rich movie-theater-like buttery real butter” means “made with very little butter.” So you don’t have to taste, give Jolly Time Butter-Licious Light or Orville Reden- give them the cold shoulder. Just keep in mind that some butter-boasting bacher’s Light Movie Theater Butter a try. If you like your brands (like Newman’s Own Butter Boom, Jolly Time Blast O Butter, and seasoning a bit more subtle, pick up some Jolly Time Act II Butter Lover’s) are heavy on the salt.

Healthy Pop, Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop, or Pop-Secret Movie Madness 94% Fat Free or Light. And if you like the taste of plain, unadorned air-popped corn, try Bearitos or Healthy Why is movie theater popcorn so much worse than the Choice...or save some money and get yourself a cheap air supermarket variety? Because it’s usually popped in popper. highly saturated coconut oil, and because the servings So many great-tasting popcorns make you wonder why are on steroids. The seven cups in a buttered small, for some companies still feel like they have to pour on the salt. 1 example, have 600 calories and 1 /2 days’ worth of satu- Among the microwaves, Jolly Time Blast O Butter, Cheez-It rated fat. A large (20 cups) with butter has 1,600 calo- White Cheddar, Tabasco, and Act II Butter Lover’s all hit at ries and nearly four days’ sat fat. least 400 mg of sodium, while Newman’s Own Butter Boom tips the scales at 900 mg. Clearly, the “blast” and “boom” are Some theaters pop in partially hydrogenated veg- more salt than butter. etable oil, which is better for your heart, and a few use On the already-popped shelf head for Bachman Lite, non-hydrogenated oil, which is best (though none are Bearitos Lite, Boston’s Lite, and Good Health Half Naked. good for your waistline). You’ll get less than 200 mg of sodium in a (three-cup) serving. (Warning: You’ll have a hard time stopping after just three X AMC, Edwards, Hoyts, Regal, United Artists (coconut oil) cups of Bearitos Lite or Boston’s Lite.) That’s a big savings over the 500+ mg you could get from a brand like Pizza Hut R Carmike, CineMark, Cineplex Odeon, Loews, Cheese, Tabasco, or White Cheddar. Multiplex, Muvico, Showcase Don’t those companies know that one out of every four (partially hydrogenated canola oil) adults has high blood pressure? Haven’t they heard that every major health authority has urged Americans to cut back PG Century, GKC (non-hydrogenated canola or sunflower oil) on salt? Hello-o-o? STEP 3. Skip the popcorn candy. You can dodge the sat G Your Theater (assuming you can sneak some in) (air-popped) fat and sodium in ordinary popcorn by switching to a sweet- ened popcorn like Crunch ‘n Munch Kettle Corn or EatSmart Movie Theater Kettle Pops. But don’t pat yourself on the back. They (and Popcorn most pre-popped kettle corns) have 14 grams (about four tea- (popped in coconut oil) spoons) of empty-calorie sugar in every cup. (Microwave ket- Calories Total(grams) Fat Saturated(grams) Fat Kid’s (5 cups) 300 20 14 tle corns are sweetened with the synthetic-but-safe sugar sub- stitute sucralose. That cuts the calories by two-thirds.) with Butter 470 37 22 The sugar in kettle corns may give them more calories (per Small (7 cups) 400 27 19 cup) than regular popcorn, but the calories in candy-coated with Butter 630 50 29 popcorns are off the charts. Once there were just Cracker Medium (11 cups) 650 43 31 Jacks (caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts). Now we’ve with Butter 910 71 41 got Orville’s Gourmet Butter Toffee Popcorn Clusters, Popz Medium (16 cups) 900 60 43 White Fudge or Milk Chocolate Covered Caramel Popcorn, with Butter 1,220 97 56 and Butterfinger Popcorn. Cup for cup, they’ve got at least five times the calories of ordinary popcorn. Large (20 cups) 1,160 77 55 with Butter 1,640 126 73 The information for this article was compiled by Sarah Wade. Nick Waring. Photo:

14 NUTRITION ACTION HEALTHLETTER ■ MARCH 2003 The Pop Chart

Sodium A serving of our Best Bites has no more than Calories Total(grams) Fat Sat Fat(grams) (milligrams) Newman’s Own Organics Pop’s Corn one gram of saturated fat, 200 milligrams Light Butter 200 6 4 190 of sodium, and 4 grams (1 teaspoon) of Jolly Time Butter-Licious 180 13 4 200 sugar. Honorable Mentions have the same Tabasco or Cheez-It White Cheddar2 230 15 4 450 sat fat and sugar limits, but can have up to Orville Redenbacher’s Sweet ‘n Buttery 230 18 5 150 300 mg of sodium. Within each category, pop- Act II Classic White or Sweet Corn on the Cob2 230 18 5 310 corns are listed from best to worst—from least to most sat- Act II Kettle Corn 200 15 5 330 urated fat, then sodium (or sugar), then calories. Act II Extreme Butter 250 20 5 330 Jolly Time KettleMania 250 18 5 380 Jolly Time Blast O Butter 230 15 5 430 (5 cups) Sat Fat Sodium(milligrams) Microwave Calories Total(grams) Fat (grams) Newman’s Own Organics Pop’s Corn Butter 230 13 6 270 ✔✔ Bearitos No Salt No Oil 110 2 0 0 ✔✔ American’s Best 94% Fat Free Butter 100 2 0 50 Pre-Popped (3 cups) ✔✔ ✔✔ Jolly Time Healthy Pop 94% Fat Free Butter 100 2 0 50 Air-popped, plain 90 1 0 0 ✔✔ ✔✔ Bearitos No Oil Added 110 2 0 90 Bachman Lite 70 1 0 70 ✔✔ ✔✔ Healthy Choice1 80 2 0 120 Boston’s Lite 110 5 0 70 ✔✔ ✔✔ Jolly Time Crispy ‘n White Light 130 5 0 130 Good Health Half Naked 100 3 0 120 ✔✔ 1 ✔✔ Act II 94% Fat Free Butter 90 2 0 150 Bearitos Lite 120 5 0 160 ✔✔ Orville Redenbacher’s Smart Pop 94% Fat Free1 90 1 0 160 Boston’s White Cheddar 150 7 2 200 ✔✔ Pop-Secret 94% Fat Free Butter 90 2 0 190 Smartfood White Cheddar Reduced Fat 140 6 2 280 ✔ Guiltless Gourmet 94% Fat Free Lightly Salted 100 2* 0 280 Bearitos White Cheddar 220 14 2 300 1 Newman’s Own 94% Fat Free Butter 160 2 0 360 Guiltless Gourmet 230 13 2 360 Jolly Time Healthy Pop 94% Fat Free Cape Cod White Cheddar Cheese 220 15 3 350 Kettle Corn 130 2 0 430 Tabasco or Pizza Hut Cheese2 260 20 3 520 ✔✔ Newman’s Own Organics Pop’s Corn 94% Smartfood White Cheddar 270 17 3 550 Fat Free Unsalted 170 2 1 40 Cheez-It White Cheddar 270 20 4 450 ✔✔ Jolly Time Butter-Licious Light 150 4 1 130 ✔✔ Newman’s Own Light Butter 160 4 1 130 Pre-Popped Caramel, Kettle, ✔✔ Orville Redenbacher’s Light1 110 4 1 180

(1 cup) Calories (grams) Sat Fat Sugar(grams) ✔ Pop-Secret Light Butter 100 4 1 240 or Candy Coated Total Fat (grams) Crunch ‘n Munch Kettle Corn 90 0 0 13 ✔ Act II Light Butter 130 4 1 290 Sweet Organics Kettle Corn1,3 120 2 0 14 Jolly Time Blast O Butter Light 150 4 1 380 Sweet Organics Caramel Corn 110 1 0 15 Act II Light Natural 120 5 2 100 Crunch ‘n Munch French Vanilla 120 0 0 18 Act II Butter or Old Fashioned Natural2 190 11 2 150 Crunch ‘n Munch Fat Free Toffee 150 0 0 20 Guiltless Gourmet Butter 180 10 2* 230 EatSmart Kettle Pops1 170 2 0 21 Orville Redenbacher’s Butter or Natural2 160 10 2 270 Rice Krispies Popcorn Krunch 200 1 0 26 Butter (stove top) 230 12 2 380 Fiddle Faddle1,3 190 4 1 20 Orville Redenbacher’s Corn on the Cob 180 13 3 130 240 4 1 30 Pop-Secret HomeStyle 180 13 3 130 Cracker Jack Butter Toffee Clusters 190 5 2 16 Orville Redenbacher’s Kettle Korn 200 13 3 130 Orville’s Gourmet Popcorn Clusters1 170 4 2 19 Orville Redenbacher’s HomeStyle 180 10 3 150 Crunch ‘n Munch Buttery Toffee 230 9 2 20 Orville Redenbacher’s Honey Butter 180 13 3 150 Butterfinger Popcorn3 260 4 2 26 Pop-Secret Kettle Corn 180 13 3 150 Crunch ‘n Munch Almond Supreme 280 10 2 28 Act II Buttery Kettle Corn 200 15 3 150 Crunch ‘n Munch Caramel 240 11 4 17 Orville Redenbacher’s Ultimate Butter 150 13 3 200 Poppycock1 300 14 4 25 Pop-Secret Jumbo Pop1 200 13 3 260 Popz Covered Caramel Popcorn1 360 15 8 43 Newman’s Own Butter or Natural2 240 16 3 260 Act II Movie Theatre Butter 180 13 3 280 ✔✔ Best Bite. ✔ Honorable Mention. 1Average of the entire line. Pop-Secret Movie-Theater Butter 200 15 3 280 2Average of the varieties listed. 3Contains more than 300 mg of sodium. Orville Redenbacher’s Movie Theater Butter1 180 11 3 290 *Nutrition Action estimate. Orville Redenbacher’s Pour Over, regular1 210 15 3 320 Daily Values (limits for a 2,000-calorie diet): Total Fat: 65 grams. Saturated Fat: 20 grams. Sodium: 2,400 milligrams. 2 Pop-Secret Butter or Extra Butter 190 14 3 330 Source: Manufacturers. Act II Butter Lover’s 200 15 3 400 The use of information from this article for commercial purposes is strictly Newman’s Own Butter Boom 240 16 3 900 prohibited without written permission from CSPI.

NUTRITION ACTION HEALTHLETTER ■ MARCH 2003 15