Plantain chips: a low glycemic index, one small study, and a lot of energy

The strongest finding with plantain in it is about a different food. A meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in 3,996 children aged 8 to 34 months with diarrhea found that cooked green banana (Musa paradisiaca) foods nearly doubled the rate of recovery against standard care alone (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.37). Seven of those 9 trials were open label. That was boiled green fruit. Nobody in those trials ate fried chips. For the chips themselves the evidence is one glycemic index test in 30 healthy adults in Abidjan. Fried plantain dishes, chips among them, scored between 38 and 45, which is low, for traditional street chips fried in palm oil from one variety at one stage of ripeness. The same authors still suggested keeping a portion of chips to 100 g, a recommendation of their own and not of any health body. On the USDA figure, 3.5 oz (100 g) of chips is about 531 calories.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• USDA survey data put plantain chips at 531 calories, 786 mg potassium and 202 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), or about 150 calories per 1 oz bag. — USDA FNDDS generic plantain chips Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: energy 531 calories, potassium 786 mg, sodium 202 mg, fiber 3.5 g; per 28 g: 150.5 calories, 222.8 mg potassium, 57.3 mg sodium

What a real portion looks like

• Because the glycemic load of plantain street foods was high despite a low GI, the Ivorian study advised limiting plantain chips to about 100 g a portion. — 30 healthy adults; portion advice derived from measured GI and GL (n = 30) Evidence C source
  GL above 20 for tested plantain foods; suggested portion cap 100 g for chips
• USDA dietary survey data count 1 oz of plantain chips as 28 g and 10 chips as about 8 g. — US dietary recall portion weights Evidence E source
  1 oz 28 g; 10 chips 8 g; 1 cup 38 g

What your body absorbs

• In 30 healthy adults in Côte d'Ivoire, fried plantain meals, chips among them, had a glycemic index of 38 to 45, in the low range. — 30 healthy non-obese adults aged 18-40 (23 men, 7 women), standard GI protocol against 50 g glucose (n = 30) Evidence C source
  Fried plantain meals GI 38-45; charcoal-roasted plantain GI 89

What cooking and storage change

• In the same 30-adult test, frying plantain gave a far lower glycemic index than charcoal roasting (38 to 45 vs 89), which the authors tie to the fat taken up in frying. — 30 healthy adults, five plantain street foods: fried Aloco, fritters, chips, roasted plantain (n = 30) Evidence C source
  Fat content correlated with lower GI (Spearman rho -0.542, p < 0.01)
• Lab digestion tests on Puerto Rican plantain cultivars found baking gave a lower estimated glycemic impact than frying, boiling or steaming, and ripe fruit scored lower than green. — three plantain cultivars at ripeness stages 1 and 5, boiled, steamed, fried (canola, 180 C, 3 min) or baked Evidence D source
  Baking lowest estimated GI; stage 5 lower eGI than stage 1 due to lower starch

Safety, limits and interactions

• In 80,597 French women, the highest dietary acrylamide intake was linked to 40% higher premenopausal breast cancer risk. — 80,597 French women, NutriNet-Sante, mean follow-up 8.8 years (n = 80597) Evidence C source
  Premenopausal HR Q4 vs Q1 1.40 (1.04-1.88); overall HR 1.21 (1.00-1.47)
• In 61,467 Swedish women followed about 13 years, dietary acrylamide showed no link with colorectal cancer. — 61,467 women, Swedish Mammography Cohort, 823,072 person-years (n = 61467) Evidence C source
  Colorectal cancer RR 0.9 (0.7-1.3) extreme quintiles

What people believe that the data does not support

• The Ivorian GI study concluded that plantain chips may give a low blood glucose response, in contrast with an opinion widespread among Ivorians. — 30 healthy adults in Abidjan (n = 30) Evidence C source
  Low postprandial glucose response, contrary to local opinion

Who this works differently for

• A meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in 3,996 children found cooked green banana (Musa paradisiaca) foods nearly doubled the rate of diarrhea resolution versus standard care alone. — 3996 children aged 8-34 months with acute or persistent diarrhea, 9 RCTs (n = 3996) Evidence A source
  HR 1.96 (1.62-2.37) for resolution; persistent diarrhea HR 2.34, acute HR 1.74
• In 80 hospitalized infants with persistent diarrhea, a cooked green plantain diet shortened diarrhea by 18 hours versus a yogurt-based diet. — 80 children aged 1-28 months with diarrhea for 14 days or more, 1-week isocaloric diets (n = 80) Evidence B source
  Diarrhea 18 h shorter (p < 0.005); better stool output and weight gain

The bottom line

That 100 g is a lot of food. The USDA survey record puts plantain chips at 531 calories, 786 mg potassium, 202 mg sodium and 3.5 g fiber per 3.5 oz (100 g), from one generic entry, and brands differ in salt and oil. A 1 oz serving is 28 g and about 150 calories, and ten chips weigh roughly 8 g. Frying looks better than roasting on the glucose chart. In the same Ivorian test, fried plantain dishes scored 38 to 45 against 89 for plantain roasted over charcoal, and the fat content of a dish tracked a lower index (Spearman rho -0.542). The dishes also differed in variety and ripeness, and the link to fat is the authors' reading of a correlation. A laboratory digestion test on Puerto Rican cultivars pointed the other way for home cooking, with baked plantain giving the lowest estimated glycemic impact and ripe fruit scoring lower than green. That was a test tube estimate, and the fried samples were defatted before analysis. Many people in Côte d'Ivoire assume chips send blood sugar up. The GI study says the opposite for those 30 volunteers, though the authors did not survey anyone about the belief itself. The safety evidence here is about acrylamide in general and was never measured in plantain chips. In 80,597 French women followed for 8.8 years, the highest dietary acrylamide intake was linked to more premenopausal breast cancer (HR 1.40, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.88), with a borderline overall figure of 1.21 (1.00 to 1.47). In 61,467 Swedish women followed for about 13 years, acrylamide intake showed no link with colon or rectal cancer. Both are observational. We found no study on plantain chips in pregnancy, in children or alongside medicines, so the page cannot tell those readers anything either way.

Sources

1. plch-daily-r6-07 · food composition data
   Plantain chips; Energy 531 kcal per 100 g; Potassium, K 786 mg per 100 g; Sodium, Na 202 mg per 100 g; Fiber, total dietary 3.5 g per 100 g
   USDA FNDDS, Plantain chips, food code 71905410 (FDC 2709563) · checked 2026-09-30
2. plch-daily-r6-03 · glycemic index test
   Thus, the portion sizes which are currently popular must be limited to 200 g for Banane braise, 300 g for Klaclo and Aloco, and 100 g for Chips.
   Kouame CA et al., Foods, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
3. plch-daily-r6-06 · food portion data
   Plantain chips; FNDDS 71905410; 1 oz 28 g; 10 chips 8 g; 1 cup 38 g
   USDA FNDDS, Plantain chips, food code 71905410 (FDC 2709563) · checked 2026-09-30
4. plch-daily-r6-01 · glycemic index test
   The mean GIs assessed for plantain fried meals were low, ranging from 38 to 45; on the contrary, as expected from its iAUC value, Banane braisée showed the highest GI value of 89.
   Kouame CA et al., Foods, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
5. plch-daily-r6-02 · glycemic index test
   Lipid exhibited the strongest negative correlation with GI values (Spearman’s ρ = −0.542; p < 0.01), and no significant association was observed between the protein level of tested food and their GI values (Spearman’s ρ = 0.126; p > 0.01).
   Kouame CA et al., Foods, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
6. plch-daily-r6-05 · in vitro
   In terms of cooking processes and maturation stages, it is important to highlight the baking process as the first cooking alternative. It presented properties that reflect a lower glycemic impact and, therefore, constitutes a healthier option to include in the diet.
   Perez-Donado CE et al., Heliyon, 2023 · checked 2026-09-30
7. plch-daily-r6-10 · cohort
   A borderline significant positive association was observed between dietary acrylamide exposure and breast cancer risk overall (HR for quartile 4 compared with 1: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.47) and a positive association was observed with premenopausal cancer (HRQ4vs.Q1: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.88).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-30
8. plch-daily-r6-11 · cohort
   In this large prospective study, we found no evidence that dietary intake of acrylamide is associated with cancers of the colon or rectum.
   Int J Cancer, 2006 · checked 2026-09-30
9. plch-daily-r6-04 · glycemic index test
   Our results underline that meals such as Klaclo, Aloco, and particularly Chips may promote a low postprandial glucose response, in contrast with the opinion diffused among Ivorian population.
   Kouame CA et al., Foods, 2017 · checked 2026-09-30
10. plch-daily-r6-08 · meta-analysis of RCTs
    GB-based food consumption significantly increased the hazard of resolution of diarrhea compared to standard treatment (HR 1.96, 95% CI [1.62; 2.37], p < 0.01; I2 = 52%).
    Eur J Pediatr, 2024 · checked 2026-09-30
11. plch-daily-r6-09 · RCT
    The average duration of diarrhea in the plantain-based diet group was 18 hours shorter (p < 0.005) and it also had lower cost (p < 0.005).
    J Am Coll Nutr, 2009 · checked 2026-09-30