Tortilla chips: a snack that raises blood sugar more than nuts

In a randomized crossover in 20 adults with overweight, a 250 calories mid-morning snack of tortilla chips (1.79 oz) raised blood glucose at every time point more than the same calories of pecans, and insulin rose after the chips but not after the nuts. Hunger ratings and how much people ate at lunch did not differ. This was one snack on one morning, and the paper shows the size of the gap only in figures. A 28 g small bag of plain chips carries about 132 calories, 5.8 g of fat, 92 mg of sodium and 1.5 g of fiber in the US survey database, and brands differ. Per 100 g that is 472 calories. The UK tables put chips fried in sunflower oil at 504 calories and 27.4 g of fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), mostly monounsaturated, and the difference comes from oil and recipe. What changes most between bags is salt.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

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

How much is actually in it

• By the UK tables tortilla chips fried in sunflower oil hold 504 calories and 27.4 g of fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), mostly monounsaturated, against 20.68 g in the US plain record. — CoFID 2021 record 17-644 Tortilla chips fried in sunflower oil, per 3.5 oz (100 g) (n = 1 reference record) Evidence E source
  504 calories, fat 27.4 g (monounsaturated 20.09 g, saturated 2.89 g, trans 0.08 g), carbohydrate 60.8 g, AOAC fiber 5.9 g, protein 7.2 g, water 1.3 g
• Baked tortilla chips made with ohmic-heated nixtamalized flour had 1.88 times the fiber of chips from traditional flour, while traditional flour gave 1.85 times more protein. — laboratory baked tortilla chips, two nixtamalized flours, kale or wild amaranth powder at 0-16% Evidence D source
  Fiber x1.88 with ohmic heating flour; protein x1.85 with traditional flour; 16% amaranth plus ohmic flour antioxidant capacity x1.74

What a real portion looks like

• A 28 g small bag of plain tortilla chips carries about 132 calories, 5.8 g of fat, 92 mg of sodium and 1.5 g of fiber in the US survey database. — USDA FNDDS Tortilla chips, plain, food code 54401075 (fdc 2708202) (n = 7 measures) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 472 calories, fat 20.68 g, sodium 328 mg, fiber 5.4 g; 1 chip 3 g; small bag 28 g; medium bag 57 g; large bag 85 g; 1 cup 30 g
• Eating 1.8 oz (50 g) of tortilla chips took 488 chews and 350 seconds, the most of 35 savory foods tested, against 27 chews for mashed potatoes. — 15 adults, 1.8 oz (50 g) of each of 35 savory foods over 5 sessions, video-recorded (n = 15) Evidence C source
  Chews per 50 g: tortilla chips 488 vs mashed potatoes 27; oral exposure 350 s vs 27 s canned tomatoes

What your body absorbs

• Women absorbed 50% of the calcium from tortillas made of low-phytate maize against 35% from ordinary maize tortillas, showing that phytate limits calcium from lime-treated corn. — 5 healthy adult women, about 140 g tortillas as breakfast, two test meals one month apart, dual calcium isotopes (n = 5) Evidence C source
  Fractional calcium absorption 0.50 +/- 0.03 vs 0.35 +/- 0.07, P = 0.003

What cooking and storage change

• Nixtamalization, the lime cooking used to make masa, cut fumonisin B1 and B2 in moldy maize by 95% and zearalenone by 89%, bringing urinary exposure in 40 adults to control levels. — 40 healthy adults in Kliptown, Soweto, South Africa, control maize vs nixtamalized visibly moldy maize (n = 40) Evidence B source
  FB1 and FB2 -95%, ZEN -89%, FB3 and DON to unquantifiable; urinary FB1, ZEN, alpha- and beta-ZEL not different from control, p > 0.05
• Fried tortilla chips from lime or wood-ash nixtamalized masa held 46 to 55 ug/kg of acrylamide, against 1443 ug/kg in chips from extruded corn without calcium. — deep-fat fried tortilla chips from four corn processes, HPLC-UV analysis Evidence D source
  Acrylamide: classic (wood ash) 46.3, traditional (lime) 55.0, ecological (CaCO3) 694.6, extrusion 1443.4 ug/kg

What it does to your health

• In 20 adults with overweight, a 250 calories mid-morning snack of tortilla chips raised blood glucose and insulin more than the same calories of pecans, with no difference in hunger or lunch intake. — 20 adults with BMI 27-40 (14 women), single 250 calories snacks (1.79 oz chips vs 1.25 oz pecans) two hours after a standard breakfast, at least one week apart (n = 20) Evidence B source
  Glucose higher at all time points and by area under the curve after chips; insulin rose after chips, not after pecans; appetite ratings and lunch intake unchanged
• Two 0.99 oz (28 g) servings a day of tortilla chips fried in oil carrying 1.5 g of plant sterols lowered LDL cholesterol by 15% over 4 weeks in 7 adults. — 7 human subjects, crossover, 4-week periods, chips with 0 or 1.5 g/d free phytosterols (n = 7) Evidence B source
  Plasma cholesterol -10%, LDL cholesterol -15%, HDL unchanged

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a 2015 Wyoming jail outbreak, rancid tortilla chips were the only food linked to vomiting within 1 to 3 hours, with rancidity markers found and no pathogen. — residents and staff of a correctional facility, case-control studies, October 2015 Evidence C source
  Tortilla chips the only item associated with illness in multivariate analysis; hexanal and peroxide detected

What people believe that the data does not support

• The US FDA sets no maximum or action level for acrylamide in foods such as fried corn chips, and its 2016 guidance only suggests ways to reduce it. — FDA Guidance for Industry: Acrylamide in Foods, March 2016 Evidence E source
  No maximum recommended level or action level

Who this works differently for

• Sodium in US tortilla chips ranges from 13 mg per 3.5 oz (100 g) in reduced-sodium chips to 328 mg in plain and 691 mg in flavored ones such as Doritos. — USDA FNDDS tortilla chip records: plain 2708202, flavored 2708204, reduced sodium 2708212, Doritos other flavors 2708208 (n = 4 records) Evidence E source
  Sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g): reduced sodium 13 mg, plain 328 mg, flavored 691 mg; fat per 3.5 oz (100 g): 19.84, 20.68, 27.42 g; energy 489, 472, 519 calories

The bottom line

Per 100 g, US records give 13 mg of sodium for reduced-sodium chips, 328 mg for plain and 691 mg for flavored ones such as Doritos, which also carry 27.42 g of fat against 20.68 g in plain. If you watch sodium, the type you pick matters more than the brand. Chips take work to eat. Fifteen adults needed 488 chews and 350 seconds to finish 50 g, the most of 35 savory foods measured, against 27 chews for mashed potatoes. That study counted chewing and did not test how full people felt afterward. Corn for chips is usually cooked with lime into masa, a step called nixtamalization. In a trial in 40 adults in Soweto, South Africa, nixtamalizing visibly moldy maize cut fumonisin B1 and B2 by 95% and zearalenone by 89%, and urinary markers matched those on clean maize. That was maize porridge, and US chip corn starts with different toxin levels. In one laboratory study, fried chips from lime or wood-ash masa held 46 to 55 micrograms of acrylamide per kg, against 1443 in chips from extruded corn without calcium. Those were lab samples, and shop brands were not tested. The US FDA sets no maximum or action level for acrylamide, and its 2016 guidance only suggests ways to lower it. Two added-ingredient findings do not apply to ordinary chips. In 7 adults, two 0.99 oz (28 g) servings a day of chips fried in oil carrying 1.5 g of plant sterols lowered LDL cholesterol by 15% over 4 weeks, which is the effect of the sterols. In 5 women, 50% of the calcium was absorbed from tortillas made with low-phytate maize against 35% from ordinary maize, a non-randomized test on tortillas rather than fried chips. Who should be careful. In a 2015 outbreak at a Wyoming jail, rancid tortilla chips were the only food linked to vomiting within 1 to 3 hours, with rancidity markers found and no pathogen. That is one outbreak, and a bag that smells rancid is one to throw out. People on a sodium limit should compare labels. We found no study of tortilla chips in pregnancy, in children or in kidney disease.

Compared with other foods

Sources

1. tchp-daily-r7-03 · reference dataset
   CoFID 17-644 Tortilla chips fried in sunflower oil: Energy (kcal) 504 | Fat 27.4 g | Mono FA /100g food 20.09 g | Satd FA /100g fd 2.89 g | Trans FAs /100g food 0.08 g | Carbohydrate 60.8 g | AOAC fibre 5.9 g | Protein 7.2 g | Water 1.3 g
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England, code 17-644 · checked 2026-09-29
2. tchp-daily-r7-12 · laboratory study
   Overall, the use of OHF increased 1.88 times the fibre in enriched and non-enriched snacks with respect to TNF, but the latter had 1.85 times more protein.
   J Sci Food Agric, 2023 · checked 2026-09-29
3. tchp-daily-r7-01 · reference dataset
   Tortilla chips, plain, fdc 2708202: Energy 472 KCAL | Total lipid (fat) 20.68 G | Sodium, Na 328 MG | Fiber, total dietary 5.4 G per 100 g | 1 chip 3 g | 1 small single serving bag 28 g | 1 medium single serving bag 57 g | 1 large single serving bag 85 g
   USDA FNDDS, Tortilla chips plain code 54401075 · checked 2026-09-29
4. tchp-daily-r7-11 · experimental study
   Average number of chews for 50 g of food varied from 27 for mashed potatoes to 488 for tortilla chips. Oral exposure time was highly correlated with the total number of chews, and varied from 27 s for canned tomatoes to 350 s for tortilla chips.
   Appetite, 2013 · checked 2026-09-29
5. tchp-daily-r7-07 · controlled trial
   Mean fractional absorption of calcium from tortillas prepared from the low-phytate maize (0.50 +/- 0.03) was significantly (P = 0.003) greater than that from tortillas prepared from the control maize (0.35 +/- 0.07).
   Am J Clin Nutr, 2005 · checked 2026-09-29
6. tchp-daily-r7-06 · RCT
   Nixtamalization achieved a reduction in fumonisin B3 and deoxynivalenol (DON) to unquantifiable or undetectable levels in maize, while reducing fumonisin B1 (FB1), fumonisin B2, and zearalenone (ZEN) by 95%, 95%, and 89%, respectively.
   Toxins (Basel), 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
7. tchp-daily-r7-08 · laboratory study
   Lower acrylamide content in tortilla chips was for CNP with 46.3 µg/kg, followed by TNP with 55.0 µg/kg, ENP with 694.6 µg/kg and EXP with 1443.4 µg/kg.
   Food Science and Biotechnology, 2019 (Topete-Betancourt et al.) · checked 2026-09-29
8. tchp-daily-r7-04 · RCT
   Consumption of tortilla chips caused a significantly greater increase in blood glucose at all time points compared to pecans (Figure 3B), and a similar significant treatment difference was observed when examined as an area under the response curve, which was performed to account for any potential effect of multiple comparisons. ... Consumption of tortilla chips provoked a significant increase in insulin both compared to time zero and to the pecan response.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-09-29
9. tchp-daily-r7-05 · RCT
   In a subsequent human study, subjects (n = 7) consumed two 28-g servings of tortilla chips fried in oil with or without phytosterols that provided 0 or 1.5 g/d for 4-wk periods in a crossover design (Expt. 3). During consumption of the phytosterol-enriched chips, significant reductions in plasma cholesterol (10%) and LDL cholesterol (15%) were achieved without affecting HDL-C.
   J Nutr, 2004 · checked 2026-09-29
10. tchp-daily-r7-10 · case-control
    Consuming lunch at the facility on October 11 was highly associated with illness; multivariate logistic regression analysis found that tortilla chips were the only food item associated with illness. Hexanal and peroxide, markers for rancidity, were detected in tortilla chips and composite food samples from the lunch.
    MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep, 2016 · checked 2026-09-29
11. tchp-daily-r7-09 · agency guidance
    This guidance also does not identify any specific maximum recommended level or action level for acrylamide.
    FDA Guidance for Industry: Acrylamide in Foods, 2016 · checked 2026-09-29
12. tchp-daily-r7-02 · reference dataset
    Sodium, Na per 100 g: Tortilla chips, plain 328 MG | Tortilla chips, flavored 691 MG | Tortilla chips, reduced sodium 13 MG | Tortilla chips, other flavors (Doritos) 691 MG; Total lipid (fat): 20.68 | 27.42 | 19.84 | 27.42 G
    USDA FNDDS, tortilla chips codes 2708202, 2708204, 2708212, 2708208 · checked 2026-09-29