Popcorn is one of the healthiest food options available. It’s high in fiber, contains more antioxidants than many fruits and vegetables, and may even aid in cancer prevention. Continue reading to understand why popcorn is the popular snacks and healthy option and why you should include it on your list of healthy snacks for adults.

It’s the ideal diet snack:

Because high-fiber foods take longer to digest than non-fiber foods, they can help you feel fuller for longer. Between meals, snack on air-popped popcorn to avoid being lured by sweets and fatty foods. Just keep the butter and salt to a minimum.

Many popcorn topping options:

There’s a lot more to popcorn than butter and salt. For a sweet treat, use cinnamon or apple pie spice, or go spicy with hot sauce, wasabi, or curry. With a touch of olive oil and grated Parmesan, you may give your snack an Italian twist. Basically, anything in your spice cabinet can boost the flavor of your popcorn without adding a lot of calories.

Popcorn vs. Other Snacks

Consider how popcorn compares to other snacks that it could replace to put the 30-calories-per-cup claim into perspective. A cup of potato chips contains 150 calories, a cup of traditional Chex Mix has 240 calories, and a cup of dry-roasted peanuts has 850 calories. If you’re watching your weight, popcorn is certainly the better option.

Popcorn also comes out on top when it comes to volume. Consider putting five full cups of air-popped popcorn, 11 peanut butter-filled pretzels, or 12 saltine crackers side by side. All of them are 150 calories, but the popcorn takes a long time to finish and makes you feel like you’ve had a substantial snack. Popcorn’s fiber helps you feel full and content, which can lead to you eating fewer other foods in general.