Are Ritz Crackers Healthy?

For more than eighty years, Ritz crackers have been the ultimate favorite snack of millions of people. Why? Well, because it contains the perfect balance of salt & sweet, buttery & toasty flavors. At the same time, the crackers are so crunchy yet crumble-free that no one can fight the temptation to take a quick bite.

Either eaten alone or with other food like peanut butter or cheese, the crackers taste heavenly and delicious but the most important question here is that are they healthy. So today, we are going to dive deep into the overall nutrient content of Ritz crackers to find out how they affect our bodies and health. So, let’s begin!

Nutrient content of Ritz crackers

One serving size of Ritz crackers weighs around 3.2 grams. The nutrients which make up for this 3.2 grams are as follows

So as you can see, most of the calories are contributed by carbohydrates. It’s also important to mention that all carbohydrates are present in sugar form and not even 0.1g exists in the form of dietary fiber. Similarly, all the fat exists here in the form of saturated fats, instead of trans fat. Speaking of micronutrients like vitamins, calcium, and iron, Ritz crackers don’t possess them in a significant amount.

Ingredients used to make Ritz crackers

Different flavors of Ritz crackers have different ingredients. For example, the original Ritz crackers are made up of unbleached enriched flour, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, leavening, natural flavor, malted barley flour, and soy Lecithin.

The roasted vegetable Ritz crackers are made up of almost the same ingredients with an addition of a dehydrated vegetable blend. Even the reduced fat Ritz crackers have the same ingredients which are used to make original Ritz crackers.

So, are Ritz crackers healthy?

Considering the nutrient content and ingredients of Ritz crackers we can’t consider it a healthy snack to eat. What’s the purpose of snacks? To munch on feeling mild appetites so you can feel full and won’t overeat, at the time of the main course.

This sense of fullness is imparted by the indigestible part of your food which is none other than fibers. Since Ritz crackers contain 0% dietary fiber, it doesn’t matter how many crackers you’d eat, you’ll still feel hungry. The worst part is that the whole wheat flour and sugar make this munching more harmful to your waistline.

Besides sugar, the Ritz crackers also have a high amount of fructose from the corn syrup. Due to the presence of these ingredients, these crackers can be easily categorized as high-glycemic food. Therefore, if you are already suffering from imbalances in blood-sugar levels, you have to be more conscious about your Ritz crackers’ consumption.

All in all, Ritz crackers are not healthy, both for your weight loss and blood sugar level. Due to the very same reasons, various countries have banned it!