Pringles Multigrain Creamy Ranch Crisps - a Healthier Choice?

I haven't eaten chips since I started following a low-carb, low-fat diet, but the display of Pringles Multigrain caught my eye recently so I purchased a can of the Creamy Ranch variety. Multigrain sounded like more dietary fiber than regular chips so I thought it would be a healthier choice.

The Creamy Ranch Multigrain Pringles were very good and I was more than satisfied with the taste. The ranch flavoring was much like regular Pringles Ranch Flavored chips, but the added multigrain lent a taste similar to Frito-Lay's Sun Chips. I enjoy Sun Chips, but prefer the thinner potato chip like Pringles to the chunkier Sun Chips.

After emptying the can, I took a better look at the nutritional information of the Pringles Multigrain Crisps.

Nutrition Information Per 1 oz Serving (approximately 16 crisps)

Calories: 140
Total Fat: 8 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 g
Sodium: 170 mg
Total Carbohydrates: 16 g
Dietary Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 1 g
Proteins: 1 g

Vitamin C: 4%
Calcium: 2%
Iron: 2%
Trace amounts of Vitamin A

I went to Pringles.com to compare nutrition information for the regular Pringles Ranch Crisps and was surprised to see very little difference. The multigrain chips had 10 less calories, 1g less fat, .5 g less saturated fat and 20 mg less sodium per 1 oz serving than the traditional ranch crisps. The regular Pringles Ranch had 6% Vitamin C vs the multigrain's 4%, but the multigrain creamy ranch had 2% iron vs negligible iron listed in the traditional Pringles.

Lay's Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips contain 410 mg of potassium per 1 oz serving, where Pringles Multigrain Crisps (which contain much less potatoes) doesn't list potassium at all on the label. The remainder of the nutritional information varied little from Pringles.

Overall, I did enjoy the flavor of the Multigrain Creamy Ranch Pringles, but felt mislead by the use of the word multigrain as I thought it would be a healthier choice. The nutritional difference between the two varieties as well as traditional potato chips was negligible and not enough to prompt me to choose one variety of Pringles over the other (or instead of potato chips) based on that information alone.

If purchasing potato chips or crisps for a snack again, I will look beyond the description of the product and choose the one with the cheaper price.

Sources: Personal opinion
Pringles.com
FritoLay.com