You’ll reach for crackers, chips, or chocolate when you’re hungry.
Americans simply love club crackers: delicious, affordable, and available everywhere. Everyone enjoys them because of their crunchy texture and salty flavor.
If club crackers are in your cupboard, there’s a good chance that your family also eats them frequently. So, you must have wondered whether or not club crackers are healthy for you.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but club crackers are not very healthy. In this post, I’ll break down the nutritional contents of club crackers for you, which will help you decide if you still want to eat them or if you prefer to switch to an alternative.
Table of Content
Are Club Crackers A Healthy Option?
Club crackers are not a healthy option. There are really not any types of club crackers that have significant nutritional benefits.
Here is a comparative list of 6 types of club crackers available in most stores. I have compiled these nutritional data from USDA.
Each serving of crackers contains around 70 calories, 3g fat, 4g sugar, 10g carb, and 130 g sodium on average. See below for details about specific brands.
| Club Cracker Types | Calories (kcal) | Fiber | Sodium | Fats | Sugar | Carb |
| Original Club Crackers | 70 | 0g | 125 mg | 3 g | 1 g | 9g |
| Club Minis Crackers | 72 | 0.3 g | 146 mg | 3.2 g | 1.2 g | 10g |
| Multi-Grain Club Crackers | 65 | 0.5 g | 124 mg | 2.9 g | 1.7 g | 9g |
| Reduced-Fat Club Crackers | 70 | 0 g | 150 mg | 2 g | 4g | 12g |
| Honey wheat Club Crackers | 68 | 0g | 129 mg | 3.1 g | 7 g | 9.5g |
| Buttery Garlic Club Crackers | 70 | 0g | 110mg | 3.5g | 1g | 9g |
Are Club Crackers Dairy Free?
Yes, club crackers are typically dairy free. Flour is the first ingredient, and they also contain oil, sugar, salt, and several other ingredients. But they are typically dairy-free.
Are Club Crackers Gluten Free?
Club crackers are not gluten free. The crackers contain refined wheat, which contains gluten.
If you are allergic to gluten, avoiding these crackers is necessary. However, there are numerous gluten-free cracker options available as substitutes.
Are Club Crackers Low FODMAP?
Club crackers are not low Fodmap. They have flour, soybean oil, and High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which are high Fodmap ingredients.
FODMAP are short-chain carbohydrates or sugars that the small intestine can’t digest easily. Some people feel that they have gastrointestinal issues after consuming them.
Are Club Crackers Allergen Free?
Club crackers are not allergen-free. They typically contain soy, wheat, and corn (in the form of corn syrup). They are also generally made in factories that process other allergens.
Are Club Crackers Fattening?
“Fattening” is a term that can be misleading. Any foods can be “fattening” if a person eats too much of them. However, it is relatively easy to eat too many club crackers. They don’t have a significant amount of fiber, so they do not seem filling, leading to overeating. In addition, due to the fats used, club crackers are often not a low-fat food and they are not a low-calorie food. So, it is easy to overeat club crackers, and they are not low-calorie foods. This combination of facts means that it is fairly easy to gain weight from (over)eating club crackers.
Are Club Crackers Ever Good For You?
Eating club crackers in very small portions likely will not hurt you, but we would not be able to say that they are “good for you.” They have very minimal nutrition in terms of vitamins and minerals. Foods like this are sometimes called “empty calories,” because eating them provides calories, but no real nutrition.
Can Pregnant Wonumen Have Club Crackers?
There is no restriction on having club crackers if you are pregnant. These crackers do not contain any substances that are harmful during pregnancy. Some crackers contain folate, which is necessary for a healthy pregnancy. Other than that, they do not provide much nutritional value, so they should not be a staple of a pregnant woman’s diet.
Can Diabetes Patients Have Club Crackers?
Club crackers are a food that is primarily carbohydrates. This means that they are not the best choice of a snack for patients with diabetes. Eating a few may be tolerated fine, but eating a large quantity of starchy or sugary foods is never a good idea if you have diabetes.
Can Club Crackers Work for Upset Stomach?
Sometimes, eating one or two crackers may ease the nauseated feeling you have when you have an upset stomach. Many people find that they tolerate bland foods such as crackers when they have a “stomach bug,” so crackers are often one of the first foods parents give children when they are ill. Eating crackers during times of illness will not cause harm, but they should not become a person’s primary food source for times when they are healthy.
Should You Have Club Crackers During Your Period?
You may face mood swings, nausea, and bloating before and/or during your menstrual period. Some women feel that eating certain foods provides a boost in their mood. However, since these crackers are fairly high in sodium, they can increase water retention and the feeling of bloating, so they may actually do more harm than good.
Are Club Crackers Good While Dieting?
Club crackers are not a great food choice while dieting. They contain calories, startch, and sugar, but no vitamins or minerals, no protein, and no fiber. Foods chosen while dieting should be high in vitamins and minerals, high in fiber, and contain some protein. These crackers have the opposite characteristics of ideal “diet” food.
Are Club Crackers Good During Constipation?
Club crackers are not good for constipation. Cakes, biscuits, white bread, and crackers are low in fiber and high in starch. And none of them will ease constipation. Choose high fiber fruits and vegetables instead if you are struggling with constipation.
How To Pick A Healthy Cracker
If you are genuinely a cracker-lover, cutting crackers out of your life would be very hard. Instead, you can try a healthier cracker that includes-
- Low total fat: For daily consumption, aim for less than 5g of fat per 100g of crackers. For special occasions, you can eat a large variety at less than 10g fat.
- Low saturated fat: A wide variety of crackers with less than 1% saturated fat are available. Choose the cracker with the least amount of saturated fat when considering a specific type.
- Low sodium: To lower your sodium consumption, seek a reasonable serving size that contains less than 160 mg of sodium. You should not eat more than that!
- Although your options will be more limited, it would also be excellent to incorporate whole grains and improve your fiber consumption.
- Add toppings cautiously, don’t waste a healthy cracker by putting unhealthy toppings on it.
3 Alternatives of Club Crackers
Club crackers are popular in the US. But if you want to try more like this, remember that the alternatives may be relatively unhealthy as well. Here are 3 alternatives that you can try-
- Ritz Crackers: A single serving of the original Ritz cracker (about 5 crackers or 16 grams) contains 80cal, 1 gram of protein, and 4 grams of fat; the whole wheat variety contains 70 kcal and 2.5 grams of fat.
- Saltine Crackers: Saltine crackers are low in calories, fat, and dietary fiber but high in folate. Regular, low sodium, and whole wheat saltine cracker varieties all contain 6-7% of the daily value of sodium in 3-5 crackers.
- Matzo Crackers: Matzo Crackers have 56 calories per packet (14.2 grams) or 3% of your daily requirements. These crackers provide 4.3 grams of water, 10 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and 83.7 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams. These contain 1.4 grams of fat and 0 milligrams of cholesterol.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are club crackers Keto?
Club crackers are not keto because they contain a lot of carbohydrates. Keto diets need to be very low in carbohydrates, so crackers are food that would not be compatible with a keto diet.
Are club crackers good for dogs?
Yes, club crackers are safe for dogs. Three to four club crackers per day should be enough if you want them. However, because the sodium is high, you should not feed your dogs too many crackers.
Are Ritz crackers healthy?
Ritz Crackers are not healthy. They are made from processed white flour, and they contain 0g of fiber. They also contain high fructose corn syrup, added sugar, and refined vegetable oils. In the past, Ritz Crackers were also banned in various nations due to their trans fat content. Trans fats are known to be unhealthy, and are now banned in many regions.
Conclusion
Club crackers’ light, creamy, and crisp flavor makes them a popular snack among Americans. But are club crackers nutritious as well? Simply- no! Because they are high in calories, fat, and salt, and low in essential nutrients, club crackers are not a healthy snack.
We advise you to eat no more than one serving club crackers – ideally the whole-grain variety – to keep your snack relatively healthy. Your health is wealth; you shouldn’t spoil it by consuming unhealthy foods.
