Laura Schoenfeld: Those kind of go along the same lines as dried fruit. Technically if they’re just plantain chips, either they’re dehydrated or maybe they have some coconut oil on them, then, yes, technically they’re allowed, but plantain chips are definitely one of those foods that is easy to overeat. Anything that has high palatability basically just means that they’re really delicious. Any food that kind of drives you to eat more of it is going to have high palatability, and that’s going to be a not great food for somebody who is trying to lose weight, for example.
If you’re interested in learning more about palatability of food and weight loss, then a really good resource is Stephan Guyenet. His website is Whole Health Source, and he talks a lot about hyper-palatability of American food and food reward and how that affects weight.
If you have a client that has weight issues and they want to lose weight, then plantain chips probably shouldn’t be on their menu for the 30-day reset. If you just have a patient that has a chronic disease, like, for example, autoimmune disease, say they just are trying to reduce their symptoms, and they want to have some plantain chips that just helps them get the calories that they need and helps them get some carbs, then that’s totally fine. Again, the client’s goal is going to drive those answers. Anytime something is a super-palatable food for anyone who’s trying to lose weight, it’s usually not a good food to be eating.