Today has been one of those days. I got up at the crack of dawn in order to reach Bull's Head car wash before they filled their daily quota, only to find that they are closed till next week. I then tried to buy Barack Obama's book about his upbringing, but on my whistlestop tour of Brown & Co., managed to buy his biography written by someone else.

And, finally, I also bought a bag of Lay's new baked potato chips to try and wean myself off the fried version, but am miserable now that I have read the ingredients.

It's just not fair to label something as a "smart choice" because it is low in one bad thing (such as saturated fat), but then put in a load of other rubbish.

A normal serving of Lay's potato chips (by the way, that's about 15 chips – which is like suggesting someone only eats three Maltesers) contains 10g fat, 1g of which saturates. They contain 190 calories and have zero grams of sugar.

In contrast, the Baked Lay's only contain 2g of fat, none of which is saturated, and 120 calories. Sounds good doesn't it?

However, normal Lay's contain potatoes, sunflower oil and salt, while Baked Lay's contain the following: dehydrated potatoes, modified food starch, sugar, corn oil, salt, soy lecithin, monocalcium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate and dextrose.

And, although they taste much less salty, the sodium content is actually the same as the regular brand (eight percent of your daily value, per serving).

The result is something that tastes a lot like a Pringles! We often expect "healthy" to be more natural, but in this case the product is heavily processed and while, yes, it's lower in fat and calories, there are – in my opinion – drawbacks.

Each serving contains 2g sugars, which equates to half a teaspoon of sugar. It doesn't sound like much but if you bump up the serving size to something realistic (especially as these are so light they are not filling at all), you'd easily raise that to a full teaspoon – and up your calorie intake too.

Bearing in mind that excess sugar in the bloodstream can be stored in the body as fat, and all of a sudden, a product that is lower in fat but higher in sugar doesn't seem like such a fabulous idea after all.

So, when it comes to losing weight, I'm not sure that baked potato chips are the miracle we were all waiting for.

They may be a better option for someone who isn't overweight, who still has high triglycerides or LDL cholesterol, as the fat content is so much lower.

But when it comes to losing weight, one of the simplest, most effective tricks is simply to switch processed "fake" food, for real, unprocessed, natural food.

So if weight loss is on your mind this New Year, try out some of the snacks I've recommended below!

Question of the week: "What is modified food starch? I've noticed it in a lot of sauces and snack food. Is it healthy?'' – A.T., St. George's

Modified food starch comes from carbohydrate (corn, wheat, potato, rice or tapioca) that has been treated physically or chemically in order to get it to function effectively under high heat or heavy food processing.

These starches are often used as thickeners or stabilisers and so as you have noticed, are often used in sauces and processed snack bars. You will also commonly find modified food starch in soups, gravies and salad dressings.

Is it healthy? It's not unhealthy as such, but I also wouldn't view it as healthy. It's a bit of a non-food, a filler – something that provides calories without really providing any nutrients.

Also, as with the Lay's above, it's often used to bind food in the place of fat, which whilst reducing the fat content, can raise the "sugars" content.

If you are trying to find snacks that are healthy this New Year, then I would always try and eat food that is as natural and whole as possible! This way you maximise your nutrient intake. Try out the suggestions below:

¦ Carrot, cucumber or celery sticks with hummus, guacamole or salsa

¦ Fresh fruit and unroasted nuts e.g. an apple and eight unsalted, unroasted almonds

¦ Fresh fruit salad (choose low sugar fruit – apples, oranges, pears and berries)

¦ Plain yoghurt with berries and flaked almonds

¦ Kashi TLC crunchy or chewy granola bars (not the Kashi Go Lean bars – these are too high in sugar)

¦ A small bowl of Kashi Almond Crunch or Go Lean cereal (which are low in sugar, unlike the Go Lean bars)

¦ Wholewheat or rye toast with almond butter (instead of peanut butter)

¦ Wholegrain crackers with hummus or organic, low fat cottage cheese

¦ A small smoothie from the Down to Earth juice bar. Choose low sugar fruit and a protein add-in e.g. almond butter or whey powder.

¦ The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted on 291-4725 or clinicalnutrition[AT]gmail.com.