If the first ingredient is whole wheat, awesome! That’s a better pretzel than most. The majority of pretzels are simply refined, white flour. They provide calories, but no fiber, no nutrients, nothing but energy – and are so highly processed that they can send blood sugar through the roof. A lot are high in sodium. A few in moderation probably won’t hurt, although if you could get 100 calories from pretzels versus 100 calories from vegetables, guess which would be a better choice?

Crunchy foods are typically trigger foods: pretzels, chips, etc. Most people add these thinking “low fat, low calorie” and then graze on them throughout the day without really tracking them. The truth is, those calories can add up.

I like pretzels myself … I just don’t consider them healthy choices, I consider them something to treat myself to when I crave crunchy carbs (I’m a sucker for corn chips, too).